Page 2 - HimesAH(2007)

considerations in their models. Fishers are perhaps the most important user group in an MPA,
as their livelihoods significantly depend on the resources that are available in the marine
environment. If those resources are too heavily exploited or disturbed, fishers will be the first
anthropogenic user group to suffer, either by suffering from reduced catch per unit effort or
eventually by being forced out of a job completely.

As a result of this neglect, many MPAs are being poorly managed with low
compliance, a lack of community support, poor enforcement, and ineffective management
plans. Without successful management programs, the attributes of the coast and marine
environment that humans utilise and find attractive will be severely degraded (Vallega 1999).
As a result, a big movement has begun in recent years to begin evaluating protected area
management effectiveness.

Effectiveness has been considered mostly through empirical studies with increasing
interest being shown in their economic and social implications (Bunce et al 1999, Jentoft et al
1998, Russ and Alcala 1999, Sanchirico et al 2002). Significant progress in understanding the
effectiveness of MPAs has also been made via bio­economic modelling studies (Sanchirico
and Wilen 1999 and 2001). However, the debate surrounding MPAs raises many issues about
how they should be evaluated, the criteria for judging their performance, and the process
through which success should be achieved. Resolving this issue is of practical relevance in
parts of the world where MPAs have already been established. An example is the
Mediterranean where MPAs have been managed and evaluated almost strictly under biological
reasoning, essentially ignoring the socio­economic or cultural importance of an area and its
resources (Badalamenti et al 2000). Using the Mediterranean as a stepping­stone, the present
study looks at these issues of evaluating performance and defining success for the case of
small­scale artisanal fishers.

The present study ident ifies two major concerns with past MPA implementation. The
first relates to the criteria by which the ‘success’ of MPAs is judged. MPA performance has
generally been judged by the ability to increase organism biomass and diversity within and
adjacent to the boundary of the restricted area, rather than by additionally including the
social, cultural and economic needs of the local community (Harmelin et al 1995, Katon et al
2000, Russ and Alcala 1996). The second concern relates to why MPAs fail and what should
be done to make them a success in the future. When MPAs fail, the explanation is often given
as a problem of not achieving biological goals, such as protection of spawning aggregations
or increases in fish biomass. However, where many MPAs additionally fail is when socio­
economic and cultural factors, specifically potential negative impacts on local communities,
have not been included in the design and implementation of the management regime.
The present research proposes to counter this problem by beginning to understand how MPA
performance can be increased from the viewpoint of the small­scale fishers affected by the
EIMR. An important goal of this research is to develop a case study approach that helps other
researchers identify how to construct similar definitions of MPA ‘success’ in their own areas
and undertake management effectiveness evaluations in unique situations emphasising that
the definition of ‘success’ has to come from within the community as opposed to being
imposed upon it.

The purpose of this research was two­fo ld: first, to characterise the local professio nal
fishery, and second, to gain an understanding of local fishers’ opinions and preferences
regarding the MPA and its management. Fishers are perhaps the most important user group in
an MPA, as their livelihoods significantly depend on the resources that are available in the
marine environment. If those resources are too heavily explo ited or disturbed, fishers will be
the first anthropogenic user group to suffer, either by suffering from reduced catch per unit
effort or eventually by being forced out of a job completely.