Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge

TRADITIONALNumber 11 — September 1999

I N F O R M A T I O N B U L L E T I N

M a r i n e R e s o u r c e M a n a g e m e n t a n d K n ow l e d g e

Group Coordinator and Bulletin Editor: Kenneth Ruddle, Matsugaoka-cho 11-20, Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo-ken 662, Japan. [Tel. &fax: +81 798 71 4749; E-mail: [email protected]] Production: Information Section, Marine Resources Division, SPC, B.P. D5,98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia. [Fax: +687 263818; E-mail: [email protected]]. The bulletin is available at:<http://www.spc.org.nc/coastfish> (click Newsletter in the menu). Printed with financial assistance from France.

ISSN 1025-7497

Note from the coordinator

This issue gives me particular pleasure, for which Ithank the authors. For the first time since launching thisInfoBull all contributions were unsolicited! Better yet,we were able to pick and choose among manuscriptsoffered. So perhaps we are over one daunting hill thatfaces all new serials.

But, I will continue badgering those who have yet tocontribute, especially you who have promised over thelast few years, but have still to deliver! It might encour-age those in academic institutions to know that all arti-cles in this issue have been peer reviewed. This is anoth-er first. I intend to continue that, so your time andefforts will not be wasted.

However, it remains a constant problem to catch rele-vant items of new literature. So we would be grateful ifyou could bring to our attention books, articles andother documents that you think should be reviewed, orat least noted. Better yet, please arrange to have a copysent to us.

Don’t forget that this Information Bulletin as well as mostother SPC fisheries-related publications can be found onSPC web site at: <http://www.spc.org.nc/coastfish>(click ‘Newsletter’ on the menu).

Kenneth Ruddle

Inside this issue

A network of small, community-owned Village Fish Reserves in Samoaby M. King & U. Fa’asili p. 2

The use of village by-laws in marine conservation and fisheries managementby U. Fa’asili & I. Kelokolo p. 7

Octopus fishing by women ofFakaofa Atoll, Tokelau Islandsby A. Tiraa-Passfield p. 11

Indigenous ecologicalknowledge and its role infisheries research design: A case study from RovianaLagoon, Western Province,Solomon Islandsby R. Hamilton & R. Walter p. 13

New publications p. 26

Course announcement p. 28

M A R I N E R E S O U R C E S D I V I S I O N – I N F O R M A T I O N S E C T I O N

Secretariat of the Pacific Community

SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #11 – September1999

Introduction

In many countries in the tropics, inshore catches offish and shellfish are declining. In Samoa, catchesof seafood from lagoons and inshore reefs havebeen decreasing for over ten years (Horsman &Mulipola, 1995). Reasons for this decline includeoverexploitation, the use of destructive fishingmethods (including explosives, chemicals and tra-ditional plant-derived poisons) and environmentaldisturbances.

Despite concerns over declining fish stocks, gov-ernment actions and national laws to protect fishstocks are rarely successful. This is due to manyfactors, including poor enforcement regimes andparticularly the lack of community involvement.Fishing communities are often repositories ofvaluable traditional knowledge concerning fishstocks, and have a high level of awareness of themarine environment (Johannes, 1982). In addition,many subsistence fishers in tropical regions live indiscrete communities that have some degree ofcontrol, either legal or traditional, over adjacentwaters. Together, these factors provide an excel-lent basis to encourage and motivate communitiesto manage their own marine resources.

Methods

The community-based fisheries extension projectbegan in 1995. After staff training, a culturallyacceptable extension process was developed

which recognised the village fono (council) as theprime instigator of change, while still allowingample opportunities for the wider community toparticipate (Figure 1; also King and Fa’asili, 1999).Full field operations began in 1996.

Following an indication of interest, a village fonomeeting was arranged to provide the communitywith information to allow either acceptance orrefusal of the extension programme. If the fonoaccepted, it was then asked to arrange for meet-ings of several village groups, including womenand untitled men (aumaga).

Over a series of meetings, each group held sepa-rate meetings to discuss their marine environmentand fish stocks, decide on key problems, deter-mine causes, propose solutions, and plan remedialactions. Problem/solution trees were recorded ona portable white board by a trained facilitator.Finally, a village Fisheries Management AdvisoryCommittee was formed, with three people nomi-nated from each group, to prepare a draft VillageFisheries Management Plan (assisted by ExtensionOfficers) for discussion and approval by the vil-lage fono. One third of all village group meetingswere for women only, and approximately onethird of members of the management committeeswere women. The proportions for untitled villagemen were similar.

Each Village Fisheries Management Plan listed theresource management and conservation undertak-

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A network of small, community-owned Village Fish Reserves in Samoa

by Michael King & Ueta Fa’asili 1

Summary

Under a community-based fisheries extension programme in Samoa, 44 coastal villages have developedtheir own Village Fisheries Management Plans. Each plan sets out the resource management and conser-vation undertakings of the community, and the servicing and technical support required from the gov-ernment Fisheries Division. Community undertakings ranged from enforcing laws banning destructivefishing methods to protecting critical habitats such as mangrove areas. An unexpectedly large number ofvillages (38) chose to establish small Village Fish Reserves in part of their traditional fishing areas.Although by social necessity many of the community-owned reserves are small, their large number, oftenwith small separating distances, forms a network of fish refuges. Such a network may maximise linking oflarval sources and suitable settlement areas and provide the means by which adjacent fishing areas areeventually replenished with marine species through reproduction and migration. As the Fish Reservesare being managed by communities which have a direct interest in their continuation and success,prospects for continuing compliance and commitment appear high. Results confirm our belief that theresponsible management of marine resources will be achieved only when fishing communities them-selves accept it as their responsibility.

1. Fisheries Division, MAFFM, PO Box 244, Apia, Samoa.

SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #11 – September 1999

ings of the community, and the servicing and tech-nical support required from the Fisheries Division.If the plan was accepted, the fono then appointed aFisheries Management Committee to oversee theworking of the plan.

Results

Within almost two years of full operation, fisheriesextension staff attempted to introduce the exten-sion programme in 65 villages. The extension pro-cess was rejected by nine villages and discontin-ued in a further four villages when extension staffnoted a lack of community commitment (King &Faasili, 1999). So far 44 of the remaining villageshave produced Village Fisheries ManagementPlans. The time taken from initial contact toapproval of the plan by each village communityaveraged 13.4 weeks.

In their plans, communities included undertak-ings to support and enforce Government lawsbanning the use of chemicals and explosives tokill fish. Traditional destructive fishing methods,such as the use of plant-derived fish poisons (avaniukini) and smashing of coral to catch shelteringfish (fa’amo’a and tuiga), were also banned. Mostvillages made their own rules to enforce national

laws banning the capture of fish less than a mini-mum size, and some set their own (larger) mini-mum size limits. Some villages placed controlson the use of nets and on underwater torches forspearfishing at night. Community conservationmeasures included collecting crown-of-thornsstarfish (Acanthaster planci [L]), and banning theremoval of beach sand and dumping of rubbishin lagoon waters. An unexpectedly large numberof villages (38) chose to establish their own smallVillage Fish Reserves, closed to all fishing, in partof their traditional fishing area (see Figure 2, nextpage). The size of reserves ranged from 5,000 to175,000 m2.

Fisheries Division actions to support communityundertakings included the provision of assistancewith the farming of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)in freshwater (in 16% of villages), facilitating thepurchase of medium-sized boats to allow commu-nity members to fish outside the lagoons (39%),and restocking giant clams (Tridacna derasa) inVillage Fish Reserves (82%).

Giant clams have been heavily depleted in Samoaand ongoing attempts to breed from native species(Tridacna squamosa and T. maxima) have been ham-pered by the difficulty of finding enough large

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Initial Contact and Fono meeting(to accept or reject the extension process)

Village Group meetings (to identify problems and propose solutions)

Fisheries Management Advisory Committee meetings(to prepare a plan with undertakings necessary to solve problems)

Community undertakings may include:

Imposing village by-laws

Banning destructive fishing

Size limits on fish

Village Fish Reserves

Environmental Protection

VILLAGE

FISHERIES

MANAGEMENT

PLAN

(agreed to at fono meeting)

Fisheries Divisionundertakings may include:

Outer Reef fishing support

Rebuilding mollusc stocks

Aquaculture

Workshops/training

Technical advice/assistance

Fisheries Management Committee(to oversee the undertakings agreed to in the management plan)

Figure 1: The community-based fisheries extension process in Samoan villages


animals in the wild. Large numbers of a relatedspecies (T. derasa) were imported from AmericanSamoa to fill the vacant ecological niche (for aphotosynthesising filter-feeder). After a quaran-tine period, these were placed in village reservesto be monitored and cared for by communities.These translocations were regarded as low risk,involving hatchery-raised clams from an adjacentisland, which is geographically, if not politically,the same country.

A quantitative assessment of villages withFisheries Management Plans in place for over sixmonths revealed that all but eight were still active-ly pursuing undertakings and enforcing conserva-tion rules included in their plans. Villagesreceived low scores for various reasons, includingholding few village Fisheries ManagementCommittee meetings, not enforcing village rules,failing to care for restocked clams and poorlymaintaining their reserve signs and markers.

Discussion

Community-owned Fish Reserves may be dis-cussed in terms of expected benefits to both vil-lages and government. The community expecta-tion is that, by banning fishing in part of its tradi-tional fishing area, fish catches in adjacent areaswill eventually improve. Although governmentauthorities may share this expectation, there areadditional public benefits relating to management,compliance and sustainability.

Because the Samoan Village Fish Reserves arebeing managed by communities with a directinterest in their success, compliance with bans onfishing is high and there are not the enforcementcosts associated with national reserves. Most vil-lages with reserves have actively enforced theirown rules, and applied often severe penalties,including traditional fines of pigs or cannedgoods, for infringements. Some villages havemade their village rules into fisheries by-laws, sothey can be applied to people from other villages(Faasili, 1997). Community enthusiasm and com-mitment suggests that the prospects for continuityof the reserves are high.

The fisheries management benefits of marine pro-tected areas are usually stated in terms of provid-ing refuges in which invertebrate and fish stockscan grow and reproduce without interference.There is evidence that fish biomass increases,rapidly for some species, in areas where fishing isexcluded (e.g. Roberts, 1995), and some evidencethat this increase will result in higher catches inadjacent fishing areas (Roberts & Polunin, 1991;Alcala & Russ, 1990). Fish larvae, previouslythought of as passive drifters, may be able todetect the presence of, and to swim towards, reefsseveral kilometres away (Wolanski et al., 1997).This suggests that refuge-derived larvae mayactively move to and repopulate nearby reefs.Alternatively, if larvae settle in the same area inwhich they were spawned, juvenile or adult fishmay eventually move out of refuges in response to

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Figure 2. Villages with community-owned Village Fish Reserves in Samoa.

