Mac Donald, S.

Throughout the Caribbean, like in the rest of the world, the abundance of marine fish species have been declining over the past decades. The health and abundance of fish stocks depend not only on fishing pressure but also on the quality of the marine ecosystems. In the Caribbean Netherlands, coral reefs and the open ocean are the main ecosystems in which the species targeted by the fisheries sector occur. Coral reefs are marine biodiversity hotspots that are not only invaluable for coastal protection but also have a high economic value through associated fisheries and tourism. As healthy fish stocks are essential for the existence of fisheries, concentrating efforts towards more sustainable fishery practices, will not only benefit ecosystems, but also fishermen and other users that contribute to the local economy such as dive tourism. Hence, proper management of the fisheries sector is important for the existence of the profession and for ensuring food security, and also for other sectors which are vital to the economy of the islands. Moreover fisheries plays a very important role when it comes to culture and identity of inhabitants of the Caribbean. As a recreational activity it is a vital source of wellbeing. Hence, it is not only food and dollars that make fisheries an activity to manage well.

As opposed to historical fisheries management in the Caribbean Netherlands, sustainable fisheries management must be a joint effort by the local government, national government, nature NGOs, fishermen and buyers. In addition, adequate enforcement must be in place. Truly sustainable fisheries management requires an active and adaptive approach to the conservation of areas and species, a focus on communication, education and awareness, active research and monitoring, and interaction with stakeholders. Additionally, it requires an integrated approach to address serious anthropogenic threats such as pollution, the introduction of invasive species and climate change, as well as addressing the need for the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems.

Although fisheries management in the Caribbean Netherlands has improved dramatically compared to 10 years ago, many fish stocks are still declining. To make fisheries management more collaborative and sustainable WWF believes that external factors influencing fish stocks should be taken into account. If not, there is a high chance that commercial fish stocks in the Caribbean Netherlands will decline even further to the point where they are no longer economically viable and will be replaced by lower trophic species. This is already happening in the Caribbean Netherlands and is a prelude to ecosystem collapse as seen on other islands in the region, where fisheries management is in an even much poorer state than on the Dutch islands. Lessons should be learnt from places like Jamaica, where badly managed artisanal fishing played a big role in the collapse of the local coral reef ecosystem.

GOAL OF THE CURRENT POLICY BRIEF

Being aware of the challenges faced by the fisheries sector in the Caribbean Netherlands, both ecologically, socially and institutionally, WWF-NL conducted a series of studies to gain practical insights in these challenges. The aim was to draw up a suggested course of action to strengthen and improve the current fisheries management practices on the three islands. These studies are currently being finalized but due to the review deadline for the sustainable fisheries plan of the ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Safety, WWF-NL decided to share the preliminary findings through this policy brief. The goal of this policy brief is to provide legislators as well as stakeholders within the fisheries sector with a summary of the key findings obtained from WWF-NL‘s fisheries research with the aim to translate these findings into fisheries policy and management. If these recommendations are followed, we are confident that truly sustainable fisheries can be achieved in the Caribbean Netherlands. Of note is that scientific references, details on study findings and other additional information can be found in the associated study reports that will be published in the course of the upcoming few months.

OVERALL KEY FINDINGS

Urgency: Currently the fisheries sectors of the Caribbean Netherlands are not being managed adequately. The sector is not transparent, most targeted or commercial fish stocks are either over exploited or fully exploited and dwindling. And a lot of fishermen are not able to meet their domestic and family needs. However, there is potential to turn this situation around. This would require an investment in time, support, collaboration with all stakeholders and an investment in human resources and capital.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food safety ultimately is responsible for fisheries management. This is not limited to having up to date legislation and policy. It is also the minister’s responsibility to ensure that implementation and enforcement of legislation and policy takes place. This requires that the implementing partners (public entities, park authorities, The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, police, fishermen themselves, etc.), which do not necessarily fall under the direct responsibility of the ministry, have sufficient resources, skills and support to fulfil their tasks. Given the small scale and limited availability of resources on the islands it is therefore advisable to share the responsibility amongst different stakeholders. This ensures that 1) There are enough resources, both human and financial; and 2) That there will be support for the policy. This does require that the division of roles are realistic and clear for all involved parties.

