EDFish

Selected tag(s): fisherman collaboration

Cuban communities forging an innovative path to marine conservation

By / Bio / Published: January 18, 2018

Celeste, Dafnet, Evelin, Fidel, Laura, Maikel, Patricia, Rafael, Valentín and Yudier. These are not the names of hurricanes, but the names of Cubans whose ideas and innovative actions have the constructive energy of a hurricane.

The energy of these people has been key to advancing marine sustainability in Cuba. Moreover, they are not alone. Across the island, there are up-and-coming initiatives that share common visions. They owe part of their success to the momentum of already established learning networks that facilitate the exchange of information and experiences. Learning networks help bring people together to solve complex problems. They are designed to create and disseminate information, to align common visions to facilitate collective action and therefore these problems. Read More »

Posted in Cuba, International, Science/Research / Also tagged , | Comments are closed

Working together to address challenges in Swedish fisheries

By / Published: December 9, 2016

iphone-1005*Update: We are delighted to announce that on Friday 16th December 2016 the Swedish Government released a final version of the new demersal management framework: enshrining in law a system which Swedish fishermen have been working towards for two years. This announcement is the culmination of a co-management process that has seen fishing industry and policy-makers collaborating to develop a strong working relationship, and a management system, that hopefully will be resilient to challenges and secure a long-term, sustainable future for Sweden’s demersal fleet. We’re heading into 2017 with great optimism for fishing communities: who are now able to adapt their fishing practices to meet the Landing Obligation, and fish safely and prosperously according to weather and season. While this is a moment of celebration for all involved in the process, EDF is committed to seeing this system working well on the water and will be alongside fishermen as they implement the new rules, supporting this step-change in their daily activities.*

Sweden, along with the rest of the EU, is tackling the challenge of phasing out the discarding of fish. While Sweden is a relatively small fishing nation in relation to our Scandinavian neighbours, the conditions for sustainable fisheries and co-management structures are strong. This is especially true after a recent fishermen-led collaboration resulted in recommendations for a new management plan designed to meet the challenges of the discard ban while ensuring a prosperous future for their businesses.

The word “co-management” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. This is especially true when it comes to policymaking processes. I have been working closely with fishermen to improve fisheries management for three years. In this blog post I want to illustrate what co-management means to me and my work and why I believe it is so important to recognize that fishermen are at the centre of lasting solutions. Read More »

Posted in Europe, International, Policy / Also tagged , , , | Comments are closed

Community-based fishery management delivers individual and collective benefits in Belize

By / Bio / Published: April 18, 2014

DSC_0088Recently, I traveled to Belize to see how TURF-reserves (territorial use rights for fishing co-located with no-take zones) are performing and learn about plans to expand them nationwide. The Mesoamerican Reef, the largest in the Atlantic Ocean, spans the Belizean coastline and is rich in biodiversity and a crucial source of income for thousands of fishers. Coastal fisheries, however, are at risk due to overfishing, and other pressures such as coastal development and climate change.

In Belize, fishers have seen a decline in their catch, and the Belize Fisheries Department is using TURF-reserves to provide fishers the right incentives to become better stewards of their resources.  As fishers take better care of their fishing area they will realize benefits and secure them for future generations.  This approach to fisheries management is known as “Managed Access.”  In 2008 the Belize Fisheries Department began working with EDF, Wildlife Conservation Society, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), and other Belizean institutions to deploy two Managed Access pilot projects.

Motivated by the success of the projects, the Belizean government is committed to expanding Managed Access to nearly half its fishing grounds, setting the country on a course to comprehensively rebuild and conserve its fisheries and precious biodiversity. Read More »

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NGOs should focus on helping fishermen implement policies

By / Bio / Published: April 24, 2013

It’s no secret that working directly with fishermen to implement fishery management solutions is the most effective way to support positive change. Recently, we have begun engaging in conversations with fishermen, fishery stakeholders and MEPs on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in Europe. EDF was recently acknowledged in an article in Under Current News for being a leading NGO in European fisheries reform—due in large part to our collaborative approach with fishermen.  Britt Groosman, our EU Program Director, was quoted extensively in this article.

“’EDF has found that the most successful way of working towards fishery management is by consulting fishermen in a participatory process,’ Britt Groosman, program director for EDF in the EU, told Undercurrent. ‘The way to find that out is to talk to all the stakeholders and see what everyone’s concerns are, to try and find a way to get environmental improvement with the buy-in of all the stakeholders involved. Because the more you impose your will on people the more you’ll end up with control issues. People don’t like being told what to do and they’ll try to get around rules. The fishermen are the people who implement the policy on the water, and have the real influence,’ she said.”

Read the full article to learn more about  how we find solutions, at home and abroad, no matter how challenging the problems. Read the full article here.

 

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