SAMOASAVAII

UPOLUAPIA

14°S

172°W


increased crowding and competition. Taggingstudies in South Africa suggest that excess stocksof fish in reserves move to adjacent exploited areas(Attwood & Bennett, 1994).

Ideally, a reserve should be located in such a posi-tion, and be of sufficient size, to encourage a sig-nificant increase in the numbers of sedentaryspecies (including corals) and fish stocks.However, in the case of village-ownership thereare often constraints on both position and size.

In Samoa, when a village had proposed a reservein an unsuitable position (e.g. an area of bare sandor coral rubble), additional scientific informationwas provided to encourage the community toselect a more appropriate site. Some villages ini-tially elected to have very large reserves, and afew wanted to ban fishing in their entire lagoonarea. In such cases, extension staff were obliged tocurb over-enthusiasm, and ask the community tobalance the perceived fish production advantagesof a large reserve against the sociological disad-vantages of banning fishing in a large proportionof the village’s fishing area. In the latter case,although young men would still be able to go fish-ing beyond the reef, women (who traditionallycollect echinoderms and molluscs in subtidalareas) and the elderly would be particularly disad-vantaged in losing access to shallow-water fishingareas. A large reserve may also force people to fishin the waters of neighbouring villages, therebyincreasing the potential for inter-village conflict.

In terms of total fisheries production, a smallreserve is unlikely to be as effective as a large one.Larger reserves are more likely to provide suitablebreeding areas for small inshore pelagic fish, suchas mullets and scads, but studies in South Africa(Buxton 1996) suggest that even small reserves arebeneficial for non-migratory species. Indeed, itcould be argued that for non-migratory species thecombined larval production from many smallreserves is likely to be greater than that from asmaller number of large ones. However, as theinterconnections between larval sources and set-tlement areas are poorly understood, this remainsa hypothesis, which is not easy to test.

There is currently a proposal to subsume severalexisting small, single-village Village Fish Reserveswithin two larger MPAs which would be man-aged by districts rather than single villages(Kelleher, pers. com). If these larger MPAs containsome no-fishing areas, as is proposed, it is possiblethat two large reserves connected via a brokenchain of smaller Village Fish Reserves may conferthe dual benefits of linking larval sources with set-tlement areas and providing larger breeding areasfor inshore migratory species.

In addition to the availability of people-motivatingskills, the success or otherwise of community-based fisheries management depends on the avail-ability of professional technical support for thecommunities involved. Scientific input is requiredto assist communities with alternative sources ofseafood and to advise on and monitor communityactions.

Whether community-based or not, most fisheriesconservation measures, including the preventionof destructive fishing and the imposition of fishsize limits, will cause a short-term decrease incatches. The same is so for Village Fish Reserves,as they reduce the area available for fishing. Asmost subsistence fishers require seafood for theirfamilies on a daily basis, it is unreasonable toexpect fishing communities to adopt conservationmeasures which will initially reduce present catch-es of seafood even further without offering alter-natives. Accordingly, the Samoan extension pro-gramme included the promotion and develop-ment of alternative sources of seafood to thoseresulting from the present heavy and destructiveexploitation of near-shore reefs and lagoons. Thesealternatives included the introduction of medium-sized, low-cost boats (to divert fishing pressure toareas immediately beyond the reefs), the promo-tion of village-level aquaculture and the restock-ing of depleted species of molluscs in villageareas. It is doubtful that community-based fish-eries management would continue on a sustain-able basis without such ongoing support.

Scientific input is also required to advise on, andmonitor the effects of, village actions. For the com-munity-owned Village Fish Reserves, this includ-ed providing advice on the placement of reserves,monitoring biological changes within the reserves,and collecting data on fish catches in adjacentareas. An additional benefit of fisheries staff work-ing closely with communities is that the collectionof scientific data on subsistence fisheries is greatlyfacilitated by community involvement. A largeamount of information, and even estimates of sus-tainable yield by area, may be gained from suchextensive surveys on subsistence fisheries. Wheredata are collected from different areas with similarecological characteristics it may be possible toapply a surplus yield model (over area rather thantime) to estimate not only the average sustainablecatch, but also indicate villages where resourcesare presently under pressure (King, 1995).

The Samoan model appears applicable to othercountries in which fishing communities haveeither traditional, de facto or legal control overtheir adjacent waters. In countries where this isnot the case, it may be necessary to grant suchrights (Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries, or

5


TURFs) as proposed in the Philippines (Agbayaniand Siar, 1994) to facilitate community manage-ment and the establishment of Village FishReserves. Indeed, results in Samoa have confirmedour belief that, regardless of legislation or enforce-ment, the responsible management of marineresources will be achieved only when fishing com-munities themselves see it as their responsibility.If community actions include the declaration ofeven small Fish Reserves, this may contribute tofisheries and biodiversity conservation.

Finally, it should be noted that the small, commu-nity-owned, Village Fish Reserves in Samoa arenot easy to classify under existing IUCN cate-gories for MPAs. Category IV (Habitat/SpeciesManagement Area) appears to provide the best fit,although the category guidelines refer to nationalrather than community ownership. Given theincreasing trend towards community-based man-agement, the popularity of reserves as a fisheriesconservation tool and the necessarily small size ofvillage MPAs, there may be a need for anotherIUCN category for “networks of small, highly pro-tected, community-owned MPAs”.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge AusAID (the Australian Agencyfor International Development) for its support fora project that resulted in community-owned FishReserves in Samoa. We also acknowledge valuablecontributions from Neil O’Sullivan, Marc Wilson,Siamupini Iosefa, Etuati Ropeti, Apulu Fonoti,Nichole Horsman, Peter Matthew, Lyn Lambeth,and a team of enthusiastic young extension staffmembers, all of whom had considerable input intothe success of the fisheries extension programme.We thank Cheri Rechia and Graeme Kelleher forcomments on the manuscript.

References

AGBAYANI, R. F. & S.V. SIAR. (1994). Problemsencountered in the implementation of a com-munity-based fishery resource managementproject, p 149–160. In: R.S. Pomeroy (ed.)Community management and common prop-erty of coastal fisheries in Asia and the Pacific:concepts, methods and experiences. ICLARMConf. Proc. 45.

Alcala, A.C. & G.R. Russ. (1990). A direct test ofthe effects of protective management onabundance and yield of tropical marineresources. Journal du Conseil Internationalpour l’Exploration de la Mer 46: 40–47.

ATTWOOD, C.A. & B.A. BENNETT. (1994). Variationin dispersal of galjjoen (Coracinus capensis)(Teleostei: Coracinidae) from a marinereserve. Canadian Journal of Fisheries andAquatic Sciences, 51, 1247–1257.

BUXTON, C. (1996). The role of Marine ProtectedAreas in the management of reef fish: a SouthAfrican example. Developing Australia’sRepresentative System of Marine ProtectedAreas, Ocean Rescue 2000 Workshop Series.114–124.

FA’ASILI, U. (1997). The use of village by-laws inmarine conservation and fisheries manage-ment. Pacific Science AssociationIntercongress, July 1997, Fiji.

HORSMAN, N. & A. MULIPOLA. (1995). Catch dataand collection from market surveys inWestern Samoa. South Pacific Commissionand Forum Fisheries Agency Workshop onthe management of South Pacific InshoreFisheries. Integrated Coastal FisheriesManagement Project Technical Document.South Pacific Commission, Noumea.

JOHANNES, R.E. (1982). Traditional conservationmethods and protected marine areas inOceania. Ambio 11(5): 258–261.

King, M. (1995). Fisheries biology, assessment, andmanagement. Fishing News Books/BlackwellScientific Books. Oxford, England.

KING, M. & U. FA’ASILI. (1999).Community-basedmanagement of subsistence fisheries inSamoa. Fisheries Ecology & Management6,133–144.

ROBERTS, C.M. (1995). Rapid build-up of fishbiomass in a Caribbean marine reserve.Conservation Biology. 91(4) 815–826.

ROBERTS, C.M. & N.V.C. POLUNIN. (1991). Aremarine reserves effective in management ofreef fisheries? Reviews in Fish Biology andFisheries, 1, 65–91.

WOLANSKI, E., P. DOHERTY & J. CARLETON. (1997).Directional swimming of fish larvae deter-mines connectivity of fish populations on theGreat Barrier Reef. Naturwissenschaften 84,262–268.

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Background

Thirty years ago, most of the waters surroundingthe islands of Samoa were untouched, and thebeauty of the underwater world was seen as amajor attraction. Corals of different forms provid-ed a naturally arranged beauty of different struc-tures. Reef fish of many types added colour to thisbeauty. Reefs and lagoons were rich in foodresources and able to sustain the demand ofcoastal dwellers.

As years passed, and as the population expanded,the demand for fishery resources similarlyincreased. People were attracted to use the mosteffective but often destructive ways of catchingfish. These include breaking corals, poisoning fish,using explosives and many others. It is nowrealised that many of these methods are verydestructive to the marine environment. TheDivision of Fisheries through its extension pro-gramme has introduced a community-basedapproach in order to assist village communities tomanage and conserve their inshore fisheryresources. Through this approach, by-laws becomean important tool for the management of subsis-tence fisheries.

Inception of village fisheries by-laws

In the mid-1980s, it was realised that the inshorefisheries of almost all villages along the coast ofSamoa were experiencing serious declines incatches. The identified causes include over-exploitation, the use of destructive fishing meth-ods, and environmental disturbance. The situa-tion has caused concern not only to theGovernment, but also to a large number of thevillage communities. As a result, village commu-nities through their village fono (council) began touse local media to advertise village rules to pre-vent further decline of their inshore fisheryresources. Advertisements reiterated the ban onthe use of explosives, chemicals and otherdestructive fishing techniques and expressly pro-hibited nearby villages fishing in their respectivelagoon areas. They also indicated penalties to bepaid to the fono for any breach of their villagerules by their own residents. For breach by out-side villages, advertisements included threats of

legal action. While the enforcement of villagerules within individual communities was rela-tively easy, problems were experienced withenforcement on outside communities.

The Fisheries Division recognised that suchactions by the fono provided an excellent avenue tointroduce effective management regimes for theinshore fisheries. However, some village rules tomanage and conserve fishery resources contradict-ed existing Government laws. This has resulted inseveral fono not being able to pursue court actionagainst breaches by neighboring villages. For thisreason, the Fisheries Division felt that the villagefono should be given assistance; village rules thatfacilitated the conservation and management oftheir subsistence fisheries should be legalised.Therefore, when the Fisheries Act was formulatedin 1988, the Fisheries Division made sure that therules set by the village fono were given legal recog-nition. To this end, the Fisheries Act was specifi-cally designed to include provisions dealing withprocedures wherby a village fono could declare itsown rules as by-laws. These in essence are villagerules that have legal recognition; hence the incep-tion of village fisheries by-laws.

What are village by-laws?

Village Fisheries By-laws are village rules thathave been prepared in accordance with relevantprovisions of national Fisheries Legislation andare accorded legal recognition in the courts of law.

