Page 6 - HimesAH(2007)

horse mackerel, greater forkbeard, and a variety of shrimp species. In addition, nine species
of fish are caught as by­catch and either discarded overboard or consumed by the fisher.
Twenty­two fishers reported catching at least one species as bycatch.
Catch is distributed in the Islands by four methods. The mo st commo n method is to set up a
stall at the port and sell direct ly fro m the landing site (68.8% overall). Fishers also distribute
their catch to local fish shops (31.3%), restaurants (12.5%), and the large fish market in
Trapani (31.3%), the nearest city on the mainland, when catches are large.

Opinions of EIMR management

All fishers in the Egadi Islands are aware of the marine reserve and all but three have been
fishing in the vicinity of the Islands throughout the history of the EIMR. However, less than
half of fishers felt that they were very informed about the regulations and rules governing
activity and access to the EIMR. The majority feel only somewhat informed. Moreover,
fishers are split over whether the MPA is beneficial for the Egadi Islands. A clear 50% believe
that it is not at all beneficial, while the remaining believe it can bring positive effects or don’t
know how to answer. It should be noted that 80% of fishers from Marettimo believe the MPA
is not beneficial, while both fishers in Levanzo believe it is beneficial and fishers in
Favignana are equally split.

To gain an understanding of perceptions of de facto success in the EIMR, a sample
population of the main stakeholder groups were interviewed in early 2004. Respondents were
directly asked, “Do you think the institution of the EIMR has been successful?,” with yes, no
and I don’t know as potential responses. Following this, respondents were asked to explain
why they answered the way they did.

A large majority of fishers stated that the EIMR has not been a success throughout its
history. Fishers have been asked this question three times over the course of the last four
years. In a questionnaire completed in the summer of 2001, “it was apparent that fishers, as a
whole, did not perceive any positive benefits from the reserve and felt that overall the reserve
is a failure…fishers in the EIMR show virtually no support for the reserve” (Himes 2003). The
second time, in the 2003 survey, a clear 50% believe that the EIMR is not at all beneficial,
while the remaining believe it can bring positive effects or didn’t know how to answer.
Broken down by island, it was found that fishers from Marettimo were the most negative,
with 80% believing the EIMR is not beneficial. The final time fishers were asked this
question, in t he 2004 survey, showed similar but stronger results. A full 86% o f fishers now
believe that the EIMR has been a complete failure.

When questioned about overall benefits that the community has received due to the
reserve, fishers responded in a similar manner. Fifty percent of all fishers believe that the
EIMR has brought benefits to the local community including development, tourism, additional
sources of income (research help, fisher enforcement), and fish repopulation. Thirty­one
percent of the remaining fishers were adamant that the EIMR has not brought any benefits to
the co mmunit y. The remaining fishers eit her did not know if there are benefit s or responded
that there are both negative and positive effects on the community from the marine reserve.
Finally, fishers were questioned about their opinions on whether their catch has changed
since the 1980s and potential explanations, analyzing the history of the reserve starting before
it was created until the present. Almost all fishers quoted that their catch has decreased or
decreased a lot during the history of the reserve, while the remaining 9.4% did not know if
their catch amount has changed. Furthermore, fishers were questioned on why they thought
this decrease in catch has occurred. The most frequent response was that trawlers frequently
fish throughout the EIMR illegally, not only indiscriminately catching everything their net