WIOMSA-CORDIO spawning book Full Doc 10 oct 13.pdf

McClanahan et al. 2007; McClanahan 2010). While closures such as NTRs are widely appliedin aggregation-based fisheries, gear-based approaches are rare (Sadovy de Mitcheson et al. 2008;Hamilton et al. 2011) yet may be particularly relevant for more resilient aggregative spawners suchas S. sutor (Robertson et al. 2011). As demonstrated by our NTR model management plans mustaccount for different life history stages, considering both the need for aggregation-specific measuresand wider controls on the non-aggregation component of fishing mortality.There is an ethical dilemma associated with research on fishing sites that are important to fishers,including spawning aggregations (Haggan and Neis 2007). Fishers clearly use their knowledgeof spawning aggregation sites to maximize their catches and income (Hamilton et al. 2012a).Therefore using fisher knowledge to set conservation policies may result in ethical and validityissues (Maurstad 2002; Daw 2008). These issues are especially pertinent to research funded withinpredetermined conservation agenda. Consequently this study developed a conceptual approachto explicitly link the study of spawning aggregation-based fisheries to a more analytical evaluationof their management and conservation implications. Although this does not solve the ethical andvalidity concerns per se, it focuses attention on the fishery and its socio-economic drivers (i.e. theindicator-based framework), and promotes quantitative analysis of the fisheries and conservationcosts and benefits (i.e. the NTR effects model). Both of these novel approaches enable a morebalanced use of fisher knowledge and information sharing on the management and conservationimplications of spawning aggregation fisheries.Conservation initiatives will continue to provide much needed financial support to the WIO. Suchinitiatives would benefit from explicitly incorporating assessment and management of spawningaggregation-based fisheries. Moreover, conservation initiatives would benefit from avoidingthe over-generalisation, lack of quantitative evaluation and ethical and validity issues that havesometimes emerged in other regions. Clearly, the conservation imperative is influenced by thefact that most research to date has focused on the more vulnerable aggregative spawners such asgroupers. However, recognition that some aggregative spawners are relatively resilient to fishingis needed and the socio-economic aspects of the system must be understood. Upon verificationof an aggregation-based fishery and when status information is lacking, it is necessary to considertaxa-specific vulnerability to fishing and the potential costs and benefits of both conservationand fisheries management approaches. The data-poor tools used in the studies described here canprovide rapid information in such contexts.127