Establishing indicators for sustainable management of fisheries refugia

Abstract

The project “Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” was developed as part of the implementation of the fisheries component of the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea. Supported financially by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 2016 to 2022, the Project was executed in the South China Sea area by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in partnership with the fisheries agencies of the riparian countries of South China Sea, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The Project was mainly focused on establishing a regional system of fisheries management areas known as fisheries refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. The four components of the Project include 1) establishment of operational management at 14 priority fisheries refugia, with community-based refugia management plans being the key outputs; 2) strengthening of the enabling environment for the formal designation and operational management of refugia; 3) strengthening of information management and dissemination for enhancing the national uptake of best practices in integrating fisheries management and biodiversity conservation, and in improving community acceptance of area-based approaches to fisheries and coastal environmental management; and 4) strengthening the cross-sectorial coordination for integrated fisheries and environmental management while harnessing national scientific and technical expertise, and knowledge required to promote policy, legal and institutional reforms for fisheries refugia management in the participating countries. More specifically, the third component focused on information management which includes supporting activities that involve the development of national knowledge management systems on the use of fisheries refugia in capture fisheries management, establishment of a Regional Education and Awareness Centre as a facility for the production and sharing of information and education materials on fisheries and critical habitat linkages in the South China Sea area, development of indicators to monitor the effectiveness of coastal fisheries management systems established for priority fisheries refugia, and establishment of a regional program for the compilation of standardized fisheries statistics for identifying and managing fisheries refugia. During the implementation of the Project, the participating countries defined the structural frameworks together with criteria and indicators to enhance the effective management of fisheries refugia leading to the development of the Regional Guidelines on Indicators for Sustainable Management of Fisheries Refugia.