By-laws can cover any measure that assists themanagement and conservation of the fisheryresources. These may include the restriction of thesizes of fish and shellfish (providing they are notsmaller than those set out in the FisheriesRegulations 1996), bans on certain types of fishinggear and methods, allocation of fish quotas,restriction of mesh sizes for nets and fish traps(again providing they are not smaller than thoseset out in the Regulations) and closure of fishingseasons or areas to allow fish to reproduce.Importantly, they must apply to all citizens equal-ly (not just people from outside the sponsoring vil-lage). Table 1 lists some of the common fisheriesregulations now being taken over by communitiesas their own by-laws.

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The use of village by-laws in marine conservation and fisheries management

by Ueta Fa’asili & Iuliaa Kelekolo 1

1. This paper was presented at the first SPC Head Of Fisheries Meeting, Noumea, New Caledonia, 9–13 August 1999.2. Fisheries Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries and Meteorology, Apia, Western Samoa


The by-law process

Step 1: By-law formulation

In all Samoan village communities, the highest vil-lage authority is referred to as a fono (council ofchiefs). It is the authority that determines villagerules, sets village policies and imposes traditionalpunishments on village residents when they donot abide with village rules and polices. So if a vil-lage fono decides to promulgate village by-laws,the chiefs will consult among themselves first onthe rules they would like to introduce, bearing inmind that the rules must be related to the conser-vation and management of the fishery resources.

Step 2: Consultation process

Once the chiefs have agreed upon the rules, theythen send their representatives to the FisheriesDivision and consult as to the appropriateness oftheir proposed rules. This process is essentialbecause the village fono may decide on rules thatcontradict some existing Government legislation.Sometimes the fono may wish to introduce rulesthat apply to outside villages but exempt their ownresidents. So this process allows the fono to have abetter understanding of the limitations of by-lawsand why they should be applied equally to allSamoan citizens. Through this process, the FisheriesDivision may suggest improvements, alterations,and in extreme cases, recommend complete dele-tion of the proposed by-law. Also through this pro-cess, the Fisheries Division undertakes redrafting ofthe by-laws to reflect the wish of the fono.

Step 3: Final checking and clearance by the Office ofthe Attorney General

When the changes made in the consultation pro-cess have been agreed upon, they are then submit-ted to the Office of the Attorney General for finalchecking and clearance. In this step, the by-lawsare also written into their legal and proper forms.

Step 4: Signing

When all by-laws have been checked andfinalised, they are returned to the FisheriesDivision for the signature of the Director of theMinistry of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries andMeteorology.

Step 5: Gazetting, publishing and distribution process

After the by-laws are signed, they are then passedto the Legislative Assembly to be gazetted. At thesame time they are published by the FisheriesDivision in the local newspaper and copies are dis-tributed to pulenu (nominated Government repre-sentatives) of neighbouring villages. The distribu-tion of the by-laws to neighbouring villages is nec-essary because they are the people most likely tobreach the by-laws if they are not duly informed.The by-laws will then come into force on a fixeddate stipulated in the by-laws. The by-laws do notcome into effect until 14 clear days after the date ofpublication in the Government Gazette. Until thistime the village communities are not able to enforcethem. The by-laws may be altered or revoked asrequired from time to time by the village fono.

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Action/Regulation Percentage

Banning the use of chemicals and dynamite to kill fish. 100%Banning the use of traditional plant-derived fish poisons. 100%Establishing small protected areas in which fishing is banned. 86% Banning other traditional destructive fishing methods (e.g. smashing coral). 80%Organising collections of crown-of-thorns starfish. 80%Enforcing (national) mesh size limits on nets. 75%Banning the dumping of rubbish in lagoon waters. 71%Banning the commercial collection of sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea). 41%Banning the capture of fish less than a minimum size. 41%Banning removal of mangroves (in villages with mangroves). 27%Restricting the use of underwater torches for spear fishing at night. 21%Banning the removal of beach sand. 14%Placing controls or limits on the number of fish fences or traps. <10%Prohibiting the collection of live corals for the overseas aquarium trade. <10%Banning the coral-damaging collection of edible anemones (Actinaria). <10%

Table 1: Community Actions and Regulations in villages in Samoa (Figures in the right-handcolumn indicate the percentage of all villages using the particular action or Fisheriesregulation as their own by-laws).


Step 6: Monitoring and enforcement

The last and most important process is the moni-toring and enforcement of the by-laws by villagecommunities. The communities normally put sign-boards along roadsides and beaches to inform thepublic of the areas to which their respective by-laws apply. Communities variously build watchhouses; and use patrol canoes and regular watch-men to monitor illegal activities in their coastalzones and marine protected areas.

Once the by-laws come into effect, breaches byindividuals from the village sponsoring the by-laws can be dealt with by the village fono usingtraditional fines such as provision of pigs, taro andothers. Breaches by outside village communitiesare handled through the court of law. Anyonefound breaching a by-law is liable to a fine notexceeding $ 100 (Samoan Tala) and not more than$ 20 for each day if the breach continues. The vil-lage fono is the enforcement body and any breachof the by-laws should be reported to the police. Ifthe offence involves an existing Government lawor Fisheries legislation, applicable fines underthose laws will apply.

Advantages of village by-laws over villagerules and government laws

While most of the rules set by the fono to governthe management and conservation of their fisheryresources receive full support from Fisheries, theserules are only applicable to members of that com-munity. In cases where people from outside a vil-lage come into local waters, the community maybe powerless to insist that visitors obey local rules.Village rules are not legally recognised and there-fore cannot be used to take court action. An exam-ple of this would be the banning of outside vil-lagers from fishing another village’s MarineProtected Area. Under the Lands, Survey andEnvironment Act 1989, all land lying below theline of high water mark shall be public land. Thisgives the authority to any person outside the vil-lage that owns the rules to fish in the area desig-nated as Marine Protected Area. As forGovernment, much legislation has been passed toprohibit harmful fishing practices, and FisheriesRegulations have been put in place to restrict theharvest of small fish. Such Government legislationhas not proven effective in ensuring the propermanagement and conservation of Samoa’s fisheryresources. The basic reason is that Samoa, in com-mon with many other island countries, does nothave adequate resources (either funds or man-power) to monitor and enforce legislation.

On the other hand, village Fisheries by-laws arevillage rules that can be monitored and enforced

by the village fono. Quite often village fonos takeexisting Fisheries regulations to form major partsof their by-laws. Customary fines are imposed onresidents of villages that own the by-laws. For out-siders, the village fono can take legal action againstany breach through the court of law. One veryimportant aspect that has been noticed is, that thecommunities, guided by the village fono, are moreactive and committed when the rules belong tothem. By-laws form an important part of the vil-lage community management plan. The mainadvantage of the by-laws over the regular lawsconcerning fisheries is that by-laws are moni-tored more effectively than those of regular fish-eries laws. Given the limitation of resources andpersonnel, many laws set by Government are hardto police and so can not be effectively monitored.By-laws on the other hand are created by peoplewith real interest in the management and conser-vation of fishery resources in question. In cases ofby-laws set by the fono, the fono itself is inclined toensure that the by-laws are properly monitored.Within the three-and-a-half-year period sinceFisheries first introduced the community-basedprogramme to manage the inshore fisheryresources of Samoa, 52 villages have establishedtheir own by-laws.

Problems

While the by-laws are seen to work very effective-ly, there have been problems identified withinboth the village communities and Governmentagencies themselves.

In some village communities, village fonos are sub-ject to disruption due to internal differencesamongst the chiefs themselves. When this hap-pens, the fono can no longer function properly andenforcement is not effective. Two such cases havebeen reported to the Fisheries Division since theinception of the village by-laws.

From the Government side, the process involvingother Government agencies is not prompt enoughto meet the expectation of village communities.When there is a delay in the process, the villagefono will often go ahead and enforce its by-lawsbefore the legal procedure is completed. While theby-laws can be enforced amongst the residents ofthe village that owns them, enforcement againstthe nearby villages is difficult and quite ofteninvolves the use of physical force. So there is apotential for inter-village battles as a result ofdelays in the process.

One problem Fisheries Division has realised is thecost involved in advertisement of the by-laws. IfFisheries is targeting 17 village communities for itsannual work program, costs exceed $ 5,100

9


(Samoan Tala). This is quite a large amount forone-line item in a Divisional budget. However, itis not expensive relative to the expected long-termbeneficial impact on the marine environment.

Conclusion

The success of village by-laws is related to com-munity ownership. Regardless of legislation orenforcement, the responsible management ofmarine resources will only be achieved when fish-ing communities themselves see it as their respon-sibility. Communities of villages which set theirown by-laws are more likely to respect and abideby these rules than those set by a governmentauthority. Village by-laws, therefore, represent afisheries management tool, which has great poten-tial for solving many problems involving the con-servation of the inshore marine environment. Thistool has not been taken advantage of by authori-ties in most Pacific Islands. Village by-laws havebecome a key part of village Fisheries Manage-

ment Plans created under the community basedFisheries Extension program operated in Samoa(King & Fa’asili, 1997).

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistanceand comments from Mike King of the AusAIDSamoa Fisheries Project and Barney Smith of theACIAR.

References

KING, M. & U. FA’ASILI (1997) Community basedManagement of Fisheries and MarineEnvironment. Fisheries management andEcology, 6, 133–144.

FINGLETON, J., S. TOAILOA & H.WINSTERSTEIN.(1993). Village Participation in Fisheries Law-Making and Implementation. FAO ReportTCP/SAM/2252. 21 p.

10

GAZETTING, PUBLISHINGAND DISTRIBUTION

TO NEIGHBOURING VILLAGESBY FISHERIES DIVISION

PUBLISHINGAND DISTRIBUTIONSTEP 5

MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT

BY VILLAGE COMMUNITIES

MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENTSTEP 6

BY-LAW FORMULATION BY THE FONO

(VILLAGE COUNCIL)FORMULATIONSTEP 1

CONSULTATION BETWEEN THE FONO

AND FISHERIES DIVISIONCONSULTATIONSTEP 2

FINAL CHECKING AND CLEARANCE BY

THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

FINAL CHECKING AND CLEARANCESTEP 3

SIGNING BY THE DIRECTOR OF MAFFM SIGNINGSTEP 4

Annex 1: By-law formulation process


Geography

Tokelau comprises the three low-lying atolls ofFakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu, which stretch in anorthwesterly direction from 9°23'S and 171°14'W,for a distance of 170 km to 8°30'S and 172°30'W.The southernmost atoll, Fakaofo, is 65 km fromNukunono, with a further 105 km to Atafu, thenorthernmost atoll.

Women’s fishing

Several people on Fakaofo have commented thatwomen’s fishing is not as common today as it oncewas. A household questionnaire conducted in1998, revealed that women fished on average twohours per week (Passfield, 1998). Gleaning foroctopus (feke) is one of the few types of fishingactivities practised by women. Others includeclam and rod fishing in the lagoon area. Octopusfishing is a favoured and skilled activity undertak-en particularly by women of Fakaofo, althoughmen and children also do it.

