Biodiversity Conservation Network
18. Fish from the Arnavon Island Marine Reserve
Location: Arnavon Islands Resource Management Area, Solomon Islands Partners: The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Ministry of Forests and Environmental Conservation (MFEC)
Arnavon Islands Management Committee
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM)
Great Barrier Reef marine Park AuthorityBCN Funding: $545,372 Partner Contribution: $281,610 Grant Period: October 1, 1995 - September 30, 1998
What's at Stake?
The Arnavon Islands lie midway between Santa Isabel and Choiseul of the Solomon Islands. Amidst a paradisiacal setting of white beaches, lagoons and coral reefs lives an extraordinary diversity of marine animals. The Arnavon Islands are one of the most important rookeries in the western Pacific for the endangered hawksbill turtle. They also support commercially prized animals such as beche-de-mer (sea cucumbers), trochus, black and gold lip pearl oysters, and giant clams.
The area's cash economy has traditionally relied on harvesting these organisms. Three villages, Kia, Posarae and Waghena, use the Arnavons' resources. Harvesting activities were traditionally carried out on an "open access" basis, but in the 1980's when prices for shellfish went way up, so did the temptation to overharvest them. In classic boom and bust style the stocks were depleted, one by one.
In order to stop this, and to try to allow shellfish populations to recover, the project established the Arnavon Islands Community Marine Conservation Area (CMCA) -- a legal ëno take' zone. The project involves implementing a management plan for the area and a sustainable deep-water finfish enterprise to provide the communities with food and income while taking the pressure off the marine invertebrates. Six community conservation officers (CCO's) -- two from each village -- monitor the project.
This conservation area marks the first time that a community of the Solomon Islands has created a marine sanctuary, as well as the country's first cooperatively managed marine conservation area. If successful, it will demonstrate the economic and ecological benefits of a community-based approach to resource conservation -- both to other communities of the Solomon Islands and to the national government.
The initial three year closure opened up a unique opportunity for us to investigate the utility of marine conservation areas as a fisheries management tool, by scientifically testing the assumption that closure of an area will enhance the rehabilitation of depleted stocks and the recruitment of new stocks to areas outside the closed area. With the support and involvement of the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority we have been able to establish a scientifically robust monitoring program which will test these assumptions for the first time in a tropical Pacific island environment.
1997 Update
The construction of the fish purchasing cooperative centers at Sire and Wagina for the operation of the deep-water finfish fisheries project was completed by December 1996. At the Sire Center, an existing structure was modified to provide extra space required for storage and handling of fish and a new generator shed was built.
In Wagina, the 60 x 32 foot center was built from scratch. The structure is reinforced block and cement with a corrugated galvanized roof. Two new staff houses were built adjacent to the center. They are timber framed and clad. The original intention was to build semi-permanent, leaf walling dwellings for staff, but the community requested that the houses be built with timber walling. As with Sire, all timber required was bought locally by contracted small milling operators and construction was carried out by the Wagina communities.
Commencement of construction of the new center was delayed by several weeks owing to a request by several members of the community for an increase in the agreed upon contract price, a problem which often arises when projects get under way in Melanesia. This was eventually resolved through the intervention of the ALMCA Management Committee members.
A job description for the two Center Managers was advertised locally in Posarae and Wagina. The community fishing committees which were established in the early phase of the project undertook interviews and filled both posts by January 1997. The two Center Managers are learning simple book-keeping with intensive "one on one" training.
In November, a master fisherman was retained by the Enterprise Project to train 24 fishermen in deep water snapper fishing techniques at the Sire Center. The first fish produced by the project arrived in Honiara during the last week of November. Arrangements have been made with the Honiara based fish broker Island Seafood's Ltd. to purchase the project's fish. Fish purchase prices were negotiated with Island Seafood's Ltd. on a similar basis to those received by other fisheries centers in the Solomons.
Intensive training of 30 fishermen from Wagina took place in early March. Training consisted of practical training in the building and overhauling of gear, navigation techniques, safety, fish handling to ensure export quality and basic outboard maintenance and small boat handling.
