WORLD ATLAS OF CORAL REEFS
Table 2. A: Restrictions in regular use worldwide as a means of controlling levels of fishing
on coral reefs
Legal measure
Licensing
Gear restrictions
Species protection
Catch restrictions
Seasonal restrictions
Area restrictions
Notes and examples
Placing some degree of control over the numbers of fishers or vessels entering a
fishery by requiring possession of a license, and perhaps further restricting the
granting of such licenses, for example, to local community members
Limiting the types or amounts of fishing gear which may be used; restricting
the numbers or design of fish traps; restricting or prohibiting the use of
particular lines, nets or trace; prohibiting the use of scuba equipment in lobster
fisheries
Complete prohibition on the capture of particular species or species groups, often
rare species such as clams, lobsters, butterflyfish. sharks
Total numbers caught may be restricted on a daily basis, or per fisher tvjinimum
size limits are often set for species such as lobster to ensure they reach breeding
size before capture
Closing particular fisheries for certain periods of the year
The closure of particular designated areas to certain activities, or to all fishing
An understanding of the reef environment is as
important for traditional management as it is for any other
form of management, and such knowledge in traditional
societies can be considerable. For example, the spawning
cycles and locations of many species of fish are well
known. While such knowledge is useful for the exploitation of species it has also often led to restrictions. In
certam villages on Palau it was forbidden to catch certain
species offish at their spawning sites, while other species
were protected on their first day of spawning, but could be
caught subsequently. Turtles were often only allowed to be
caught after they had already laid one or more batches of
eggs, and similarly only a certain proportion of the eggs
could be harvested. Certain easily caught species could
not be harvested during fair weather conditions, ensuring
a supply when it was not possible to use boats during
storms, or when fishing was poor.
In many societies further restrictions have provided
different rights to particular social groups. In Yap in the
Caroline Islands, Micronesia, traditional societies once
operated on a complex hierarchy. Women and children,
together with certain members of "lower" classes were
only allowed to use simple fishing gears, and could only
fish in rivers and tide pools; a wider group of individuals
could use various techniques including hook and line and
traps; certain techniques required involvement of the
wider community; while there were also methods, such as
net fishing from canoes and trolling behind the reef,
which were restricted to prestigious members of society.
The influence of Western culture has radically altered
many traditional societies. New fishing gears, including
metal hooks, monofilament lines and lightweight nets,
were among the first introductions, rapidly changing the
effectiveness of fishing techniques. Subsequently there
has been a more gradual erosion of cultural and traditional
values, in many places supported by colonization or by
efforts to embrace Western lifestyles and government. In
some areas, even in the remote Pacific islands, all
methods of traditional management have been lost,
however elsewhere they remain, and in a number of
countries there are now increasing efforts to recognize
customary marine tenure within national constitutions.
Where this is taking place there is, to varying degrees, a
reawakening of the potential for reef management at
village level. Under such systems the implementation
of more Western styles of reef management, including
legally gazetted protected areas or coastal zone management systems, may be inappropriate or even impossible.
Legal controls
The use of the legal system as a means to control
individual actions which are known to damage reefs is
widespread. To be effective, legal measures require
enforcement. While this can be done through intensive
policing, many of the world's reefs are too remote, and
many countries too poor to carry out such expensive
activities. Increasing awareness of this problem has led
some countries to legislate more generally, while
developing more detailed control measures at the local
level in collaboration with local communities. Such
approaches enable important education of these com-
Table 2. A: Restrictions in regular use worldwide as a means of controlling levels of fishing
on coral reefs
Legal measure
Licensing
Gear restrictions
Species protection
Catch restrictions
Seasonal restrictions
Area restrictions
Notes and examples
Placing some degree of control over the numbers of fishers or vessels entering a
fishery by requiring possession of a license, and perhaps further restricting the
granting of such licenses, for example, to local community members
Limiting the types or amounts of fishing gear which may be used; restricting
the numbers or design of fish traps; restricting or prohibiting the use of
particular lines, nets or trace; prohibiting the use of scuba equipment in lobster
fisheries
Complete prohibition on the capture of particular species or species groups, often
rare species such as clams, lobsters, butterflyfish. sharks
Total numbers caught may be restricted on a daily basis, or per fisher tvjinimum
size limits are often set for species such as lobster to ensure they reach breeding
size before capture
Closing particular fisheries for certain periods of the year
The closure of particular designated areas to certain activities, or to all fishing
An understanding of the reef environment is as
important for traditional management as it is for any other
form of management, and such knowledge in traditional
societies can be considerable. For example, the spawning
cycles and locations of many species of fish are well
known. While such knowledge is useful for the exploitation of species it has also often led to restrictions. In
certam villages on Palau it was forbidden to catch certain
species offish at their spawning sites, while other species
were protected on their first day of spawning, but could be
caught subsequently. Turtles were often only allowed to be
caught after they had already laid one or more batches of
eggs, and similarly only a certain proportion of the eggs
could be harvested. Certain easily caught species could
not be harvested during fair weather conditions, ensuring
a supply when it was not possible to use boats during
storms, or when fishing was poor.
In many societies further restrictions have provided
different rights to particular social groups. In Yap in the
Caroline Islands, Micronesia, traditional societies once
operated on a complex hierarchy. Women and children,
together with certain members of "lower" classes were
only allowed to use simple fishing gears, and could only
fish in rivers and tide pools; a wider group of individuals
could use various techniques including hook and line and
traps; certain techniques required involvement of the
wider community; while there were also methods, such as
net fishing from canoes and trolling behind the reef,
which were restricted to prestigious members of society.
The influence of Western culture has radically altered
many traditional societies. New fishing gears, including
metal hooks, monofilament lines and lightweight nets,
were among the first introductions, rapidly changing the
effectiveness of fishing techniques. Subsequently there
has been a more gradual erosion of cultural and traditional
values, in many places supported by colonization or by
efforts to embrace Western lifestyles and government. In
some areas, even in the remote Pacific islands, all
methods of traditional management have been lost,
however elsewhere they remain, and in a number of
countries there are now increasing efforts to recognize
customary marine tenure within national constitutions.
Where this is taking place there is, to varying degrees, a
reawakening of the potential for reef management at
village level. Under such systems the implementation
of more Western styles of reef management, including
legally gazetted protected areas or coastal zone management systems, may be inappropriate or even impossible.
Legal controls
The use of the legal system as a means to control
individual actions which are known to damage reefs is
widespread. To be effective, legal measures require
enforcement. While this can be done through intensive
policing, many of the world's reefs are too remote, and
many countries too poor to carry out such expensive
activities. Increasing awareness of this problem has led
some countries to legislate more generally, while
developing more detailed control measures at the local
level in collaboration with local communities. Such
approaches enable important education of these com-