Integrating indigenous ecological knowledge and customary sea tenure with marine and social science for conservation of bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) in the Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands
- Authors: Shankar, Aswani , Hamilton, Richard
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/439945 , vital:73722 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S037689290400116X"
- Description: Indigenous ecological knowledge and customary sea tenure may be integrated with marine and social science to conserve the bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) in the Roviana Lagoon, Western Solomon Islands. Three aspects of indigenous ecological knowledge in Roviana were identified as most relevant for the management and conservation of bumphead parrotfish, and studied through a combination of marine science and anthropological methods. These were (1) local claims that fishing pressure has had a significant impact on bumphead parrotfish populations in the Roviana Lagoon; (2) the claim that only small bumphead parrotfish were ever seen or captured in the inner lagoon and that very small fish were restricted to specific shallow inner-lagoon nursery regions; and (3) assertions made by local divers that bumphead parrotfish predominantly aggregated at night around the new moon period and that catches were highest at that time. The research supported claims (1) and (2), but did not support proposition (3). Although the people of the Roviana Lagoon had similar conceptions about their entitlement rights to sea space, there were marked differences among regional villages in their opinions regarding governance and actual operational rules of management in the Lagoon. Contemporary differences in management strategies resulted from people's historical and spatial patterns of settlement across the landscape and adjoining seascapes, and the attendant impact of these patterns on property relations. This was crucial in distinguishing between those villages that held secure tenure over their contiguous sea estates from those that did not. Indigenous ecological knowledge served to (1) verify that the bumphead parrotfish was a species in urgent need of protection; (2) explain how different habitats structured the size distribution of bumphead parrotfish; (3) identify sensitive locations and habitats in need of protection; and (4) explain the effect of lunar periodicity on bumphead parrotfish behaviour and catch rates. Secure customary sea tenure identified locations best suited to bumphead parrotfish management programmes, with a greater likelihood for local participation and programme success. The information was used to establish two marine protected areas in the region for bumphead parrotfish conservation.
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- Date Issued: 2004
The value of many small vs. few large marine protected areas in the Western Solomon Islands
- Authors: Shankar, Aswani , Hamilton, Richard
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440050 , vital:73731
- Description: Scientists and policy makers are universally promoting marine protected areas (MPAs) as a fisheries and ecosystem management tool. Experts generally agree that MPAs, particularly fully protected “no-take” zones, can enhance spawning stock biomass, allow for larval dispersal and the export of adults to adjacent non-protected areas, maintain species diversity, preserve habitat, and sustain ecosystem function (eg Bergen and Carr 2003; Johnson et al. 1999; Russ and Alcala 1999). In the case of tropical multi-species fisheries, in which absolute yields are difficult to predict and in which there are multiple users and fishing techniques, marine reserves also can act as precautionary tools to prevent overexploitation. Considering that orthodox fisheries management strategies have generally failed to prevent overfishing globally, the inception of MPAs as a management tool is of particular preventive significance (Russ 2002). Proponents of MPAs have broadly debated the appropriate size and number of MPAs that should be established in order to produce what a particular management prescription proposes to deliver. Some scientists argue that for MPAs to be effective they should cover areas in the magnitude of hundreds or even thousands of square miles, depending upon the type of environment (eg Beattie et al. 2002; Man et al. 1995; Walters 2000). Others have suggested that from a fisheries enhancement perspective, many small reserves in a network are preferred over fewer, larger reserves (eg Roberts et al. 2003). Other debates have centred on how much attention should be paid to science-driven vs. stakeholder-driven considerations when designing MPAs (eg Agardy 1997; Alder et al. 2002; Christie et al. 2003; Jones 2002).
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- Date Issued: 2004