In 2022, Fish Forever made historic strides towards empowering community-based co-management of coastal fisheries. Amidst climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Fish Forever accelerated legislation, local leadership, and science related to managed access fishing areas with reserves.
Advocating for Ocean Action at the UN Climate Conference (COP27)
In November, Rare attended the UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. Rare’s delegation actively participated in over 35 bilateral discussions and events to strengthen ocean protection. During an event co-hosted by Rare’s Rocky Sanchez Tirona and Mayor Mary Jean Te of Libertad, Philippines, Rare presented the preliminary results of the Fishing for Climate Resilience Project and discussed pathways to scale ecosystem-based adaptation approaches in small-scale fisheries.
History Made in Montreal as COP15 Agrees on a New Global Biodiversity Framework
At the conclusion of the Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 in Montreal, Canada, delegates from over 190 countries agreed on a new set of goals to guide global action to halt and reverse the loss of nature. The framework includes the following targets: protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030, reform $500 billion of environmentally damaging subsidies, and restore 30% of the planet’s degraded terrestrial, inland water, coastal and marine ecosystems.
Rare will work with Fish Forever countries, partners, and our local communities on the front lines to implement 30×30.
Rare’s Philipe Bujold Featured on the NOAA Ocean Podcast
Philipe Bujold, a behavioral scientist with Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment, joined NOAA for the second installment of their ocean podcast. In this episode, Philipe discusses how the latest behavioral science research can help us make conservation and environmental decisions.
A New Tool Puts the Power of Data Analysis in the Hands of Fisheries Management Bodies
The future of ocean health and functioning marine ecosystems depends on successfully managing the world’s coastal fisheries. The OurFish app and Rare’s Fisheries Management Assessment Tool enable management bodies to determine fisheries’ performances and make science-backed decisions that support management goals with just the click of a few buttons.
Celebrating the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture
In 2022, Rare joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and others in celebrating the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. To wrap up this special year, check out a snapshot of the people leading in managing small-scale fisheries and the milestones we’ve achieved together.
We join the Philippines team in mourning the loss of our colleague and friend, Lito Mancao. Lito’s love for local coastal communities and fisheries was one of a kind. Fish Forever and Rare’s presence in the Philippines would not be where they are today without Lito’s wisdom, creativity, and energy. We resolve to honor and celebrate Lito through the legacy of his work.
Program Highlights
Local fishers in Indonesia’s Napano Kusambi community formally requested its District Fisheries Office to allocate funding for a new marine area and reserve in the Southeast Sulawesi regency Muna Barat.
From November 18th-21st, Rare Mozambique and local governments facilitated World Fisher Day celebrations across several communities, attended by over 1,000 people.
During COP27, Rare signed an MoU between Pará state and Rare Brazil to enable joint actions towards more sustainable fishing within the marine RESEX areas in this biologically significant state within Brazil’s Amazon region.
On November 22nd, the Galing Pook Foundation recognized the Philippines’s Libertad municipality in Antique province for its innovative work with savings clubs.
Hector Mendoza, Honduras’ mayor of the city of Trujillo in Colón, signed a municipal ordinance to establish the municipality’s new managed access area.
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Fish Forever Round-up
Our Global Network
Rare leads initiative to strengthen regional fisher registration systems: The Fish Forever team in Mesoamerica, supported by Rare’s Global Hub for Collaboration and Learning, facilitated regional conversations among Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American (OSPESCA) stakeholders to strengthen regional fisher registration systems across eight countries in Latin America. The initiative works with fisheries officers to map current systems and consolidate the best practices to manage data at country and regional levels.
Science and Technology
The Household Survey Instrument report: Fish Forever’s Science, Data, and MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) teams are processing and validating more than 12,000 socioeconomic data surveys from Fish Forever communities in Indonesia, the Philippines, the Federal States of Micronesia, and Brazil. The findings, which will be available in early 2023, will help Rare evaluate the M&E framework and track the program’s success.
