Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems

Finding common ground between the coastal fisheries and conservation approaches in the Pacific

 

 

 

ceafm_webThe Coastal Fisheries Program is preparing the holding in Noumea, from Monday 29 November to Friday 3 December 2010 of the "Regional Workshop on Approaches to the Implementation and Monitoring of Community-based Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (CEAFM): Finding common ground between the coastal fisheries and conservation approaches in the Pacific".

Several approaches have been developed for implementing the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF), for both coastal and oceanic fisheries, however, there is no one approach that fits all situations. There are also non-fisheries issues and concerns that directly affect fisheries, such as land-born pollution, sediment runoff, coastal development, that also need to be accounted for in an EAF approach to fisheries management. To better address this, the SPC, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations produced a joint publication on “A community-based ecosystem approach to fisheries management (CEAFM): guidelines for Pacific Island countries” in early 2010.

 

There are many regional organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and PICT governments (fisheries departments, conservation/environment departments etc) involved in implementing CEAFM, and monitoring programmes in support of this. There are also a range of approaches being undertaken, often in isolation to what others are doing in the same country or within the region. There are parallel processes in place, with conservation focused on retaining biodiversity while fisheries focuses on sustainable development or management of the resources.

 

The current workshop, funded by the European Union under the SciCOFish project concerning ACP countries participation, therefore focuses on bringing together the main stakeholders from both the National Government conservation and fisheries departments, regional and national NGOs and other organizations working in the CEAFM area, including monitoring, to try to find common ground between the fisheries and conservation approaches in the Pacific.

 

This will be the first regional meeting of senior officers from fisheries, conservation/ environmental, regional and national NGOs as well as regional organisations, where they come together to work on common issues in the area of implementing CEAFM and/or marine conservation and/or monitoring in the marine environment. The aim is develop common approaches and a way forward for in-country implementation and assistance provided by the SPC, regional and national NGOs and other stakeholders, and other regional organisations.
Collaborations will also be explored so that there is better service delivery at the community level, with consistent messages being delivered, and complementary systems put in place for both management and monitoring purposes, taking into consideration possible climate change effects and the need for adaptation.

 

For more information, please contact Ian Bertram, Coastal Fisheries Science and Management Adviser

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 May 2011 16:12
 

 


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