Octopus fishing

There are several traditional methods of catchingfeke in Tokelau. One, formerly commonly prac-tised by men, was described to me by an elderlyman. This method uses an octopus lure (puletak-ifeke) made from cowry shells of genera Cypareaand Ovulum. The shells are arranged in the shapeof a rat. (This stems from the famous Polynesianlegend about the rat and the octopus.) The lure istowed from a canoe along the reef in the lagoon.Small pebbles are placed in the shell which rattlesto attract the attention of the feke.

The method more commonly used today wasdescribed to me by Sofima Niusila, an elderlywoman who used to actively hunt feke. I also par-ticipated in a feke fishing excursion with EleniPereira, Sofima’s daughter.

This method is conducted mainly during the day,at low tide on the reef. A gagie (Pemphis acidula)stick or a metal rod about one metre long ispushed into a likely kaoa (coral hole occupied byoctopus).

The stick normally works by drawing out the ani-mal, as its tentacles, one by one, wrap around thestick. Once the head appears, the gatherer worksquickly, seizing it around the head with her hand.Within seconds, the feke is killed by biting betweenthe eyes or turning its head inside out (see Pictureon next page).

If the stick or metal rod is unsuccessful in drawingthe feke from its hole, the body wall of the seacucumber, locally called loli (Holothuria atra), isrubbed around the mouth of the kaoa. The bitter-ness of the loli draws the animal out.

The hand is never used to move pebbles from thehole, for fear of being bitten by a moray eel. Thecollected feke are strung on a metal wire or kalava(the outer skin of the top surface of the leaf stalk ofa coconut frond), which is poked between the twoholes located on either side of the head.

Sofima stated that the greater catches of feke aretaken on fakaiva ote mahina—the ninth phase of themoon (nine days after new moon)—though theyare caught throughout the year.

11

Octopus fishing by women of Fakaofo Atoll,Tokelau Islands

by Anna Tiraa-Passfield 1

Feke tu ake auta ia pusi ma mango o ka kati ki tepito.

Squid, stand up because the eel and the sharkwill bite at your head

A song formerly sung by Tokelauan women to entice the feke from the hole (Macgregor, 1937).

Tuolo mai feke te pilipili kavei valu e tuolo,Mai tuolo mai.Ko nohonoho i lo kaoaFakalongona ake pule kua, hoa, hoa, hoa.

Crawl out, little squid, with eight legs,Crawl out, crawl out.You stay in your holeWhen you hear the sound, hoa, hoa, hoa, of thecrab, crawling.

A song formerly sung by Tokelauan men to entice the feke from the hole (Macgregor, 1937).

1. Managing Director, Fisheries and Environmental Resource Consultants Ltd. Rarotonga, Cook Islands


Identifying feke holes

The feke blocks the entrance to its kaoa by using itstentacles to gather a collection of coral pebbles.An experienced hunter can identify potential fekeholes by the arrangement and recently disturbedappearance of the pebbles blocking the entrance.The arrangement of the pebbles is also seen as anindicator of the direction the feke has taken if it hasvacated a hole. For example, if the pebbles lie tothe left of the hole, the feke moved in the rightdirection and vice versa. When a feke is removedfrom its hole, the hole is often reoccupied byanother. Experienced hunters will memorise thelocation of the hole for subsequent visits to inspectfor reoccupation by another feke.

If the water is disturbed by turbulence, coconutmeat is chewed and spat out onto the water sur-face. The coconut oil smooths the water surface,enabling the woman to view clearly beneath theshallow waters for potential kaoa.

Uses

Feke are caught for subsistence purposes and asbait for catching certain fin fish. Preparation forconsumption is done by baking in the umu (tradi-tional oven), boiling by mixing with other ingredi-ents for additional flavour (e.g. curry, coconutcream, onions, herbs) or boiling and then sun-dry-ing. Before cooking, the meat is tenderised bybeating with the gagie wood or a stone.

Another method for tenderising the meat is wrap-ping it in pawpaw (papaya) leaves, and adding it toboiling water.

Acknowledgments

I am sincerely grateful to Sofima Niusila for hertime and patience, in particular, sitting throughthe translating part of the interviews. The maleinformant is Sofima’s husband, whose name I didnot record—my apologies. Thank you EleniPereira for allowing me to accompanying you tocatch feke. To my old school mate, Petali (Tas) Saleit was good seeing you again after all these years.Suia and Mose Pelasio, thank you for hosting meand my family. I especially would like to thankPeta Kearney, one of Sofima’s daughters, for allher help in arranging interviews and field excur-sions and translating questions and answers intoEnglish and Tokelauan. Fakafetai!

References

ANON. (1986). Tokelau Dictionary. Office ofTokelau Affairs, Apia, Samoa.

MACGREGOR, G. (1937). Ethnology of TokelauIslands. Bulletin 146, Bernice P. BishopMuseum, Honolulu.

PASSFIELD, K.D. (1998). A report of a survey of themarine resources of Fakaofo atoll, Tokelau.SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia.

12

The feke is killed by biting between the eyes


Introduction

Over the last two decades the island states ofMelanesia have experienced a rapid increase incoastal development activities. These include thelarge commercial tuna pole-and-line fisheries, eco-tourism, aquaculture, coastal logging and, inrecent years, the live reef fish trade. These activi-ties make significant contributions to local andcentral economies but concerns have been raisedabout their impact on local ecosystems, and theirlong-term environmental sustainability(Chadwick, 1999; Mathews et al., 1998; Veitayaki,1997). In response to these concerns increasingpressure has been put on government agencies todevelop coastal management plans and on devel-opers to utilise these plans in the design of sus-tainable management practices (Olsen et al., 1997).Unfortunately the implementation and success ofsuch policies has been limited. In part this stemsfrom the difficulties and cost of acquiring the highquality scientific data that most managementplans and monitoring programmes rely on. AsJohannes et al. (1993:1) point out for coastal fish-eries, ‘The cost and complexities of effectivelymonitoring and managing small, multi-species,multi-method reef and lagoon fisheries along con-ventional lines have generally proven prohibitive’.Nevertheless, in many cases extensive ecologicalinformation on the relevant coastal environmentsalready exists within the knowledge base of thelocal communities. Further, these same communi-ties are often operating management and monitor-ing programmes of sorts, within the context ofcustomary marine tenure (CMT) systems (Foale,1998a; Foster & Poggie, 1993; Hviding, 1991;Johannes, 1981).

This cultural information, often referred to as tradi-tional ecological knowledge (TEK), is widelyrecognised as potentially useful to fisheriesresearchers and managers, especially when used inconjunction with conventional scientific data,‘Local knowledge combined with specialisedknowledge of the outside researcher is consideredby advocates of the PAR [participatory action-research] to be more potent than either knowledge

alone in understanding reality’ (Christie & White,1997:172). However, indigenous cultural informa-tion is useful in coastal management for more thanits role in providing the baseline ecological datarequired for planning purposes. Frequently, devel-opment projects are set up within the territories ofindigenous communities and those communitiesare directly and indirectly involved on a number ofdifferent levels (Alcala, 1998; Ruddle et al., 1992). Inthese cases the successful operation of develop-ment projects depends on a proper understandingof local political and subsistence economies, ideol-ogy and social structures. In fact, the failure ofdevelopment projects in the Pacific is probablymore commonly the result of a failure to under-stand local cultural systems than of inadequaciesin ecological, technological or market research.

Unfortunately, indigenous knowledge is usuallyeither ignored or used inadequately by fisheriesresearchers. There are two fundamental problems.The first is that TEK and other types of indigenousknowledge exist as inseparable parts of complexcultural systems, and it requires anthropologicalmethods to describe and interpret this informationin a meaningful manner. These skills, however,are usually difficult, time consuming and wellbeyond the professional training of most fisheriesscientists, resource planners and project managersworking in island Melanesia (Christie & White,1997; Clark & Murdoch, 1997). The second closelyrelated problem, is that frequently, when scientistshave attempted to incorporate indigenous knowl-edge into their baseline research, the result hasbeen a naive reporting of interview data or obser-vations taken out of their cultural and historicalcontext. The results are often misleading and mis-representative. ‘The romantic and uncriticalespousal of traditional environmental knowledgeand management is an extreme almost as unfortu-nate as that of dismissing it’ (Ruddle et al.,1992:263). A particularly good example of this isthe common practice of interpreting CMT systemsas conservation strategies. Although CMT systemscan have conservation outcomes, it has recentlybeen demonstrated that in most cases this is a sideeffect of systems designed primarily for ‘gain, not

13

Indigenous ecological knowledge and its role in fisheries research design: A case study from Roviana Lagoon, Western Province, Solomon Islands

by Richard Hamilton 1 and Richard Walter 2

1. Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, New Zealand2. Department of Anthropology, University of Otago, New Zealand


restrain’ (Ruttan, 1998; Aswani, 1998; Polunin,1984). An integrated approach to coastal resourceplanning is required, in which the specific skills ofanthropologists and fisheries scientists are proper-ly utilised. In particular, cultural informationneeds to be gathered systematically and treatedwith the same critical scrutiny that is applied byscientists to any other data set.

In this article we take three premises as our start-ing point:

1. TEK contains complex ecological informationobtained through generations of observationand experience;

2. TEK is culturally structured and if it is to betaken out of its original context and used in anempirical western scientific framework, itsappropriateness to this framework should beestablished through systematic testing; and

3. One of the most powerful ways in which TEKcan be used in fisheries or other types of eco-logical research is in the establishment ofresearch designs.

We present below a case study in the developmentof a model for testing TEK, and in establishing theparameters within which it can be used in a scien-tific research design. The work is situated inRoviana Lagoon, on the island of New Georgia,Western Province, Solomon Islands. Rovianamarine ecologies and local communities have

already felt the impact of development activity inthe form of forestry, and of the Solomon Taiyotuna and baitfish industry (Nichols & Rawlinson,1990). Several other small-scale coastal ventureshave been set up over the last few years, and moreare planned for the near future. In this study, weexamine local knowledge of aggregatingbehaviours of the Carangidae fishes in a confinedpart of the lagoon ecosystem. Carangids, or treval-ly, are a diverse family of reef and lagoon fishwhich are important in the local subsistence andartisanal fishery. In this study, detailed ethno-graphic data on Carangidae behavior were collect-ed from local informants using traditional anthro-pological techniques of interview and participantobservation. This information served as a basis fordesigning hypotheses on the tidal movements andaggregating behaviours of Carangidae withinRoviana Lagoon, which were then tested using sci-entific field observations. The purpose was not totest the accuracy of local ecological knowledge,but to show how it can assist in the developmentof fisheries research designs.

Environmental background

The Solomon Islands lie between 7° and 10°S andextend 1400 km eastward from New Guinea(Figure 1). The islands display remarkable diver-sity in both terrestrial and marine environments.The dominant island forms are volcanic, butexamples of atolls and raised reef islands arealso present. Extensive lagoon systems occur inWestern Province.

