Reef Conservation off the Hook: Can Market Interventions Make Coral Reef Fisheries More Sustainable?

The overexploitation of coral reef fisheries threatens the persistence of reef ecosystems and the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. Market-based initiatives to increase fisheries sustainability have been widely implemented in industrialized commodity fisheries, but the suitability of these initiatives for coral reef fisheries has not been systematically investigated. Here, we present a typology of market-based interventions and coral reef fisheries sectors and identity promising approaches for each fishery archetype. For high value, export-oriented reef fisheries that are highly unsustainable (live reef food fish and dried sea cucumbers), traditional regulatory efforts including trade restrictions will be most effective. For high-value, export-oriented fisheries for highly fecund invertebrates (lobsters and mollusks), certification and ratings efforts, fishery improvement projects, and sustainable purchasing commitments can improve fishing practices and increase fisher market access and revenue. For lower-value fisheries targeting species for domestic or regional consumption, sustainable purchasing commitments among local buyers, consumer awareness campaigns, and local certification and ratings schemes hold promise for shifting attitudes toward sustainability and increasing food security for local communities. Finally, fisher empowerment efforts including direct access to local markets and market information, training on improved post-harvest methods, and formation of fisher associations hold promise for increasing fisher incomes, reducing wasteful catch, increasing food security, and de-incentivizing unsustainable practices. Despite the potential of market-based interventions, specific approaches must be carefully tailored to the ecological and social reality of these systems, including the inherent unsustainability of commercial coral reef fisheries, the limited capacity for fisheries governance, the limited financial support of market-based initiatives, and the threatened status of coral reef ecosystems globally.

SUSTAINABILITY WINDOW APPROACH FOR FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AT THE COASTAL AREA OF TERNATE ISLAND, NORTH MALUKU PROVINCE

Aims: This study aims to assess the value sustainable development opportunity of the coral reef fisheries activities in Indonesia from the ecological, economic, and social aspect, with a case study of coral reef fisheries at the coastal area of Ternate Island, using the Sustainability Window (SuWi) approach. Methodology and Results: The data was collected from statistical data from relevant institutions and literature study, which consists of ecological, economic and social data, and analyzed using the Sustainability Window approach to determine the sustainability of the fisheries development. The result shows that the Sustainability Window of the coral reef fisheries in the research area tends to move towards sustainable development, where the national policy in catch fisheries management has an impact on the sustainable development and management of coral reef fisheries at the coastal area of Ternate Island. Conclusion, significance and impact study: The Sustainability Window of coral reef fisheries at the coastal area of Ternate Island tends to move towards sustainable processes, with the width of sustainability window that not too narrow to the coral reef fisheries activities at the provincial and national levels. This condition attaches strings to a precautionary approach in policy decision for the management process, and consideration to the effect that can result from the development policy, both at the provincial and national level. The use of Sustainability Windows approach can provide a new simple way for assessing whether the development has been towards a more sustainable direction or not.