10%

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in the context of Fisheries Refugia

GEF-UNEP/SEAFDEC Fisheries Refugia Project

By IW:LEARN

November 19^th, 2021

Opinion piece by Dr. Somboon Siriraksophon

Fisheries Refugia (FR) is a novel fisheries resources management approach to the identiﬁcation and designation of priority areas in which to integrate ﬁsheries and habitat management for maintaining fish stock and critical habitats while satisfying the fishing community, social needs for now and generations to come. Such an approach needs a good platform for building partnerships, enhancing communication and engagement of stakeholders, finding local and scientific- knowledge and put in place an effective integrated fisheries and habitat management system. In some cases, the management of FR may include transboundary fish stock or shared stocks issues in which cooperation among relevant states is also critically needed.

The establishment and operations of a regional system of fisheries refugia implies five main lines of action on:

Good governance,
Social engagement,
Economic well-being,
Healthy ecosystem, and
Emerging issues, particularly the climate change and gender mainstreaming issues.

In the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand Sub-regions, against the general background of uncertainty and complexity associated with the development of fisheries refugia, there is a need to develop robust and workable solutions to involve stakeholders in establishing and managing refugia. An emerging appreciation of the diverse traditions and cultures in the region and the important role of small-scale, coastal, and subsistence fisheries has recently provided an impetus for the development of fisheries refugia approaches promoting stakeholder participation in management of fisheries at all levels.

Diagram of Fisheries Refugia Context. (Image credit: Fisheries Refugia project)

Fisheries Refugia is based on the “ecosystem approach” concept like many existing approaches such as Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), Coastal Resource Management (CRM), Co-management, and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). FR is developed in parallel by different user groups with specific management interests. FR shares many of the same principles and has many commonalities with other approaches. Its management focus or coverage can be different and it can support other existing management approached in the coastal zone. In practice, FR can incorporate conventional fisheries management and overlaps with co-management, MSP, and ICZM, as shown in the figure on the right.

How does FR link to Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)?

MSP is a public process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in coastal and marine areas to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives usually specified through a political process (UNESCO, 2009). The term covers both (i) a plan for users; and (ii) implementation tools – e.g., zonation that includes Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MSP can be thought of as a management action for achieving Ecosystem Approach (EA) objectives in fisheries and considering multiple sectors.

It is considering the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), a resource management system that follows an integrative, holistic approach and an interactive planning process in addressing the complex management issues in the coastal area. ICZM uses the ecosystem approach to manage land, water, and living resources in coastal areas and promote conservation and sustainable use equitable. FR can link and contribute to ICZM in the context of integrated management between fisheries resources and their habitats. However, FR concept goes beyond the coastal areas to cover part of the ocean and high seas, such as tuna fishing closure by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for a certain period. Another example is on the short mackerel fishing closure with aims to protect spawners and short mackerel larvae by the Department of Fisheries in Thailand from coastal to offshore areas covering 27,000 square meters in the Gulf of Thailand from February to May every year.

In practice, FR can incorporate conventional fisheries management and overlaps with co-management, MSP, and ICZM. (Image credit: Fisheries Refugia project)

The FR Approach under the GEF/UNEP funded project on establishing and operating a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand from 2016 until present shows good practices and lessons learned from the participating countries. Cambodia adopted two fisheries refugia for short mackerel Koh Kong Province and blue swimming crab in Kep Province in 2019. Thailand also adopted two refugia for short mackerel in Trat province and blue swimming crab in Surat Thani Province in early 2021. Two refugia in Malaysia and three in the Philippines are in the final stages of their stakeholder consultation process for demarcating the refugia area and management measures and plans for further adoption by the end of 2021. Indonesia and Viet Nam are in the stakeholder consultation process and soon to be moving on to establishing their Refugia sites (figure on the left). The management measures or fishery legislation are improved to support effective management of established fisheries refugia by country. For instance, to protect the spawner, the Fisheries Administration of Cambodia (FiA) prohibits fishing for blue swimming crab and short mackerel from 1 May to 31 July and 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. In Thailand, with science-based information from the Department of Fisheries (DOF/TH), the provincial government prohibits purse seiners and trawlers in the coastal area of Trat province from January − February. In addition, in Surat Thani province, crab trap fishing, crab gill net (below 3-inch mesh-size), and all types of clam fishing operated by motor vessels are prohibited to protect the habitats and crab spawners.

Establishing refugia sites in Indonesia and Viet Nam has required an extensive stakeholder process. (Image credit: Fisheries Refugia project)

For long-term sustainable management of fisheries refugia, countries revised their fisheries law, regulation, fisheries management plan, strategic plan to support fisheries refugia implementation as national work plans. In transboundary fish stock management issues, the FR project developed the Regional Action Plan for Management of Transboundary Species, Indo-Pacific Mackerel in the Gulf of Thailand Sub-region (RAP-Mackerel). SEAFDEC Member Counties adopted the RAP-Mackerel in 2020, and it is raised under the ASEAN policy framework to be endorsed and supported by the Special Senior Official Meeting of the Forty Second ASEAN Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-42nd AMAF) in the 3rd Quarter of 2021.

By the end of the project in 2021, we expect at least 400,000 ha of fisheries refugia established in six participating countries. This targeted output supports the GEF Core Indicator 2: on Marine Protected Areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use (ha). Maintaining fish stocks and habitat linkages for sustainable use of fisheries resources as defined by the FR concept is the crucial objective that significantly contributes to other ecosystem approaches, including the ICZM.

About the GEF-UNEP Fisheries Refugia Project

The "Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand" project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP, and executed by SEAFDEC.

The project objective is to operate and expand the network of fisheries refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand for the improved management of fisheries and critical marine habitats linkages in order to achieve the medium and longer-term goals of the fisheries component of the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea.

For more information kindly contact the Project Manager, Somboon Siriraksophon (somboon@seafdec.org), and visit the project website plus the dedicated project page on iwlearn.net.

References

https://ioc.unesco.org/our-work/guidance-marine-spatial-planning
http://www.fao.org/3/y5438e/y5438e05.htm
Guidelines for Integrated Coastal Zone Management: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/754341468767367444/pdf/multi-page.pdf
Ecosystem Approach (CBD): https://www.cbd.int/doc/publications/ea-text-en.pdf
The South China Sea Fisheries Refugia Initiative (2018-2022 : SEAFDEC-UNEP/GEF): http://repository.seafdec.or.th/handle/20.500.12067/861
SEAFDEC, 2021. Regional Action Plan for Management of Transboundary Species: Indo-Pacific Mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma) in the Gulf of Thailand Sub-Region. Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Training Department, Samutprakan, Thailand. 20p. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12067/1719
SDF/Thailand, 2020. Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand, Study Report on Area Context and Socio-Economic Conditions of Coastal Communities in Trat Province: Fisheries Refugia Management for Short Mackerel in Trat Site. Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Training Department, Samut Prakan, Thailand; FR/REP/TH29, 119p.