Fish conservation zones as tools for fisheries management and conservation in lao pdr

Sinsamout Ounboundisane, Erin Loury, Samuel Leslie, and Shaara

Ainsley (FISHBIO)[email protected]

Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) as Tools for Fisheries Management and

Conservation in Lao PDR

Supported byPresented to AFS PortlandAugust 18, 2015

• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)• Locally Managed Marine Areas

(LMMAs)• Ecological Reserves• Fish Habitat Protection Area

(FHPA)

Many Examples of Limiting Use to Protect Aquatic Places

Carpenteria Salt Marsh Reserve Cottesloe Reef Fish Habitat Protected Area

Dry Tortugas Ecological Reserve

Gerick Bergsma 2009/Marine PhotobankTsun-Thai Chai/Marine Photobank

Jiangang Luo/Marine Photobank

• Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) are areas that limit or prohibit fishing activities to protect fish populations.

• FCZs in Laos are entirely in freshwater environments: rivers, wetlands, reservoirs, etc.

• FCZs may be closed seasonally or year round.

• Move than 1,000 FCZs have been created in Lao PDR.

Fish Conservation Zones: Freshwater Protection in Laos

• According to the Lao Fisheries Law, “Establishment and protection of conservation zones for aquatic species and of their habitats” is a basic principle of fisheries management.

• Fisheries Management Committees at the village level have the right and duty to:

Legal Basis for FCZs in Lao Fisheries Law

• Identify areas for conservation zones

• Propose regulations for fisheries management

• Publicize fisheries management plans

• Implement fisheries management regulations

• Local Communities• NGO Partners• District Agriculture and Forestry Office• Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office• Department of Livestock and Fisheries

FCZ Co-Management Involves Multiple Players

• Protect endangered fish species

• Manage fishing pressure and enhance food security

• Mitigate impacts from developments such as hydropower and mining

FCZs Can be Used for Multiple Purposes

Managing fishing pressure Hydropower mitigation

Aquatic species conservation

Protecting Species While Enhancing Food Security

Leslie 2015

• Benefits to aquatic species:• Protection of deep-pool refuge areas• Protection of spawning habitat and reproductive individuals• Networks of FCZs can benefit migratory species• Prohibition of destructive fishing practices (e.g. dynamite,

poison, electrofishing).• Environmental benefits:• Prohibit harvesting trees along the riverbank• Prohibit sand and gravel extraction or gold mining

Potential Ecological Benefits of FCZs

• Enhanced fishing catches from FCZ “spillover”• Fish “savings account” to be harvested by future generations• Sense of ownership and responsibility to manage local

resources• Protection of Other Aquatic Animals and plants• Functional river habitats protected from destructive uses

Potential Community Benefits of FCZs

1. Establishing FCZs for Endangered Probarbus fishes in Northern Laos (completed)

2. Establishing an FCZ for Probarbus and Soft-Shelled Turtles at Kengmai Rapids, Laos (ongoing)

3. Developing a Guidebook for Monitoring FCZ Effectiveness (ongoing)

4. Establishing FCZs in Indawgyi Lake, Myanmar (Consultant to Fauna & Flora International - ongoing)

FISHBIO’s Work on FCZs (Supported by CEPF)

FCZs for Endangered Probarbus Fishes

• Jullien’s Golden Carp (Probarbus jullieni) = Endangered on IUCN Red List

• Thicklipped Barb (Probarbus labeamajor) = Endangered on IUCN Red List

• Some of largest fishes in Southeast Asia (up to 60 kg)

• Targeted with gill nets during breeding season Dec-Feb

Finalize Regulations Opening

Ceremonies

FCZ Sign InstallationEnforcement

Training

Establishing Fish Conservation Zones

• Community enforcement teams patrolled FCZs during Probarbus spawning season (Dec–March)

• Confiscated multiple nets and fishing poles in the FCZ

• Left warning notices and educated fishers about FCZ regulations

• Apprehended four fisherman using illegal fishing gear; confiscated 60 kg of fish

• Four illegal fishermen paid a total fine of 2,500,000 kip ($300), which was distributed to the local communities

Community Enforcement Can be Effective

Many Organizations Have Established Hundreds of FCZs Across Laos

How many of these FCZs are actually working?

What are the successes and challenges?

What can we learn from one another?

Many Organizations Have Established Hundreds of FCZs Across Laos

Few Studies of FCZ Effectiveness

• Surveys of Local Ecological Knowledge about FCZs at 53 villages in Khong District (Baird & Flaherty 2005)

• Fishers reported increases in many fish populations after FCZ establishment

• 6 of these increased populations were species associated with deep-water pools (location of most FCZs)

• Mark-recapture pilot study at 2 FCZs in Nam Kading (WWF and FISHBIO) • Demonstrated effectiveness of T-bar tags

for Mekong fish mark-recapture • Documented fish movements beyond

FCZ boundaries (Ounboundisane et al. 2013)

• Indicators provide a quantitative way to assess protected area effectiveness.

• Effectiveness indicators have been developed for Marine Protected Areas in the several categories (Pomeroy et al. 2004):

Next Steps: Need for Indicators of FCZ Effectiveness

• Biophysical (focal species abundance, water quality, etc.)

• Socio-economic (perceptions of seafood availability, household income distribution, etc.)

• Governance (level of resource conflict, enforcement coverage, etc.)

• New project will review and synthesize indicators for application in freshwater FCZs.

• Develop best-practice guidelines for the scientific monitoring of biophysical, socio-economic, and governance indicators of FCZ effectiveness.

• Support a network of civil society organizations to use participatory methods to test the monitoring guidelines.

• Disseminate the finalized best practices monitoring guidebook throughout Lao PDR and support organizations to implement.

A Guidebook of Best Practices for Evaluating Indicators of Effectiveness for Fish Conservation Zones in Lao PDR