Category: Rebuilding Fisheries
We’re supporting coastal communities to manage their fisheries, establishing periodic reserves and adding value to seafood supply chains.
‘This land is ours’: exploring new partnerships with Tiniguena in Guinea-Bissau
As we approached the remote island of Formosa at sundown after a two-hour boat ride from Guinea-Bissau’s capital Bissau, I was overwhelmed by the vibrant nature that surrounded us. Fish eagles greeted us with eerie calls, and flocks of pelicans...
Voices of young community leaders
Encouraging youth to care more for the environment This is the third piece in a four-part series featuring the voices of young community leaders from Madagascar. Fisherwoman Yolande Soamihaja describes her journey as she inspires fellow youth to take on...
Shrimp return to the locally managed bay in northern Madagascar
By Nantenaina Ardo NIRISOA, Site Leader (Ambanja, Tsimipaika Bay, Madagascar). More than seven years ago, when I was working as a fisheries and aquaculture technician in Ambanja in Madagascar’s northwest, I set up a network of fisheries data collectors. I...
Kenyan communities trial ‘blue loans’ tied to marine conservation
Last year, communities in Kenya’s Kwale County approached our partner COMRED to ask how they could increase local participation in conservation efforts to manage coastal fisheries. Kwale’s coast stretches approximately 250km and is divided into 20 local fisheries management associations....
Promoting the use of customary laws to improve community fisheries in Indonesia
This is the final piece in a three-part series on the use of customary laws known locally as sasi that seek to harness a more sustainable relationship between man and nature. Sasi is a set of customary laws currently used...
Participatory mud crab monitoring paves way to sustainable mangrove management
The livelihoods of many Indonesian coastal communities, like the Perigi Raja and Sapat communities of Indragiri Hilir Regency of Riau Province, depend on mud crab fisheries to meet their daily needs. The regency has extensive mangrove forests covering up to...
Community conservation offers hope for sustainable fisheries on the Kenyan coast
The situation It used to be easy for fishing communities on the Kenyan coast to know when the seasons would change, the winds would peak, and the sea would be safe to access because the weather forecasts were more stable....
Darawa fishers: Moving away from destructive fishing to become leaders in coastal resource management
In the early 2000s, some fishers from Darawa island, located southwest of the Kaledupa sub-district of Wakatobi Regency in Indonesia, caught fish by destructive methods. The previously uninhabited island lacked plantations, and the fishers who moved there from the nearby...
Prioritizing inclusivity and community engagement in conservation and fisheries management in Belize!
Dangriga Town – known as the ‘culture capital’ of Belize – is a vibrant coastal community nestled amongst the hills and valleys of southern Belize. Tales of its rich heritage can be seen, heard, and felt throughout the town’s streets...
An exchange visit to Pate Island, Lamu Archipelago – inspiring change in community-led fisheries and conservation
Munje to Pate – the start of learning There was hope and excitement as nine community members, seven men, and two ladies from Munje in southeast Kenya, boarded a shuttle bus for a nine-hour journey to Lamu. Our mission was...
Connecting the dots – ‘Sasi’ and co-management in Maluku, Indonesia
This post is the second of a 3-part series on the use of customary law (sasi) by communities from Maluku archipelago in Indonesia and how these practices have helped communities to rebuild their fisheries. Read part 1 here. Three...
Revitalising ‘sasi’ – relying on indigenous laws and traditions to protect the ocean in Maluku – Indonesia
This post is the first of a 3-part series on the use of customary law (sasi) by communities from Maluku archipelago in Indonesia and how these practices have helped communities to rebuild their fisheries. My first experience of Sasi September...
Adopting LMMAs – selfless actions for the security of future coastal generations
As we headed out on the bumpy road to Ambolobozobe in the northeast of Madagascar, there was a sense of anticipation. We were going to meet the coastal communities who are successfully managing multiple Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) as...
Relying on local knowledge to preserve key biodiversity sites in the Comoros
the power of data and local knowledge in local fisheries management An array of colours fill my eyes when I put my head underwater – blue, red, yellow and green is what I see as the fish move over beautiful...
When the students became the teachers: a new locally led ecological monitoring team in southwest Madagascar
In June, the local ecological monitoring team from Velondriake travelled to Manjaboake to pass on its skills to its first set of students It was an early sunny morning in June as we packed our kit into the boat on...