14

.....

.... ...

.....

SolomonIs

0 1000km

40°

150° 170° 150°

40°

Bismarcks

NewHebrides

New Caledonia

New BritainPapua-New Guinea

A u s t r a l i a

Fiji

Tonga

Samoa

Cook Is

New

Zealand

Society Is

Austral Is

Figure 1. The Solomon Islands in the Pacific (Survey and Mapping Division, Honiara)


The New Georgia Group, in Western Province, ismade up of nine main islands that extend forapproximately 270 km. The largest island is NewGeorgia which is fringed by Roviana Lagoon tothe south-west and Marovo Lagoon to the north-east (Figure 2).

Roviana Lagoon is a body of shallow waterapproximately 50 km long enclosed between theNew Georgia mainland and a series of upliftedcoral reef islands lying 2 to 3 km offshore. Thelagoon supports a wide range of micro-environ-ments including: estuaries, mangrove forest, rivermouths, mudflats, coral atolls, barrier reefs,marine lakes and sea-grass beds (Aswani,1997:245). Each of these, as well as the adjacentoffshore zones, provides unique opportunities forthe fishing communities of Roviana Lagoon. Anumber of major passages connect the open sea tothe lagoon. These are remnants of earlier river sys-tems that flowed through the now-flooded coastalplains. These passages contain a relatively highbiodiversity and are consequently of especial sig-nificance in local fishing systems. Their rich biodi-versity occurs partly because they connect severaldifferent ecological zones and many species utilisethem to move between feeding areas.

Roviana Lagoon is occupied by a number ofclosely related tribal groups occupying a dozenor so large villages scattered along the mainlandand barrier islands as well as a number of small-er residential clusters. Roviana is the mosthomogeneous linguistic region of New Georgia,where the Austronesian language of Roviana is

spoken in all the villages. Elsewhere in NewGeorgia the 30,000 inhabitants speak at leastseven major languages, including several non-Austronesian languages. The Roviana subsis-tence economy is based on shifting horticulturewith an emphasis on the recently introducedsweet potato and cassava, as well as the tradi-tional crops: taro, yam, banana and sago. Themain protein intake is from marine sources(Aswani 1997:189) but pig and chicken hus-bandry and small-scale hunting also takes place.Today, these subsistence activities are often sub-sidised by waged labour and copra production.

Carangids were selected for this case study forseveral reasons. First, the ecology of carangids intropical settings is poorly studied (Sudekum et al.,1991). Second, the carangids are important in theRoviana subsistence fishery and thus the localbody of knowledge was expected to be detailedand accessible. Third, there are potentially impor-tant trophic interactions between the Taiyo bait-fishery and carangids which were investigated aspart of the field research, but are not reported here(see Hamilton, 1999).

The Carangidae is a family of strong swimming,open water carnivorous fishes known variously astrevally, kingfish, queenfish, jack, scad, mackerel,and rainbow runners (Gunn, 1990; Randall, 1990).Their habitats range from brackish water estuariesto deep offshore reefs, with a few species beingpelagic in the open ocean (Holland et al., 1996). Atleast 17 species of carangid are present in RovianaLagoon, and all are important food fishes. In this

15

Figure 2. The New Georgia Group (Survey and Mapping Division, Honiara)

NEW GEORGIA GROUPVELLA

LAVELLA

NEWGEORGIARANOGA

RENDOVA

KOLOBANGARA

VANGUNU

GATOKAE

BULO

PARARA

BAGHA


study we concentrate on three species, Bluefintrevally (Caranx melampygus), Golden trevally(Gnathanodon speciosus) and Bigeye trevally (Caranxsexfasciatus). with additional observations on othermembers of the genera Caranx and Carangoides.

Study area

The research was carried out in Honiavasa pas-sage from a base in Nusabanga village, in thewestern part of Roviana Lagoon (Fig 3).Nusabanga village is a sister village to Sasavelevillage, located on the western bank of HoniavasaPassage. The two villages share very close ties,often participating in common fishing trips andother economic activities.

Honiavasa Passage is one of the main deep waterpassages connecting the inner lagoon to the outersea. It is approximately 600 m across at the seaentrance and narrows to around 150 m at its nar-rowest point. The coral walls of the passage arenearly vertical, and descend to a maximum depthof 42 m. The passage environment is characterisedby mainly dead corals to a depth of 15 m, althoughthe submarine coral walls support large anddiverse migrant vertebrate communities.

The field work reported here is a part of a largerproject on fish ecology and indigenous subsistencepractices carried out in 1996–1997. The full resultsof the complete project will be reported elsewhere.The field component of this study had two parts.The first involved gathering indigenous informa-tion on the behavioural ecology of Carangidae inRoviana Lagoon. This information forms the basison which the traditional Roviana Carangidae fish-ery is structured. Using this data, a set of hypothe-ses linking environmental variables withCarangidae behaviour was established. The sec-ond part of the research involved testing thesehypotheses using standard field survey tech-niques.

Ethnographic methods and results

The field component of the research discussedhere was carried out from early- August until late-October, 1997. During this period one of theauthors (RH) resided at Nusabanga village, wherehe participated in the daily life of the village andworked regularly with the local fishers, to gain aswide an understanding as possible of the localfishing system. This followed the viewpoint thatempirical facts about biology or ecology can not be

16

Figure 3. The western part of Roviana Lagoon, showing Honiavasa Passage, Munda township and Nusabanga (Mbanga) and Sasavele village (Survey and Mapping Division, Honiara)


extracted from TEK without an understanding ofthe structure and ideology of the wider culturaland subsistence systems of which it forms a part.During the fieldwork period records were taken of51 fishing trips. Information was recorded onCatch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) and on the techno-logical, meteorological and environmental detailsof each major fishing trip. Basic information onindigenous taxonomy and fish names wereacquired through formal interviews conducted inSolomon Island Pidgin, the local lingua franca.Local fish names were collected and then crosschecked against standard fish guides (Allen &Swainston, 1992; Randall et al., 1990). Local infor-mants were also asked to identify species seen onunderwater video footage taken in HoniavasaPassage. In addition, formal interviews were con-ducted with 11 fishers from Nusabanga and threefrom Sasavele. These persons were selectedaccording to their recognised status as fishingexperts within their respective villages. All inter-views were conducted in both Roviana andSolomon Island Pidgin, and were recorded onvideotape. Each fisher was asked to identify hismain fishing locations, fishing methods used andthe target species. Particular attention was paid tothe spatial, temporal and technological structureof Carangidae fishing practices.

On the basis of the field participation results andinterview data we can define the basic parametersof indigenous fish tax-onomy and theRoviana fishing calen-dar. For the most part,we observe only minordeviation from themore detailed studyrecently reported inAswani (1997). We canalso describe aspectsof Roviana folk ecolo-gy of Carangidae, withemphasis on tide relat-ed movements andlunar aggregations inHoniavasa Passage.These results are sum-marised below andreported in moredetail in Hamilton(1999).

Taxonomy

The structure ofRoviana fish taxono-my is almost identicalto that of Marovo,well described by

Hviding (1996), and also to that Nggela(Foale,1998b). All these systems differ consider-ably from Linnaean taxonomy, in that the level ofclassification reflects the value of the fish withinthe subsistence system, as well as basic morpholo-gy. For example, the small Damselfishes(Pomacentridae) are not eaten in Roviana and areall referred to using the generic term kipa .Although Roviana people are well aware of thevariation within the Pomacentridae family, nofurther attempt is made at finer taxonomic dis-crimination. One the other hand, some membersof the family Scaridae are very important in thesubsistence economy, and this is reflected in theirtaxonomic treatment where different names areassigned to different size classes (Aswani,1997:425). The actual names assigned to a fishtaxa often reflect behavioural characteristicsshown by that fish.

At least 17 species of Carangidae are recognised astaxonomically separate within the Roviana sys-tem. These names are listed in Table 1 below. Marais a generic name covering a range of Carangidaespecies, each of which is additionally named usinga more specific suffix. For example, the Orangespotted trevally (Carangoides bajad) is named maraliu. Liu (derived from Solomon Island Pidgin)translates as ‘loiter’, thus C. bajad is named ‘thetrevally that loiters’, owing to its commonness inRoviana Lagoon.

17

Indigenous name Common name Scientific name

Mara Generic: Trevally CarangidaeBalubalu Rainbow runner Elagatis bipinnulataGanusu Smooth tailed trevally Selaroides leptolepisLasilasi Double-spotted queenfish

(and perhaps otherqueenfish species)

Scomberoides lysan

Laqu belama Tille trevally Caranx tilleMara batu batu Griant trevally Caranx ignobilisMara batu papaka undeterminedMaaru hipu gele Gold-spotted trevally Carangoides fulvoguttatusMara hobu Blue trevally Carangoides ferdauMara labe Pennantfish Alectes ciliarisMara lamana Bluefin trevally Caranx melampygusMara liu Orange-spotted trevally Carangoides bajadMara madali Bump-nosed trevally Carangoides hedlandensiisMara popana Golden trevally Gnathanodon speciousMara roba Snub-nosed dart Trachinotus blochiiMoturu Bigeye trevally Caranx sexfasciatusMoturu kove Black trevally Caranx lugubrisPaki pakete Black-spotted dart Trachinotus bailloni

Table 1. Local Carangidae taxonomy


The Roviana lunar cycle

The lunar cycle plays a major role in the Rovianafishing system since there is a well-understoodcorrelation between lunar phase and Carangidae(and other species) behaviours which can beexploited by local fishers. Many of the days of thelunar month are given specific names. A versionof the Roviana lunar calendar collected inNusabanga is included as Table 2. This example isbased on a 30-day lunar month. A more detailedversion has been collected by Aswani (1997:238)and Hviding (1996) provides a similar calendarfrom Marovo Lagoon.

Tidal movements of Carangidae

According to local informants, Carangidae move-ments within Roviana Lagoon correspond to tidalflows. The following species of Carangidae aresaid to move into the inner lagoon regionsthrough Honiavasa Passage on the rising tide, andthen move back into the passage and outer reefareas on the falling tide: Carangoides ferdau,Carangoides fulvoguttatus, Carangoides bajad, Caranxtille, Caranx lugubris, Caranx sexfasciatus, Caranxmelampygus and Gnathanodon speciosus. Informantsfurther state that these predictable movements aredue to a predator-prey interaction. The carangidsare following their prey species, the very smallbaitfish named hinambu (members of the familiesEngraulidae, Clupeidae, Apogonidae, andAtherinidae) and the large baitfish, kutukutu(Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus).