Integral approach: Collaboration with the different ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the Ministry of Justice and Security, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry Social Affairs and Employment is crucial to ensure an effective governance structure with and within the public entities. Aforementioned ministries all have a relation to the fisheries sector and are needed and able to make the required positive change in the fisheries sector and should therefore be included in policy development and implementation.

Coherency: Fisheries management should be in line with national, regional and international fisheries and conservation laws, regulations and recommendations, such as the international guidelines from the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC), FAO Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines, 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, CITES, CMS, etc., the national nature policy plans and island laws and regulations. Sustainable fisheries management should use an internationally recommended ecosystem based approach as well as precautionary approach as its founding principles.

Inclusiveness: And last but not least we would like to emphasize that resource management comes down to people management. This means that proper and effective resource management thus not only revolves around legislation, enforcement, monitoring and research. But, more importantly, attention must be paid to the organizations, institutions and individuals assigned with the task to manage the resource. In order to achieve effective management, these entities are required to be well equipped for their executive duties. Even more so, it is of importance that the individuals who are affected directly by the management measures are directly included in the process. This can be done through co-management in which different actors in fisheries are included in the way management is set up and implemented. . The inclusion of local fishers in the management process appears to be most effective and successful when they are able to organize themselves with clearly defined representatives. This tends to aid the efficiency of the co-management process, communication between parties and tends to result in more uniformity and support among the stakeholders regarding the management measures. The option of exploring the ideas of co-management and the inclusion of fishermen can be initiated by organizing workshops with fishermen on every island to identify shared goals and management strategies. It should also be considered that there are new or non-traditional fishing activities on the islands from Chinese, Latin American or other immigrants, therefore these groups should be included in the management structure as well.

Why is it so difficult to manage the fisheries sector on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius and how should this be tackled in the future in order to have long-lasting results? In the past, there have been several attempts to achieve more sustainable and better-managed fisheries practices on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius, but they (partially) failed. Success has been achieved regarding conservation of certain species, for example, the sea turtles. There are several institutions responsible for, related to, or with an interest in fisheries management on the three islands. In the ideal situation, these institutions and stakeholders would collaborate to manage the sector. However, this is where it goes wrong: collaboration is not going smoothly, or is non-existent.

Since the constitutional change in 2010, the Netherlands is more prominently present on the islands in terms of policy, legislation, and management. Because the Government of the Netherlands has an international accountability concerning fisheries (i.e. contributing to global monitoring of fish stocks), has more capacity to and is in general more active in getting things done (i.e. cultural difference), more pressure has been put on the fisheries sector of the three islands to be managed. Since 2010, several projects have been executed (e.g. monitoring research, attempts to create a fishery cooperative, EEZ legislation, and implementation of a shark and marine mammal/cetacean sanctuary). However, on all three islands structural collaboration with the fishers remains an issue according to all stakeholders. The World Wide Fund for Nature – The Netherlands (WWF-NL) has been working on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius for many decades and has an interest to develop economically viable and community-supported sustainable fisheries. As WWF-NL learned about the difficulties present on the islands regarding the fisheries sector, WWF-NL also became more involved in attempting to realize sustainable fisheries management on the islands.

Aware of the fact that managing the fisheries sector is as much a social as an ecological issue, WWF-NL asked Stacey Mac Donald (KITLV) to assist with identifying the social bottlenecks and specifically the come up with solutions for these bottlenecks. The question raised was under which circumstances it will be possible to engage fishers in an organized manner in the development of sustainable fisheries. To come up with workable solutions, WWF-NL set up the ‘Social Mapping’ project to get a better understanding of who the stakeholders are and what their position is regarding fisheries management. To do so, first a description of the fisheries sector on each island (Chapter 3) and the different institutions, organizations and stakeholders responsible for fisheries management on the three islands were identified (Chapter 4). This produced two key findings:

Of all the of stakeholders and organizations involved with fisheries, many often do not know who is responsible for what (or why); 2. Confirming what was already known: the fishers, who are the primary stakeholders, are not structurally or sufficiently involved in the entire process of fisheries management.

