Title
Identifying management options and effectiveness in Solomon Islands fisheries using traditional ecological knowledge
Author(s)
Rhodes, Kevin; Hughes, Alec; Jupiter, Stacy D.
Published
2023
Publisher
SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin
Abstract
While most fish spawning aggregations are targeted by fishers in Solomon Islands, very little is still known about spawning aggregation locations and the timing of aggregations for different species. We collected traditional ecological knowledge from 102 fishers residing around Munda, as well as the Roviana and Marovo Lagoons in Western Province to inform community-based management of fish spawning aggregations, and to provide recommendations for adapting current government regulations for the management of aggregating grouper species. Fishers identified 31 separate fishing locations and 26 possible aggregation areas, validating findings from earlier surveys while also highlighting new areas for verification and management. Collated traditional environmental knowledge, integrated with spawning information derived from past studies, pointed to regional variations in spawning times among individual species, specifically groupers, that lessens the effectiveness of the current nationwide seasonal ban and suggests that finer-scale management is warranted at the site level.
Keywords
fish spawning aggregations; Marovo Lagoon; Roviana Lagoon; community based fisheries management; locally managed marine areas

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PUB36164