The baitfish are said to move up into the innerlagoon to spawn among the mangrove roots onthe high tide, and retreat back to sea on the fallingtide, when the shallow inner lagoon areas become

exposed. Thus the tides are considered to be oneof the most important factors regulating the likeli-hood of a successful catch:

Before I go fishing I must watch themovement of the sea, there are two goodtimes for fishing, pado gore when the tidestarts to fall, and pado sage when the tidestarts to rise, close to flood or ebb tide thefish do not eat (pers. comm., HarryKama, Nusabanga village, August 1997.Translated from Solomon Island Pidginby the authors).

These two tidal terms, pado gore and pado sage,refer to the first 3–4 hours after flood and ebb tide,respectively. Nine of the fourteen fishers inter-viewed stated that the best times to catchcarangids are during pado gore and pado sage. The state of the tides not only influences the tim-ing of a fishing event, but also its precise locationwithin the lagoon:

At high tide the baitfish move up into themangrove areas, and they are followedby the trevally. So at high tide I fish fortrevally in the inner lagoon, near the seagrass in the deep areas close to the man-groves. At low tide the baitfish move outof the mangrove and go to the passage,so I go and fish for trevally there (pers.comm. Diliva Dava, Nusabanga village,August 1997. Translated from Roviana byGaudry Kama).

Eight of the fourteen fishers interviewed alsomade the observation that on the rising tidecarangids often swim near the surface in the pas-sage, but on the falling tide they dive deeper into

18

Roviana term Lunar phase Translation

Taloa Sidara New moon Taloa : No Sidara : MoonTada Keke Day 1 Tada : refers to the first quarter, when the moon is firstTada Karua Day2 seen in the West and drops quickly below the horizonTada Ngeta Day 3 (before midnight).Tada Made Day 4Tada Lima Day 5Tada Onomo Day 6Tada Zuapa Day 7Noma Sidara Days 8-14 Noma : Big Sidara : MoonHobe Rimata Full moon Hobe : Change Rimata : Sun. The moon changes the sun.

As soon as the sun sets it is replaced by the moon.Pae Days 16-30 Pae : "it is dark before the moon rises". The moon rises after 12 pm

Table 2. The Roviana lunar cycle


the channel. Because of this, carangids are harderto catch by trolling or casting in the passage on thelow tide, and alternative techniques must either beadopted, or other fishing locations selected.

Lunar-related aggregations

The subsistence fishers of Nusabanga andSasavele recognise two main periods of the lunarcycle as ideal times for catching carangids. Thefirst of these ‘Carangidae seasons’ is during theearly part of the first quarter of the lunar cycle,and the second is around the full moon:

Mara have seasons, so whenever we wantto catch mara we must wait for its time. Ifyou fish for mara when it is not the righttime, you will not have much success(pers comm. Harry Kama, Nusabangavillage, August 1997. Translated fromSolomon Island Pidgin by the authors).

Thirteen of the fourteen fishers interviewed gavevery specific and consistent information relatingto passage and inner lagoon fishing in the firstquarter of the lunar cycle. On Tada keke, Tada karuaand Tada ngeta, fishing for Carangidae is highlyproductive, with all species being readily caught.Twelve of the fourteen fishers interviewed alsorecognised Tada zuapa as being a good time forcatching mara batubatu (Caranx ignobilis). C. igno-bilis appear within Honiavasa Passage of RovianaLagoon several times during the first quarter of alunar cycle between the months of June through toDecember.

You can catch mara batubatu on Tada keke,Tada karua and Tada ngeta. From Tadamade till Tada onomo you will not catchbatubatu. On Tada Zuapa you will catchbatubatu, and they will come in groups(pers comm., Simon Bae, Sasavele village,August 1997. Translated from Roviana byGaudry Kama).

In the early hours of the morning on Tada zuapa, C.ignobilis are said to aggregate in large schoolsalong the walls of Honiavasa Passage. The largestof these aggregations is reported to occur off thepoint of Honiavasa Island, where large groupsgather in the shallow reef area on the eastern sideof the channel, close to Site 3 (see below).

In the early morning of Tada zuapa, beforethe sun is up, they start to arrive ingroups. They don’t all come in at once,you will see one group arrive then 5-10minutes later another group will jointhem, then another group, and so on. Ihave never tried to count them, but in the

end there is often over 100 fish. Theyaggregate between Honiavasa Islandand Nitara Island, on the right-hand sideof the passage. They also move up theleft-hand side of the passage, but theydo not go up as far as VonovonotoIsland, instead they will move into thesmall passage that breaks off beforeVonovonoto Island. By the time the sunis up the schools will have gone (perscomm., Simon Bae, Sasavele village,August 1997. Translated from Rovianaby Gaudry Kama).

All the persons who recognise these aggregationsbelieve that they form as a result of a feedingopportunity when schools of medomedo (Siganusargenteus) and suliri (Nematalosa come) form. JackKari and Harry Kama both said that during Tadazuapa groups of C. ignobilis travel far up into theinner lagoon to feed, often travelling right up intothe rivers which empty into the lagoon. Thisobservation is consistent with reports from thePhilippines, where C. ignobilis have been caughtfar up rivers (Manacop, 1952, cited inWesternhagen, 1974).

The second ‘Carangidae season’ occurs aroundfull moon, a time which all the fishers inter-viewed recognised as being particularly good forcarangid fishing. During this lunar stage C. sex-fasciatus and C. lugubris are said to aggregate inthe lagoon, often in schools. These species arepredominantly targeted at night by dropliningusing ganusu (Selaroides leptolepis) for bait, or bycasting non-weighted lines with hinambu (smallbaitfish) as bait. C. fulvoguttatus, the gold-spottedtrevally, is also said to aggregate in schools dur-ing this lunar stage.

In addition to these two main ‘Carangidae sea-sons’ other minor periods of aggregation areknown to local fishers, and exploited accordingly.Six of the fishers stated that mara batu papaka(unidentified Carangidae species) aggregate with-in the lagoon in large schools after the full moon,during Pae. Simon Bae of Sasavele stated that largeschools arrive mainly during the last quarter, andthat during this time they travel far up into theinner lagoon. It is also important to note that someof the Carangidae species that inhabit the lagoonare reported by local informants not to have a spe-cific lunar season. For example, C. bajad is said tobe constantly present within the lagoon, regard-less of the lunar stage.

Marine survey methods and results

On the basis of the ethnographic survey we candefine three testable hypotheses relating to

19


Carangidae behaviour in and around HoniavasaPassage:

1. Carangidae species move in and out of the pas-sage with the tides;

2. C. sexfasciatus will be at their highest densitieswithin the passage around full moon; and

3. C. ignobilis will aggregate in schools alongsideHoniavasa Island before sunrise on Tada zuapa

To test these hypotheses a dive survey was car-ried out using Instantaneous Area Point Counts(IAPC) during flood and ebb tides at six sites inHoniavasa Passage. For the purpose of site selec-tion, the passage was divided into three areas:Outer, Middle and Inner. Two sample sites wereallocated within each area, one on the left-handand one on the right-hand side of the passage(Fig 4). The three separate areas were chosen inorder to determine if distance from the open seainfluenced the distribution and abundance offish. Two sites were allocated within each area inorder to determine whether passage side had asignificant effect on the abundance or movementsof Carangidae.

This survey spanned two lunar cycles and wasconducted using standard IAPC visual censusmethods. IAPCs were recommendedby Thresher and Gunn (1986), whoassessed the usefulness of many under-water visual transect and point counttechniques for estimating biomass andabundance of Carangidae. The IAPCmethod used here involved underwatervisual census carried out by two diversat selected times, locations and depthsusing SCUBA. In addition, underwatervideo footage shot from a fixed stationwas taken for identification and refer-ence purposes. A total of 48 hours ofvideo was recorded. A fibreglass canoepowered by a 15 hp motor was usedduring the field surveys.

On arriving at a site, visibility wasdetermined in order to define differ-ences in average visibility between thesix study sites. At a depth of 5 m a plas-tic silhouette of a fish (49 cm in length)was located on the bottom. One end ofa fibreglass tape measure was attachedto the silhouette, a diver then swamhorizontally away from the silhouettereading the distance off the tape mea-sure at which the silhouette became dif-ficult to distinguish. Both divers thenstationed themselves with their backsto the reef wall and fifteen point countswere carried out over 15 minutes. At

60-second intervals, the entire 180-degree area ofthe passage visible to the diver was scanned (aprocedure taking 5-10 seconds) and all individu-als in that area were recorded by species.Observations of the number of individuals of agiven species, their length and their direction ofmovement (up or down the channel) wererecorded. The amount of error in the length esti-mates was calculated throughout the field obser-vations by periodically recording the ‘estimated’and ‘actual’ length of coral heads. A total of 120dives were carried out during the months ofSeptember and October 1997. These consisted oftwenty dives at each site, ten on the falling tideand ten on the rising tide.The analysis of the IPAC data looked for interac-tions between the following five variables:

1. State of tide (rising, falling);2. Direction of fish movement (in, out);3. Lunar stage (new moon, first quarter, full

moon, second quarter);4. Area (Outer, Middle, Inner); and5. Side of passage (left, right).

Presence-absence data for the three most frequent-ly sighted species of Carangidae, C. melampygus,G. speciosus and C. sexfasciatus, were analysed

20

0 1km

5 6

43

2

1

Figure 4. Aerial photo of Honiavasa Passageshowing the location of the six sites


using a logistic linear model in the software pack-age JMP™ on a Macintosh™ computer. A modelof best fit was determined for each data set, thenthe significant terms in the chosen model wereexamined in detail.

Total abundance data for C. melampygus weretransformed from dive log records using the stan-dard log 10 transformation. These abundance datawere then analysed using a general linear model,ANOVA, involving all main effects and interac-tions. This was carried out using DataDesk™ soft-ware on a Macintosh™ computer.

Carangidae movements with respect to tidal flows

The two most commonly sighted species ofcarangid, C. melampygus and G. speciosus, both

showed a strong tendency to move in the directionof tidal flow. Analysis of the C. melampygus logdata revealed a significant two way interactionbetween tidal flow and direction of fish movement(DF = 1, SS = 1.03, MS = 1.03, F-ratio = 11.76 and Pvalue < 0.01) (Fig. 5).

Analysis of G. speciosus presence/absence dataalso revealed that the movements of fish withinHoniavasa Passage correlate strongly with tidalflows (LR Statistic = 50.56, 1 DF; P < 0.01) (Fig. 6).

Lunar aggregations of Carangidae

C. sexfasciatus was the third most commonly seenCarangid in the dive survey. Presence/absencedata analysis revealed that lunar stage influencestheir relative abundance within the passage (LRStatistic = 8.33, 3 DF; P = 0.04). C. sexfasciatus were

21

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

64

2

0Rising Falling

Tidal state

Moving in

Moving out

Log

ab

un

dan

ce (x

+1)

of

tota

l see

n

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Rising Falling

Tidal state

Moving in

Moving out

Per

cen

tage

of

tim

e se

en

Figure 5. Log value of the total number of Caranx melampygus seen moving in and out of Honiavasa Passage on 60 rising and 60 falling tides (Error bars = ±1 SE)

Figure 6. The percentage of time that Gnathanodon speciosus were seen moving in and out of Honiavasa passage on 60 rising and 60 falling tides (Error bars = ±1 SE)

30

25

20

15

10

5

0New moon

(n = 34)1st quarter

(n = 42)Full moon

(n = 17)2nd quarter

(n = 27)

Lunar stage

Per

cen

tage

of

tim

e se

en


seen the highest percentage of the time (15%) dur-ing the full moon lunar phase (Fig. 7). In the newmoon and first quarter they were seen approxi-mately 5% of the time and during the second quar-ter they were seen only 2% of the time.