Because it was believed the issues are most pressing on Bonaire, an intervention study on Bonaire was conducted in which the researcher collaborated closely with the fishers. Initially the intervention aimed to identifying how to best organize a meeting with fishermen in order to involve them in fisheries management practices. This developed into establishment of a fisheries cooperative (Chapter 5). Based on the intervention study and interviews, the different views about fisheries and fisheries management of the stakeholders became evident (Chapter 6). These insights were used to develop several models to visualize and explain the existing social and psychological bottlenecks preventing the islands from achieving successful sustainable fisheries management (Chapter 7). The complexity and interconnectedness of these bottlenecks resulted into a few key solutions, developed into a roadmap to achieve widely supported sustainable fisheries management (Chapter 8).

The table below presents an overview of the bottlenecks on various stakeholder levels, the corresponding consequences and recommendations on how to overcome these bottlenecks. The repetitiveness that occurs illustrates the interrelatedness and the complexity of the social aspects regarding fisheries management.

Ultimately all the bottlenecks presented in the table lead to the issues the primary stakeholders – in varying degrees – are concerned with to begin with: - Decline in biodiversity - Declining fish stocks - Declining coral reefs - Dying culture and profession - Decrease income of the fishers - No compliance to legislation - Unwillingness for behaviour change.

These issues are in turn closely related to each other. While it may seem a daunting task to resolve all the existing bottlenecks, this does not necessarily have to be the case as can be seen in the solutions presented. Stakeholder participation is a key element of successful fisheries management. Due to the complexity of fisheries management, there is not one optimal interaction approach: the initiators of, as well as participants in fisheries management processes should decide and negotiate on how much and what kind of interaction is necessary, appropriate and desirable. The responsibility for finding an appropriate degree of interaction lies with the initiator of fisheries management. Transparency about the chosen strategies (and limitations) to engage in the interaction processes is the key to reaching consensus about the degree of interaction. It is recommended that:

On all islands a fisheries cooperative must be established, by means of strong, continuous facilitation. This facilitation cannot be simply imposed on the fishermen, but must be wanted and accepted. 2. The fisheries departments of all public entities must be strengthened in terms of knowledge, urgency and capacity. 3. The urgency among both the local and national government to address and manage the fisheries sector must be enlarged through joint lobbying from NGO’s and fishers. 4. A systematic stakeholder analysis should be carried out to ensure representative involvement of those stakeholders relevant to the fisheries management question. Clear objectives for the participatory process need to be agreed among stakeholders at the outset. It should be made explicit who are considered stakeholders in the issue at hand, which of these groups can participate and in which form, and who decides on all of this, in short: who is the owner of the participatory process. 5. Where relevant stakeholders should be involved as early as possible and throughout the process. The different contexts of departure (i.e. the interests of the different stakeholders) must be shared at the beginning of a participatory process. 6. A transdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, long term, legally binding fisheries policy plan and management plan must be developed by a stakeholder-working group. The management plan should clearly define – in a legally binding way if possible – the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in fisheries management. 7. To ensure participation continuity, transparency and clarity throughout the development of a fisheries policy and management plan a fisheries engagement officer must be installed. Preferably by the National (and local) government. However, to ensure the position of the fisheries engagement officer remains as neutral as possible, a joint funding construction could be created (e.g. the salary of this officer is jointly funded by the key fisheries stakeholders: national & local government, NGO’s and fisher representatives). A key prerequisite for a jointfunding construction is that clear and concrete agreements are made in advance among the stakeholders about the role, responsibilities, opportunities. Moreover, it should not be possible for the financing parties to (easily) deviate from or ignore these agreements. 8. A sustainable financial model must be developed for fisheries management for all three islands to prevent the sole reliance on perceived (political) urgency. 9. Throughout the development of the management and policy plan, pilot projects must be executed, the communities must be informed through public campaigns and the plans must be evaluated and adapted accordingly.

