Small-scale fisheries in ecologically sensitive areas in Latin America and the Caribbean: Do marine protected areas benefit fisheries governance?

CINTI, ANA; RAMIREZ, LUISA; CASTREJÓN, MAURICIO; ABURTO, JAIME A.; LOTO, LUCIANA; FULTON, STUART; RUEDA, MARIO; SCHIAVETTI, ALEXANDRE; FERNÁNDEZ-RIVERA MELO, FRANCISCO J.; BRAVO, MANUEL; ALARCON, DANIELA TRIGUEIRINHO; ARAÚJO, VALÉRIA PENCHEL; PARMA, ANA M.

AMBIO

ROYAL SWEDISH ACAD SCIENCES

Año: 2024 vol. 54 p. 20 - 42

0044-7447

Manysmall-scale fisheries (SSFs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) operatein ecologically sensitive areas, where balancing conservation and resource useis challenging. ’Multiple-use’ marine protected areas (MPAs) have beenimplemented to accommodate SSFs (among other uses) within areas designated forconservation, creating opportunities and challenges for SSF governance. Weanalyzed eleven case studies from LAC to explore: (1) how different MPAinstitutional designs affect key aspects of SSF governance and (2) the linksbetween these effects and the type of initiative that promoted MPAestablishment (origin). Results indicate that the existence of an MPA benefitedSSF governance in many ways, with more pronounced positive effects in MPAs withmixed to bottom-up origin supported by well-organized fishing groups. Inaddition, the presence of supportive MPA authorities that leveraged localcapacities and initiatives and adopted flexible and collaborative governancesystems made a difference in several cases. Lessons for integrating MPA and SSFgovernance are drawn.