The completion of the construction phase, establishment of the center management structure and the training of fishermen and their successful initial fishing represents a very significant achievement in this remote, relatively unserviced area of the Solomons. It is however, in many respects, the easier of the tasks facing project management. The most difficult phase of the project will be maintaining the commitment and resources needed to build the management capacity and procedures vital to the long term commercial sustainability of the project. The real success can only be measured over the long term.
Success Stories
Although we still have many difficult hurdles to overcome before the centers are commercially sustainable, the accomplishments to date have been welcomed by the communities involved and have generated much goodwill and support for the Arnavons project. In an area long neglected by "development" agencies, the fisheries project has, despite differences of opinion with the communities on control and funding issues, fostered better community relations and improved understanding of the project and its goals. Related to this, one of the most notable successes has been in the community attitude to the Arnavon Marine Conservation Area. Prior to the closure of the area in 1995, (on the AMCA Management Committee's decision), the islands were amongst the most heavily fished and hunted in the region. After two years of closure only three incidents of poaching have been reported by our Community Conservation Officers. Only one of these incidents involved the taking of endangered hawksbill turtles.
The completion of the construction and staffing the centers, as well as equipping and training the fishermen was accomplished in record time for the Solomon Islands. Because of the dedication and commitment of the staff, and the diligence of the AMCA Management Committee members in each village, we were able to move ahead at an unprecedented pace.
With the training completed, trial fishing was undertaken under the guidance of the master fisherman. The early results were excellent with an average of 110 kgs of high value fish caught on each trip by the fishermen of Seri, and 100 kgs by the fishermen of Wagina. The initial fishing trials proved that stocks of the target fish are plentiful. The training the fishermen received enabled them to target high value species with a minimum of lower grade fish being caught. The first month of fishing saw the Wagina center produce over 4,000 kgs of fish, which is in excess of the predicted break-even targets.
Another story which illustrates the importance of economic incentives as a tool in conservation involves the recruitment of one of the center managers. The community fishing committee called for names of potential candidates from within their communities. In one case, the list of potential applicants included one of the most outspoken critics of the Arnavon Community Managed Conservation Area who was eventually chosen for the position and is fast becoming an effective advocate for the project and its goals.
Challenges
Dealing with the expectations, pressures and community distortions related to the fisheries projects has overshadowed all other project activities pushing conservation management, monitoring and capacity building into the background. The challenge facing us is to make the alternative fisheries such as the deep-water finfish enterprise commercially viable and sustainable in the face of: deteriorating economic climate and infrastructure, uncertain prices and markets, weak human capacity and high community expectations. It is indeed daunting but in all probability, it is a pretty standard suite of challenges facing most conservation organizations engaging in enterprise development in remote areas of developing countries.
Our most pressing challenges are to try to solve the market access problems which have besieged the project, due partly to the national cutback of coastal shipping services which has reduced service to an ad hoc basis unless charters are arranged. The centers need a weekly shipping service for them to work to capacity and to generate the throughput of fish needed to make them financially sustainable. There is no simple solution to this problem in sight -- short of running our own shipping service which is an option under consideration.
Other challenges include the need for ongoing funding to support the center during this difficult period. Cost over-runs due to significant increases over the period between conception and actual implementation, together with flaws in the original budgeting have driven home the lesson that there must rigorous and realistic monitoring of potential and actual costs with significant funding for contingencies built into the project from the outset.
Looking to the longer term, perhaps the most important challenge we face is to find ways to strengthen the capacity of the local communities to maintain the project and make it financially sustainable. This will require a strong focus on capacity building with our community partners and the development of even stronger linkages between the local stakeholders including the fisheries centers, fishermen, women's and youth groups and community leaders.
Author: Peter Thomas is a "Natural Areas Planner" by profession. For the past six years he has been with The Nature Conservancy and is currently the Director of the South Pacific Program based in New Zealand. He has worked extensively on resource management issues in New Zealand.
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