Using fishers' knowledge for sustainable management in the artisanal gillnet fishery in Suriname

Abstract

The increasing demand for fish is putting pressure on wild fish stocks worldwide. Although artisanal fisheries play a key role for people’s livelihoods and food security, these fisheries are often overlooked or undervalued in fisheries’ policy and management. Next to the target species, fisheries also put pressure on other species that are caught in fishery operations. This so-called bycatch is an important driver of population declines in several species of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, skates and sawfish), marine mammals, seabirds and turtles.

There is an increasing interest in the local ecological knowledge of fishers about marine ecosystems. This can be associated with recent attempts of fisheries management to develop more sustainable approaches while also including a local ‘voice’. There is a limited amount of studies on the use of local ecological knowledge in fisheries in Suriname.

Hence, this case study, which was part of the author’s internship at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Guianas, explored what local ecological knowledge fishers from the artisanal gillnet fishery in Suriname hold and its (potential) role in fisheries management and conservation efforts by answering the following research question:

How can fishers’ knowledge be incorporated in fishery management and marine conservation efforts?

All respondents are experiencing a decline in the volume in catches of most fish species and they attribute this to increased fishing effort (both artisanal and industrial). Fishers catch many more fish than just the main target species of Bang-bang (Acoupa weakfish or Cynosicon acoupa) and Kandratiki (Green weakfish or Cynoscion virescens). Most species of sharks, rays, turtles, and dolphins showed in a species guide during the interviews are caught at least sometimes in this fishery and all rays, turtles and dolphins are returned to sea. Most of the time, rays and turtles are found alive while sharks are mostly already dead when found in the net. The fishers also provided information on the season and locations of where they encounter the different species and perceived changes on the number they encounter now as opposed to five years ago. Next to knowledge about the different species, fishers can provide useful information about illegal and unregulated fishing practices and about changes in fishing effort.

The fishers themselves, almost all Guyanese men, do not feel that they are represented by anyone and they are not organized as a group. Members of the fishers’ cooperatives involved in this fishery are mostly boat owners who do not go to sea themselves. Fishers might be better included in fisheries management or conservation projects if they are better represented within the fishery cooperatives, or at least within the main cooperative, which has established stronger relationships with the government and NGOs over the years.