Indonesia
North Sulawesi’s governor creates a new regulation for managed access with reserves: Rare Indonesia helped the province of North Sulawesi create a new governor regulation called Inclusion of Coastal Communities in the Management of Small Islands and Coastal Areas. Signed on December 12th, the new regulation will help support rights-based fishery management and ensure that managed access areas with reserves are legal and functional.
Muna Barat District designates funding for new MA+R area: On December 7th, the Muna Barat District’s Fisheries Office in the Napano Kusambi area held an event to promote better awareness of sustainable fishing and climate change. Moved by the local fishers’ determination to establish their own managed access area with a reserve (MA+R), the District Fisheries Office allocated a significant budget for MA+R activities in the upcoming year.
Mozambique
World Fisher Day celebrations: From 18th-21st November, Rare and local governments co-facilitated World Fisher Day celebrations across several communities with over 1,000 people in attendance. Activities included lectures, plays, and dancing performances. Numerous events also featured videos of testimonials from fishers, fish buyers, and saving club members sharing life examples about the benefits of fisheries co-management.
MIMAIP Minister visits Fequete community chicken farm: In November, the new Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters, and Fisheries (MIMAIP) visited the Inhassoro district in southern Mozambique and visited Fish Forever’s Fequete community enterprise to learn how poultry farming for chicken and eggs generates alternative income for fishers.
Rare and FAO launch new project in Vilanculos: Rare and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are partnering on a new project called “Development of Fisheries Co-management Capacity for Blue Communities.” The project aims to provide the Mozambique government and fishing communities with guidelines for sustainable fishing and diversification of livelihoods. In November, 223 people attended the workshop to commence the project in Vilanculos, Inhambane province.
Brazil
New MoU with Brazil opens opportunities: During COP27, Fish Forever Managing Director Rocky Tirona Sanchez signed an MoU between the State Department of Pará and Rare Brazil to enable joint actions towards more sustainable fishing within the marine RESEX areas in this biologically significant state within Brazil’s Amazon region. Both partners will advance Fish Forever and promote the Coastal500 network through this significant milestone and partnership.
APA Costa dos Corais Women’s Network: The APA (Environmental Protection Area) Costa dos Corais Women’s Network created the “Women Fishing Freedom Booklet” to highlight the network’s creation and the importance of women fishers.
Shrimp fishing victory in Pernambuco: On November 16th, the coastal municipality Tamandaré in Pernambuco signed into law new standards for managing the Environmental Protection Area of the Coral Coast, Brazil’s largest coastal-marine protected area. Double trawling is now prohibited and only vessels registered by ICMBio can practice shrimp fishing. Rare Brazil helped gain support for this initiative and celebrates the news as a major milestone for local coastal conservation.
Philippines
Libertad Antique Savings Club wins Galing Pook Award: On November 22nd, the Galing Pook Foundation recognized the Philippines’s Libertad municipality in Antique province for its innovative work with savings clubs.
Report on the Status of Artisanal Fisheries in the Philippines: On World Fisheries Day, Rare Philippines published the Philippine Report on Artisanal Fisheries, a joint publication from Rare, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Central Office, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To celebrate the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, the report gives evidence-based information and renders clarity to the socioeconomic, political, and environmental conditions that surround small-scale fishers.
World Ocean Summit Asia-Pacific: On November 29th, Rare Philippines and local government partners from Fish Forever municipalities of Libertad and Santa Monica (in the Libertad and Siargao provinces) attended Singapore’s World Ocean Summit Asia-Pacific. The Fish Forever team presented our experiences using vessel monitoring mechanisms and the OurFish app.
Pacific Islands: Palau and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
Fisher registration review: Rare Palau and the Micronesia Conservation Trust are finalizing the Fish Forever fisher registration policy review. The comprehensive profile of the current fisheries landscape in Palau will help the Federal State of Micronesia support its own national fisher registration requirement.
Women’s group visits sustainable fishing site: On October 3rd, a group of women fishers in Palau visited a sustainable fishing site with the Ebiil Society. The women learned how to incorporate historical and cultural aspects of fishing into sustainable tourism initiatives and left feeling motivated to introduce similar sustainable practices into their communities.