There were insufficient sightings of C. ignobilis andmara batu papaka to warrant statistical analysis, butobservations made during the dive survey andduring other field exercises support local predic-tions about their aggregating behaviours. C. igno-bilis were seen only once out of 120 survey dives,and this sighting occurred on Tada zuapa the lunarday that C ignobilis schools are reported by localfishers to form within Honiavasa Passage. Thesighting occurred at Site 6 in the late afternoon of10 Sep. 1997 on a rising tide. Further, the predictedaggregations in the early morning of Tada zuapawere observed the following month, on the 10th ofOctober. The CPUE data also demonstrated Cignobilis aggregations around Tada zuapa.

Mara batu papaka were sighted only on three occa-sions out of a total of 120 survey dives. Thesesightings all occurred during Pae, the period fol-lowing full moon. Again, this accords well withCPUE data and with the statements made byinformants during the ethnographic survey (seeabove).

Discussion

As this study demonstrates, TEK systems containknowledge that is relevant to many of the types ofquestion asked by fisheries research scientists. Inthis case we were interested in carangid move-ments and aggregation patterns, a question of

potential relevance in coastal resource manage-ment and development planning. Through anthro-pological field techniques we were able to acquirea ready-made model of these behaviours whichcould then be quickly and easily tested using stan-dard marine science field methods. Through par-ticipant observation and interviews we identifiedtwo specific categories of Carangidae behaviourwell understood by Roviana fishers. These cate-gories pertained to the temporal and spatial pat-terning of fish activity at different scales. First,there was the relationship between tidal changeand Carangidae movement. Second, the relation-ship between fish aggregating behaviour and thelunar cycle. We were then able to create a researchdesign that would maximise the likelihood of usobserving these predicted behaviours. In this case,the dive survey results verified local statements onmarine ecology. Other, more complex, researchquestions are likely to reveal a more complex rela-tionship between traditional and scientific knowl-edge systems.

In summary, we review in brief a number of bene-fits and motives for researchers to consider indige-nous knowledge systems, and conclude by reiter-ating the argument for an holistic approach tocoastal research in Melanesia.

1. TEK contains baseline information on localecologies including information on what is pre-sent in the local ecosystems, and its temporaland spatial patterning.

2. By drawing on TEK at the early stage ofresearch, scientists are able to develop testablemodels, and so target their research and effi-ciently budget their time and other resources.

22

Figure 7. The percentage of time that Caranx sexfasciatus were seen in HoniavasaPassage during the four lunar stages (Error bars = ± 1 SE)


3. TEK and CMT evolved over generations ofdirect interaction between human communitiesand their environment and are likely to containinformation and ideas not currently containedwithin scientific models (Lalonde & Akhtar,1994).

4. If properly understood, there is a potential forresource managers to use CMT systems direct-ly to manage stocks in development projects(Hviding, 1996; Ruddle et al., 1992).

Conclusions

All knowledge systems, including scientific knowl-edge systems, are culturally structured and thereare potential dangers in extracting informationfrom one system, and applying it in another. Forthat reason, research scientists working with TEKshould attempt to develop a holistic understandingof those systems, so as to understand the context ofthe information they hold. In coastal research, thiswould include information on folk taxonomy andecology, fishing technologies and the social andsymbolic context of fishing activities.

Knowledge is often stratified by gender, age andgeographical location (Hviding, 1996; Christie &White, 1997). For example, in Roviana Lagoon,women fishers hold traditional knowledge onmangrove clams, as it is almost exclusivelywomen who collect these food species. It wouldthus be difficult for male researchers to gainaccess to that information, and potentially mis-leading if they were to ask only male members ofthe community about the exploitation of man-grove clams (although they would undoubtedlyget an answer).

We also note that in Roviana, knowledge pertain-ing to specific families of fish is sometimes restrict-ed to fishers who specialise in targeting thosespecies. Several of the fishers in this study whenasked questions on the ecology of Carangidaemade statements similar to that of Enele Garata:‘Oh no, I don’t know about mara, I only knowabout pazara (Serranidae) and pipo (Sphyraenidae),ask the old man Simon Bae at Sasavele, he knowsabout mara’ (pers comm., Enele Garata,Nusabanga village, August 1997. Translated fromSolomon Island Pidgin by the authors).

It is also important to appreciate that mostindigenous knowledge of marine ecologies isultimately directed towards identifying patternswhich maximise capture success. Thus somedetails of fish behaviour which may be irrelevantto a local knowledge base (since they have noinfluence on subsistence practice) may be ofimmense importance to a marine biologist study-ing reef ecology. Further, whereas indigenous

knowledge of fish behaviour will often be veryaccurate, local explanations for the mechanismsunderlying these behaviours may not be compati-ble with scientific paradigms.

In Nusabanga, local fishers believe that mara move-ments through the passage relate to predator–preyrelationships with baitfish (see above). Ourresearch shows, however, that while the predictedmovements of fish is accurate, the explanationprobably varies amongst species (Hamilton 1999).Ruddle et al., (1992:262) make a similar point, ‘Insome places declining yields may be attributed tosorcery or a failure to propitiate the gods’.

In conclusion then, indigenous knowledge is anenormously valuable resource base but one whichis often treated in a far too casual manner byresearch scientists. We advocate an holisticapproach incorporating the strengths of anthropo-logical and marine science methods and tech-niques. In a cross-disciplinary approach, each dis-cipline provides the other with a degree ofaccountability and more accurately represents theknowledge base of the indigenous peoples ofMelanesia who have been living and acting inthese landscapes for up to 30,000 years.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge a number of peo-ple for their support during various phases of theproject. In the field, the assistance of Bailey Kama,Gaudry Kama and other members of theNusabanga community is gratefully acknowl-edged. We would especially like to thank theparamount chiefs, Chief Joseph Kama and ChiefJohn Roni, for giving us permission to work in thearea. Mariana and Dave Cooke (Solomon SeaDivers) provided equipment and Johnson Seetoprovided expert guidance with taxonomy. Finally,we thank the New Georgia Archaeological Surveywho provided logistical field support.

References

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ASWANI, S. (1997). Customary sea tenure and arti-sanal fishing in the Roviana and VonavonaLagoons, Solomon Islands: The evolutionaryecology of marine resource utilization. Ph.D.dissertation, University of Hawaii, Hawaii.

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ASWANI, S. (1998). Patterns of Marine HarvestEffort in Southwestern New Georgia,Solomon Islands: Resource Management orOptimal Foraging? Ocean & CoastalManagement 40, 2–3: 207–235.

BLABER, S.J.M., D.A. MILTON & N.J.F. RAWLINSON.(1990). Diets of the Fishes of the SolomonIslands: Predators of tuna baitfish and trophiceffects of baitfishing on the subsistence fish-ery. Fisheries Research 8: 263–286.

CHADWICK, D. (1999). Coral in peril. NationalGeographic Magazine 195(1): 30–37.

CHRISTIE, P. & A.T. WHITE. (1997). Trends in devel-opment in coastal area management in tropi-cal countries: from central to community ori-entation. Coastal Management 25: 155–181.

CLARK, J. & J. MURDOCH. (1997). Local knowledgeand the precarious extension of scientific net-works: a reflection on three case studies.Sociologia Ruralis 37(1): 39–60.

FOALE, S. (1998a). Assessment and management ofthe trochus fishery at West Nggela, SolomonIslands: an interdisciplinary approach. Ocean& Coastal Management 40: 187–205.

FOALE, S. (1998B). What’s in a name? An analysis ofthe West Nggela (Solomon Islands) fish tax-onomy. Traditional Marine ResourceManagement and Knowledge InformationBulletin 9: 3–19.

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HAMILTON, R. (1999). Tidal movements and lunaraggregating behaviours of Carangidae inRoviana Lagoon, Western Province, SolomonIslands. MSc dissertation, University ofOtago, Dunedin.

HOLLAND, K.N., LOWE, C.G. & B.M. WETHERBEE.(1996). Movements and dispersal patterns ofblue trevally (Caranx melampygus) in a fish-eries conservation zone. Fisheries Research 25:279–292.

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JOHANNES, R.E. (1981). Words of the lagoon.Fishing and marine lore in the Palau districtof Micronesia. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press.

JOHANNES, R.E., K. RUDDLE. & E. HVIDING. (1993).The value today of traditional managementand knowledge of coastal marine resources inOceania. Workshop: People, Society, andPacific Islands Fisheries Development andManagement ( Noumea, New Caledonia). 1–7.

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25

This study identified and characterised a commu-nity level, self-regulating Territorial Use Rights inFisheries (TURF) system within the Grenadabeach-seine fishery. The TURF system serves as auseful example of an alternative management sys-tem and involves 41 large beach seines and 289fishers, operating at 97 shallow water fishing sites(hauls) along the coasts of the islands of Grenadaand Grenadines. Although all hauls are open to allseine nets, nets are observed to cluster in nine fair-ly discrete zones along the coast and tend not tomove far from the fishers’ places of residence.

The beach-seine fishery targets a multi-speciesstock of mainly juvenile coastal pelagics. Twospecies of Carangidae (big eye scad, called jacks,Selar crumenopthalmus; and red tail scad called‘round robins’, Decapturus tabs) account for 90 percent of catches. The remaining catch comprisesjuvenile oceanic pelagics (6%) and other small-sized coastal pelagics (4%). Although species varyin abundance seasonally, a fairly constant overallabundance of seine fish maintains a year roundfishery with relatively constant fishing effort.

Ten traditional rules are identified within theTURF system and these effectively allocate fishingopportunity to beach-seine nets through the recog-nition of temporary exclusive ownership at hauls.A number of conflicts are presently threatening the

TURF system. These include intra-fishery conflictsbetween beach-seine fishers and relate to non com-pliance with TURF rules; inter fishery conflicts,between seine fishers and other fishers generatedby competition for sea space (by anchoring boats,motorised trolling boats, motorised fishing boatslanding catches ashore); and competition for thetarget fish by ringnets operating adjacent to thehaul; extra fishery conflicts, between beach seinefishers and mainly tourist-related activities whichare now being viewed as having greater economicimportance. Beach-seine TURF fishers view theseconflict situations as devaluing their traditionalproperty rights.

