Management Strategies
Net bans are one type of management strategy to consider. The abandoned nets pictured here were pulled from Midway Atoll reefs by volunteers. Photo © NOAA
A variety of known and effective management strategies are available for protection of spawning aggregations. Possible management strategies include:
- Fisheries closures
- Export controls
- Market-based measures
- Species bans
- Gear bans
- Area protection
These by no means are the only possible solutions. Local and regional resource managers and stakeholders should be open to any solution that is conducive to effective FSA protection. New and innovative solutions that are tailored to local political, social, and economic circumstances are those most likely to work. When decision-makers are faced with uncertainties, as is often the case with FSA and FSA-forming species, stakeholders should be made aware that changes in management might be necessary, as additional information becomes available. This strategy is known as adaptive management, and will be discussed in following sections.
Fishermen deploying illegal fish traps in Haiti. Photo © Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank
Another strategy that has gained wide acceptance within the scientific, conservation and non-governmental communities is that of precautionary management. Precautionary management is preventative management that prevents further loss of marine resources, when strong anecdotal evidence exists for, in this instance, reproductive population decline, or potential FSA extirpation. Precautionary management can be applied while governments and communities await additional information from more detailed investigations1.
1 Johannes 1998