MAR: Honduras and Guatemala
Declaration of the Trujillo Managed Access Area: Hector Mendoza, Honduras’ mayor of Trujillo municipality, signed a municipal ordinance to officially announce Trujillo’s new managed access area. The ordinance declares 372.6 km² of protected area, benefiting over 5,000 people across seven coastal communities. Community members, government authorities, and Rare’s Fish Forever team held four community workshops and met with more than 114 fishers to gain support for the managed access area.
FIELD-BUILDING RESEARCH
Household finances and trust are key determinants of benefits from small-scale fisheries co-management (September 2022)
Kushardanto, H., Jakub, R., Suherfian, W., Subarno, T., Ansyori, A. I., Sara, L., Alimina, N., Fajriah, Kardini, L. O., de la Rosa, E., Yuliani, A., Medianti, E., Pradana, I., Setiawan, H., Muhammad, Y., Djafar, L. F., Box, S., Cox, C., & Campbell, S. J. (2022). Household finances and trust are key determinants of benefits from small-scale fisheries co-management. Marine Policy, 145, 105284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105284
This study, co-authored by Rare staff, assesses the attributes of fishing households next to seven management areas in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It highlights the need for programs like Fish Forever to strengthen co-management, improve financial literacy, and recognize the role gender plays in community-based management.
The survey, conducted twice—in 2019 and again in 2021—found that food and financial security perception positively correlated with respondents’ awareness of fisheries co-management. Sufficient income and strong community leadership were also important drivers of compliance with harvest rules. However, many women reported they did not comply with fishery closures, which the authors claimed might result from a lack of involvement in decision-making.
Comparing spatial conservation prioritization methods with site versus spatial dependency-based connectivity (September 2022)
Muenzel, D., Critchell, K., Cox, C., Campbell, S. J., Jakub, R., Chollett, I., Krueck, N., Holstein, D., Treml, E. A., & Beger, M. (2022). Comparing spatial conservation prioritization methods with site versus spatial dependency based connectivity. Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14008
This study, also co-authored by Rare staff, evaluated the appropriateness of two approaches to incorporate larval connectivity into the spatial planning of a reserve network. The first approach analyzes individual sites, while the second approach prioritizes linked pairs of protected habitat patches. Larval dispersal modeling is a critical component in designing a network of marine reserves.
Sources and discharge of nitrogen pollution from agriculture and wastewater in the Mesoamerican Reef region (August 2022)
Berger, M., Canty, S. W., Tuholske, C., & Halpern, B. S. (2022). Sources and discharge of nitrogen pollution from agriculture and wastewater in the Mesoamerican Reef region. Ocean & Coastal Management, 227, 106269.
The run-off of nitrogen pollution from land-based activities into coastal waters poses a significant threat to coral reefs, seagrass ecosystems, and coastal livelihoods. Using a geospatial model to study nitrogen pollution in the 430 watersheds of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR), the authors estimate that agricultural fertilizer and livestock create 92% of nitrogen pollution in the region. Relevant to Fish Forever’s work in the MAR region, they found that the local watersheds with the highest levels of nitrogen pollution were in Honduras and Guatemala. Overall, the study highlights the drivers of vulnerability in MAR sites and tropical coastal ecosystems and identifies the value of mangrove forests in filtering polluted watersheds.
Fish Forever: A solution to coastal overfishing – delivered by empowering communities through clear rights, strong governance, local leadership, and participatory management – that protects essential fish habitat and regulates fishing activities to replenish and sustain coastal fisheries.
Goal: To deliver replicable and scalable community rights-based management across ten countries, using a global network of 500 local leaders to secure livelihoods for one million fishers, alleviate poverty, ensure food supply, and protect coastal ecosystems from chronic threats.
Fish Forever Countries: Philippines, Indonesia, Mozambique, Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, and the Pacific Island countries of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Fish Forever is possible thanks to the support of many, including the following current donors:
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