Suggestions for solutions from both seine fishersand their competitors for sea use, indicate thatgovernment should initiate urgently some form oflocalised management. Seine fishers felt stronglythat legalisation of the TURF rules would serve tolegitimise and enhance their property rights. Bothseine fishers and their competitors for sea use feltthat a rationalisation of entitlements, expectationsand obligations within the context of a co-manage-ment approach was needed.

Contributed by:

Dr. Robin Mahon, 48 Sunset Crest, St. James,Barbados. E-mail: [email protected]

Community-level sea use management in the Grenada beach seine netfishery: current practices and management recommendations.

by J.A. Finlay, M.Sc.Thesis, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados (1996).


Ecology has its roots in conventional science, withan emphasis on the quantitative analysis of rela-tions between organisms and their environment.However, in recent years there has been arenewed interest to encompass a more holisticvision of the earth as a system of interconnectedrelationships. A major issue today is how humanscan develop a more acceptable relationship withthe environment that supports them. With thiscomes a surge of interest in the traditional ecologi-cal knowledge of indigenous peoples as a sourceof valuable information on how to use and respectour natural resources.

This comprehensive, absorbing and extremelyuseful book by Fikret Berkes is a major and mostwelcome contribution to focusing that interest.Although not focussed directly on the PacificIslands, readers of this Information Bulletin willundoubtedly find this book by Berkes a veryrewarding investment. The contents of the bookare as follows:

Part 1: Concepts

Chapter 1: Context of Traditional EcologicalKnowledge

- Defining Traditional Ecological Knowledge- Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Science- Differences: Philosophical or Political?- Knowledge-Practice-Belief: A Framework for

Analysis- Objectives and Overview of the Volume

Chapter 2: Emergence of the Field- Evolution of International Interest- Cultural and Political Significance for

Indigenous Peoples- Questions of Ownership and Intellectual

Property Rights- Practical Significance as Common Heritage of

HumankindChapter 3: Intellectual Roots of Traditional

Ecological Knowledge- Ethnobiology and Biosystematics: A Good Fit- More on Linguistics and Methodology: How to

Get the Information Right- Exaggeration and Ethnoscience: The Eskimo

Snow Hoax?- Human Ecology and Territoriality- Integration of Social Systems and Natural

Systems: Importance of Worldviews

Part II: Practice

Chapter 4: Traditional Knowledge Systems inPractice

- Tropical Forests: Not Amenable toManagement?

- Semiarid Areas: Keeping the Land Productive - Island Ecosystems-Personal Ecosystems - Coastal Lagoons and Wetlands - Conclusions

Chapter 5: Cree Worldview ‘from the Inside’- Animals Control the Hunt- Obligations of Hunters to Show Respect- Importance of Continued Use for Sustainability- Conclusions

Chapter 6: A Story of Caribou and Social Learning- ‘No One Knows the Way of the Winds and the

Caribou’- Aboriginal Hunters and Traditional

Knowledge of Caribou - Caribou Return to the Land of the Chisasibi

Cree- A Gathering of the Hunters- Conclusions

Chapter 7: Cree Fishing Practices as AdaptiveManagement

- The Chisasibi Cree System of Fishing- Subarctic Ecosystems: Scientific Understanding

and Cree Practice- Three Cree Practices: Reading Environmental

Signals for Management- A Computer Experiment on Cree Practice and

Fish Population Resilience- Traditional Knowledge Systems as Adaptive

Management

Part III: Issues

Chapter 8: How Local Knowledge Develops: Casesfrom the West Indies

- Mangrove Conservation and Charcoal Makers- Dominican Sawyers: Developing Private

Stewardship- Cultivating Sea Moss in St. Lucia- Rehabilitating Edible Sea Urchin Resources- Conclusions: Lessons in Commons

ManagementChapter 9: Challenges to Indigenous Knowledge

- Limitations of Indigenous Knowledge and theExotic Other

- Invaders and Natives: A Historical Perspective

Sacred Ecology:Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management

by Fikret BerkesProfessor of Natural Resources, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

Published by: Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia (1999); Soft cover: US$ 26.00Order via Website: www.taylorandfrancis.com


- Indigenous Peoples as Conservationists?- ‘Wilderness’ and a Universal Concept of

Conservation- Adapting Traditional Systems to the Modern

Context- Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Traditional

Knowledge

Chapter 10: Toward a Unity of Mind and Nature- Political Ecology of Indigenous Knowledge- Indigenous Knowledge for Empowerment- Indigenous Knowledge as Challenge to the- Positivist-Reductionist Paradigm- Learning from Traditional Knowledge and

Resource Management

27

It is the authors belief that a book on ICM is espe-cially needed at this time because of the recentrecognition of the necessity of employing moreintegrated approaches to management of theearth’s resources. Better integrated resource man-agement is a fundamental prerequisite of sustain-able development. Mandates for the use of moreintegrated management approaches were promi-nent in the recommendations in Agenda 21, anaction program emanating from the United NationsConference on Environment and Development(UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June1992 (also known as the Earth Summit or the RioConference). Such mandates are also found in the1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea, which entered into force in November 1994. Inaddition, measures for protecting marine biodiver-sity are called for in the 1992 Convention onBiological Diversity. To succeed, these measuresrequire integrated approaches such as thoseembodied in the ICM concept. Moreover, ICM hasbeen singled out by the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change (IPCC) as a key tool for dealingwith the threat of accelerating sea level rise in low-lying coastal areas. The Global Programme ofAction on Protection of the Marine Environmentfrom Land Based Activities, emanating from the1995 Washington Conference on Land BasedActivities Affecting the Marine Environment, alsopoints out the importance of better integratedcoastal management measures to control landbased sources of marine pollution.

Having said that, the authors emphasize thatresources and space should be as fully integrated asare the interconnected ecosystems making up thecoastal and ocean realms. But at the same time theystress that ICM does not replace traditional singlesector resources management. For example, ICM isnot intended to replace coastal water quality man-agement and fisheries management programs but toensure that all their activities function harmoniouslyto achieve agreed water quality and fisheries goals.Obviously, if a degraded coastal habitat affects the

attainment of fisheries management goals, manage-ment of that habitat should be within the ambit ofan integrated coastal management process.

In this publication, Cicin-Sain and Knecht presentan account of the concept of integrated coastaland ocean management (ICM) and illustrate howit can be accomplished by describing ways inwhich particular nations or their sub-nationalgovernments (provinces, localities) have imple-mented various aspects of it. The authors’ majorgoals are to provide:

• a synthesis and analysis of international pre-scriptions for ICM;

• a presentation of the major concepts andmethodologies of ICM;

• a practical guide to the establishment, imple-mentation, and operation of ICM programmes;and

• an analysis of different patterns of ICM followedin different countries.

They also provide their own prescriptions forapproaches that seem to be most successful, basedon their own experience, a cross-national surveythey conducted, and the relevant scholarly literature.

Contents

IntroductionPart I: The Need for Integrated Coastal

Management and Fundamental Concepts- Chapter 1. The Need for Integrated Coastal

and Ocean Management - Chapter 2. Definitions of Integrated Coastal

Management and Fundamental Concepts Part II. Evolution of International Prescriptions in ICM

- Chapter 3. The Evolution of GlobalPrescriptions for Integrated Management ofOceans and Coasts

- Chapter 4. Earth Summit Implementation:Growth in Capacity in Ocean and CoastalManagement

Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management: Concepts and Practicesby Biliana Cicin-Sain & Robert W. KnechtCenter for the Study of Marine Policy, Graduate College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, USA

Published by: ISLAND PRESS, Washington, D.C. & Covelo, California (1998).Price: US$ 65.00 hardcover & US$ 32.50 soft cover.


New international course:

‘Alternative approaches to fisheries management;the relevance of co-management’.

Date: 17 January –10 March 2000Place: Wageningen, the NetherlandsOrganiser: International Agricultural Centre, in

co-operation with Wageningen AgriculturalUniversity

For details contact:

The Director, International Agricultural Centre,P.O. Box 88, 6700 AB Wageningen, the Netherlands. Fax: +31 317 418552; e-mail: [email protected]

Course description:

The course is organised by the InternationalAgricultural Centre in co-operation with the FishCulture & Fisheries Group and the Chair ofAgrarian Law & Rural Development of theWageningen Agricultural University.

It is intended for professionals of governmentaland non-governmental institutions working infisheries management and development (policy &planning officers, programme or project officersresponsible for implementation of fisheries man-agement projects and for coastal development pro-jects with a fisheries management component).

Course objectives:

• To appraise the present fisheries managementactivities in the regions of the participants;

• To learn about, and examine the relevance ofinternational agreements such as the Code ofConduct for Responsible Fisheries;

• To become familiar with co-management con-cepts, and explore their possibilities, limita-tions, as well as preconditions and conse-quences.

• To learn and practise social and biological tech-niques relevant to the introduction of fisheriesco-management arrangements.

• To develop appropriate personal action plansfor the work situation of the participants.

The course has a practical focus and joins state ofthe art knowledge from fisheries science withinsights from social sciences such as law, anthro-pology and public administration. The manage-ment of fisheries in coastal waters and inlandwater bodies will be highlighted; industrial fish-eries and aquaculture will only play a minor role.

The course consists of three blocks:

1. Important issues in fisheries managementtoday;

2. Experiences with various management modelsand approaches, analysis and evaluation; and

3. Working on new scenarios, where and how topractise co-management in fisheries.

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Pacific Islands Marine Resources Information System

PIMRIS is a joint project of 5 internationalorganisations concerned with fisheries andmarine resource development in the PacificIslands region. The project is executed bythe Secretariat of the Pacific Community(SPC), the South Pacific Forum FisheriesAgency (FFA), the University of the SouthPacific (USP), the South Pacific AppliedGeoscience Commission (SOPAC), and theSouth Pacific Regional EnvironmentProgramme (SPREP). This bulletin is pro-duced by SPC as part of its commitment toPIMRIS. The aim of PIMRIS is to improve

the availability of information on marineresources to users in the region, so as tosupport their rational development andmanagement. PIMRIS activities include: theactive collection, cataloguing and archivingof technical documents, especiallyephemera (‘grey literature’); evaluation,repackaging and dissemination of informa-tion; provision of literature searches, ques-tion-and-answer services and bibliographicsupport; and assistance with the develop-ment of in-country reference collectionsand databases on marine resources.

Part III. A Practical Guide to Integrated CoastalManagement- Chapter 5. Setting the Stage for Integrated

Coastal Management - Chapter 6. Intergovernmental, Institutional,

Legal, and Financial Considerations - Chapter 7. Informing the ICM Process:

Building the Science and Information Base - Chapter 8. Formulation and Approval of an

ICM Program 197

- Chapter 9. Implementation, Operation, andEvaluation of ICM Programs

Part IV. Country Case Comparisons and LessonsLearned- Chapter 10. Case Comparisons of ICM

Practices in Twenty-two Selected Nations- Chapter 11. Summary and Conclusions

Appendix 1: ICM Practices in Twenty-two SelectedNations

New international course announcement

Documents

Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge