Community-based fisheries management and monitoring development and evaluation

• Main Author: Paylor, Adrienne D.
• Language: English
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: Arctic; Weir; Arctic charr; Holman; Victoria Island
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/1485

This research involved the development and evaluation of a community-based fisheries management plan for the community of Holman on Victoria Island in the N.W.T. The management of this Arctic charr fishery is the shared responsibility of a co-management committee called the Fisheries Joint Management Committee (FJMC). The purpose of this research was to develop a framework for the implementation and application of community-based fisheries management and monitoring operating under co-management regimes. Catch data and biological data collected by community fishery monitors were analysed in combination with two community household surveys collected in 1993 and 1997, a weir project conducted in 1992, and a tagging program conducted in 1992 and 1993. Results of this study showed that periodic household surveys demonstrate how community perspectives influence subsistence fishing practices. For example, theses surveys have been used to identified changes in fishing locations, measured subsistence charr needs, and to assess the degree of community support for alternative management options. Community-based fisheries monitoring provides a description of the fishery, builds a comprehensive database and encourages capacity-building at the community level. Complementary scientific assessment rograms such as a tagging project, can make important contributions to the interpretation of community monitoring data. Recommendations for improvement of the community-based approach to fisheries management include: unbiased sampling techniques in the monitoring program; a well designed tagging program; training programs for community members; and expanded community consultation programs.