The World's Forgotten Fishes - 24

4. WILD FRESHWATER FISHES ARE PRICELESS

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT BENEFITS FISH AND PEOPLE:
CASE STUDIES FROM ASIA, AFRICA AND THE AMAZON
Evidence of the positive impact from community conservation exists across
the world. In Laos, Community Fisheries Conservation Zones boosted the diversity
of fishes caught in 32 villages36 . One of the keys to their success was that the approach
was decided through consensus building with local communities and fishers. This
approach was echoed in the Salween River basin in Thailand, where a network of fish
sanctuaries across 23 communities resulted in increased fish diversity, density and
biomass37. Community conservation has also resulted in positive impacts in Tanzania,
where the dagaa fishery in Lake Tanganyika is critically important to the Tongwe/
Bende people. Working with The Nature Conservancy, the local community set up
nine community Beach Management Units to protect fish breeding and nursery zones,
and prevent the use of destructive beach seine nets and other nets with under-sized
meshes. " In my heart, I feel hopeful because I have already seen changes, " said
Richard Nkayamba, Buhingu Beach Management Unit leader. " In this zone, beach
seines are almost completely gone and the high dagaa catch we have seen this season
is probably due to the reduced use of beach seines. "
Meanwhile, community management along Brazil's Juruá River has transformed
the arapaima fishery. As an obligate air-breather, the Amazon's giant arapaima
must return to the surface every 20 minutes or so - making them easy to catch.
Known as the 'cod of the Amazon' overfishing contributed to a severe decline in
their numbers, posing a risk to the species and the people who rely upon them.
To address this, Juruá River communities embarked on a resource management
plan, which resulted in an increase in both the arapaima population and the
annual catch - boosting household incomes by US$1,000 per year and village
incomes by a whopping US$10,000, and proving how critical it is to involve local
communities in sustainable fisheries management 38 . Seeing the impact, the
number of communities pursuing this approach has increased from 4 in 1999
to over 2000 now across Brazil, Peru and Guyana.
Fishers in a community conservancy in Laos

Fishing on Lake
Edward, Democratic
Republic of Congo

The World's Forgotten Fishes page 24

The World's Forgotten Fishes

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