What this report illustrates, is that in fisheries management the focus must not lie solely on solving the final outcomes (i.e. decline in biodiversity, declining fish stocks, dying culture and profession etc.), but rather concentrate on the facets (i.e. bottlenecks) underlying the existence of these issues. In the case of fisheries management, this entails that a lot of focus and energy must be placed on guiding and improving the process of fisheries management.

For the special municipalities of the Netherlands, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is responsible for the proper management of fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around the islands and, together with the island authorities is responsible for the proper management of fisheries in the territorial sea (TS). The Caribbean Netherlands, either as special municipalities of the Netherlands or through the Kingdom of the Netherlands, participate in- and cooperate with global and regional efforts for fisheries management through adherence to international instruments and participation in international bodies. By becoming a party to a legally binding instrument, that party is legally bound to the obligations therein. Currently, the Caribbean Netherlands – either as special municipality of the Netherlands or as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has committed to the following instruments and international treaties with relevance to fisheries:

Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, Cartagena Convention: Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol (SPAW) , Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); 1982 , The Migratory Shark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),  Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention (IAC) Caracas, Venezuela, December 1 1996., Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) , The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS),1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI), The Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC)

The need for better fisheries management Throughout the Caribbean, like in the rest of the world, the abundance of marine fish species have been declining over the past decades. The health and abundance of fish stocks depend not only on fishing pressure but also on the quality of the marine ecosystems. In the Caribbean Netherlands, coral reefs and the open ocean are the main ecosystems in which the species targeted by the fisheries sector occur. Coral reefs are marine biodiversity hotspots that are not only invaluable for coastal protection but also have a high economic value through associated fisheries and tourism. As healthy fish stocks are essential for the existence of fisheries, concentrating efforts towards more sustainable fishery practices, will not only benefit ecosystems, but also fishermen and other users that contribute to the local economy such as dive tourism. Hence, proper management of the fisheries sector is important for the existence of the profession and for ensuring food security, and also for other sectors which are vital to the economy of the islands. Moreover fisheries plays a very important role when it comes to culture and identity of inhabitants of the Caribbean. As a recreational activity it is a vital source of wellbeing. Hence, it is not only food and dollars that make fisheries an activity to manage well.

As opposed to historical fisheries management in the Caribbean Netherlands, sustainable fisheries management must be a joint effort by the local government, national government, nature NGOs, fishermen and buyers. In addition, adequate enforcement must be in place. Truly sustainable fisheries management requires an active and adaptive approach to the conservation of areas and species, a focus on communication, education and awareness, active research and monitoring, and interaction with stakeholders. Additionally, it requires an integrated approach to address serious anthropogenic threats such as pollution, the introduction of invasive species and climate change, as well as addressing the need for the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems (See Box 1).

Considering the aforementioned, a new and more effective fisheries management system is required in the Caribbean Netherlands. In light of this need, WWF-NL initiated a series of fisheries management oriented studies, including the a Social Mapping Study of the fisheries sector of the Caribbean Netherlands, called study ‘Mas Piska pa Boneiru’ (Mac Donald, 2019). The study was conducted to identify and come up with solutions for the social bottlenecks c in arena of fisheries management the Caribbean Netherlands. The study concluded that on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius there are many interlinked bottlenecks inhibiting effective management of the sector. The following bottlenecks were identified:

Urgency to manage fisheries is lower than the urgency to manage nature 2. Urgency to manage nature is lower than the urgency to invest in development 3. Nature NGO tend to have a negative reputation within community 4. There are no fisheries organizations / representatives 5. Fisheries legislation has gaps and is insufficient 6. Responsibilities for (daily) management are unclear 7. There is a lack of resources both in terms of budget & capacity 8. There is a lack of inclusion of fishers in the management process 9. No collective lobbying by fishers takes place 10. No structural investment in fisheries sector development are made 11. There exists no fisheries policy or management plan (no management goals) 12. There is insufficient enforcement of legislation taking place 13. (Perceived) Insufficient communication of legislation towards stakeholders, especially the fishers 14. There is no governance support from fishers

To overcome these management bottlenecks, a roadmap was developed based on insights and findings from the research. In addition to describing what the solutions entail, explaining which bottlenecks are tackled, the roadmap presents concrete steps on how each solution can be successfully implemented. For the creation of the roadmap, the principles of Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) and the co-management principles were used as a vantage point for developing concrete steps and guidelines in order to achieve effective, sustainable fisheries management on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius. The (theoretical) background about and importance of EBM and the co-management principles can be read more in-depth in Appendix A.

Identifying and overcoming bottlenecks in fisheries management on Bonaire.

Fishing is one of the oldest professions in the Dutch Caribbean. Many families have made a living from the fisheries sector, passing on the tradition to their children. Over the years, however, the number of professional fishermen has declined due to various reasons. It has become increasingly difficult to make a decent living from fishing: global developments such as pollution, climate change and global overfishing and by-catch have devastating effects on the health of oceans and coral reefs and consequently local fish populations.

Promoting sustainable fisheries practices is a key element in safeguarding healthy oceans and marine ecosystems, and this crucial role is highlighted in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s ocean strategy. Part of WWF’s strategy is to develop economically viable and community-supported sustainable fisheries. World Wide Fund for Nature – The Netherlands (WWF-NL) has been working in the Dutch Caribbean municipalities of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius for many decades  and has an interest to develop economically viable and community-supported sustainable fisheries. Just like WWF-NL, many local fishermen feel an increasing need to take action to improve the fisheries sector. Fishermen are facing changes in the sector, notably increased legislation and restrictions, which affects their livelihood. Over time it is becoming more and more difficult for them to catch a decent amount of fish. And fishermen have traditionally received little help and support from the government.

The success of WWF-NL’s initiative is dependent on participation and support from the fisheries community itself as well as legislators and policymakers. Participatory fisheries management models have been successfully implemented in several places around the world. Close collaboration between fishermen, governments, industry and NGOs has led to effective and sustainable management, increasing fish stocks and economically strengthened fishing communities.

In the past, attempts to introduce participatory fisheries management within Dutch Caribbean have not been very successful. Meetings organized to discuss regulatory changes or to find joint solutions for unsustainable fishing practices have led to heated discussions and resistance from the fishing community. There has been quite some research in recent years which has focused on gathering data on the fisheries sector (e.g. De Graaf, 2016; Johnson & Jackson, 2015; Johnson & Saunders, 2014). Whilst this work helps to increase knowledge about fish catch as well as fishermen views and attitudes, none have so far led to successful co-management of the sector. Attempts by the National government (Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland), local government and the park management organization, STINAPA Bonaire, have so far failed to adequately engage the fishing community and have sometimes even intensified reluctance among both fishermen as well as (local) institutions to work towards a participative fisheries management model. The need to achieve strong and effective co-management of the fisheries sector has become even more pressing in light of recent changes in fisheries legislation and evidence of declining fish stocks.

To understand how support can be leveraged among the stakeholders in the field to support sustainable fisheries within the Caribbean Netherlands, WWF-NL has initiated several fisheries related projects including a social mapping study of the fisheries sector on each island. I collaborated with the WWF-NL for the first mapping study, which took place on Bonaire and lasted three months. Working closely with local fishermen, as well as other stakeholders responsible for (sustainable) management of the fisheries sector, I identified, analyzed and sought solutions for the bottlenecks inhibiting co-management of the sector by means of a test case: setting up and supporting a fisheries cooperation on Bonaire.

Institutional framework: where are the fishermen?

On Bonaire, effectively implementing sustainable initiatives within the fisheries sector has been challenging. Fisheries legislation is outdated and deficient and, more importantly, there is much debate over whether the fishing community has been sufficiently involved in the development of local legislation. Despite attempts to manage and improve the fisheries sector, several basic elements for effective management are lacking.

The lack of participation of fishermen in the decision-making process is a significant issue as their involvement is a pre-requisite to the efficient management of the fisheries sector. In the first phase of the project, I created several organograms of the organizational structures currently responsible for the management of Bonaire’s fisheries sector. These organograms revealed the absence of fishermen in the decision-making process.  

During the interview phase of the project, different stakeholders from Bonaire’s fisheries sector gave different reasons and solutions for this lack of fishermen participation. This was based on Smith, Sainsbury and Stevens (1999) who stated that: “Fisheries management is characterized by multiple and conflicting objectives, multiple stakeholders with divergent interests and high levels of uncertainty about the dynamics of the resources being managed” (p. 965). This management complexity is visible on all levels on Bonaire.

Not only is it practically complex to manage a fisheries sector, one must also deal with psychological and behavioral factors such as a perceived sense of fairness, emotional and cultural values, social norms and resistance towards breaking old habits. The consequences of a proposed solution affect each stakeholder in a different manner. Because of their non-participation, the fishermen on Bonaire have often been the direct ‘victims’ and have become increasingly hesitant to support initiatives aimed towards sustainability.

Based on both a literature review and insights derived from interviews with different fisheries stakeholders on Bonaire, it was clear that to truly understand the organizational and social struggles present in the field of fisheries management, and more importantly, to come up with practical, effective solutions, the average research approach (e.g. conducting a series of interviews, distributing a questionnaire, carry out a series of observations) was neither sufficient nor desirable.  A new question and goal arose: who are the fishermen of Bonaire, (how) do they want to be included, and if so, what do they need to be included in debates and projects concerning fisheries management on Bonaire?

Launching PISKABON: a functioning fisheries cooperation.

The most obvious approach to empower fishermen to structurally provide input into management decisions taken within the sector is by means of a fisheries cooperative (called PISKABON, which stands for Fish (piska) Bonaire). Previous unsuccessful attempts to establish a fisheries cooperative left the fishermen feeling demotivated and skeptical about why fisheries management is needed or even desirable. Fishermen felt that there were hidden agendas, that the previous cooperative wouldn’t help all fishermen equally and that organizing themselves and collaborating with nature organizations and/or the government would simply lead to more restrictions, rules and regulations. This would consequently mean that the fishermen would lose their freedom, which is one of the main reasons why these men (and women) choose to become fishermen in the first place.

Attempts to improve the monitoring of fish catches, for example, created concern amongst fishermen that this would result in them having to pay taxes – something they’ve never had to deal with.   Aware of this sentiment and based on my initial conversations and observations, I decided to apply a more hands-on approach: less talk, more action.

Unexpected achievements

Within a couple weeks after my arrival on Bonaire, a board of directors was elected by the first newly registered members of the cooperation. In the following two weeks, the cooperation secured its first funding from the Dutch Government. In the second and third month, the beginnings of a strategic plan and communication plan were put in writing, amendments were made to the by-laws and introductory meetings with the most important stakeholders were arranged.

Why it worked: Action, trust, patience, and interdependence.

By working closely with the board of the directors and consequently with other fisheries stakeholders on Bonaire and in the Netherlands, I was able to observe and experience the struggles in fisheries management up close and personal. This approach also allowed me to try out solutions on the spot. Four key elements led to successful interactions with the fishermen and the realization of the fisheries cooperation: action, trust, patience, and dependence.

Action: Support and mediation

While the previous attempts to launch a fisheries cooperation were unsuccessful, they did provide crucial knowledge of do’s and don’ts throughout the process. Specifically, neither the initiative nor the board members should be politically associated. Also, being a “true fishermen” was not an important criterion for board members, compared to more useful assets such as being available, willingness and commitment, a generally positive or neutral social status, and knowledge of the different types fishermen and fisheries practices on Bonaire.

In addition, the new board members received full time, practical support, which was not the case in the past. Currently, the fisheries cooperation is still made up out of volunteers with limited time and in some cases limited knowledge about the procedures needed to follow to succeed. Lack of action among fishermen is not due to unwillingness, but due to lack of time and resources. Removing these obstacles by adding someone to support them full time allowed board members to share their input, experience successes and motivate them to increasingly prioritize their efforts for the cooperation. The support provided should be done by someone who is driven, proactive, patient, a fast learner and able to mediate between different stakeholders with different needs and interests.

Trust and confidence

Throughout the process, I remained neutral and transparent. I provided all necessary information to the various stakeholders while remaining honest and open about my role. I made sure I shared information in a clear manner, whilst gradually guiding new information in such a manner that fear or distrust remained minimal. Simultaneously, I encouraged criticism (towards my own role and others) and made sure people felt heard and supported.

Putting in the time and effort by doing what had to be done did not only help to build trust among the fishermen, but also helped other stakeholders gain confidence in the possible success of a fisheries cooperation. To gain trust, tireless communication and transparency is key. Keeping all parties, particularly the board members, informed about the latest developments proved to be a crucial ingredient to ensure a sense of fairness and understanding.

Patience: step by step

One of the main insights gained during the process is that board members must be given the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding, formulate their opinions and come up with workable solutions. I stressed this factor amongst stakeholders such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, STINAPA Bonaire, WWF-NL and other individuals eager to collaborate with the cooperative. Simultaneously I remained focused on supporting, informing and pushing the board members to act. Leaving too much room for discussion and discovery might lead to non-action, which in turn can lead to missed chances and opportunities.

Interdependence

The more experienced individuals in fisheries management often feel that their views or knowledge should carry more weight. While their experience is important, it is also crucial for these experts consider the ideas and insights of fishermen. Fishermen must also understand and accept the protocols and procedures that must be followed to achieve certain goals, and that these require persistence, communication and a lot of action. Fortunately, I noticed throughout the project that board members as well as many fishermen have a strong desire to collaborate. Successful participatory fisheries management requires that all stakeholders be aware of their interdependence to each other.

The future of PISKABON

Although much has been achieved during the past months with PISKABON, the road ahead remains long and at times difficult. The current board members possess several strong and important qualities that will help build trust among fishermen. However, several important steps must be taken to ensure the long-term success of the cooperation. For example, board members must receive support and coaching so that they can excel in their role. Gaining more trust from the fisheries community should also help ensure that PISKABON truly represents the fishermen of Bonaire. This can be achieved with the successful execution of tangible (small) projects that favor the fishermen.

Lastly, all stakeholders must be made aware the inclusion of fishermen in participatory fisheries management practices is not PISKABON’s sole purpose. PISKABON is a fisheries cooperative, which aims to address the fishermen’s needs. In addition, PISKABON can inform, educate and represent the fishermen about and during (sustainable) management initiatives. If approached in a transparent manner and with rigorous communication, PISKABON can also facilitate the collaboration of fishermen in monitoring research and the implementation of new sustainable fishing practices or techniques, provided that the different stakeholders’ common values are fostered.

PISKABON’s future looks bright, but its ultimate success will depend on the cooperation between stakeholders and the realization that they are very much interdependent. Like one of the board members repeatedly says: if all parties make the effort, PISKABON can do great things for the fishermen, the entire community and perhaps even become an inspiration for the region. If successful, PISKABON could be the missing link in the co-management of the fisheries sector. This could result in more sustainable fishing practices where everybody wins, a goal WWF-NL full heartedly supports.

This news-item was published by DCNA in BioNews 11-2018.