361
10 The Role of Local Ecological Knowledge in the Conservation and Management...
Kimbe Bay independently confi rmed that grouper aggregations formed at fi ve out of
eight sites previously identifi ed through LEK. These verifi ed sites were subsequently
given a much higher ranking than non-verifi ed sites when Marxan software was used
to design a MPA network for Kimbe Bay by an NGO working in the area (Green
et al. 2009 ) . In Fiji, the participation during interview studies of the Research Division
of the Fisheries Department and subsequent preliminary evaluation of several sites
were important factors in the inclusion of grouper aggregation protection in both
outreach work by the Division and in a draft revision of the national fi shery ordinance. Management or conservation initiatives that are at least partly in line with
traditional thinking have far more chance of success than approaches that are not
familiar to, or consistent with, local beliefs and understanding.
Even communities might prefer to base their actions on more detailed studies. In
2004, traditional owners in Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, expressed interest in
placing a seasonal ban at one aggregation during the locally defi ned grouper spawning season (October to January) (Hamilton and Kama 2004 ) . However, before placing a seasonal ban on this FSA they requested that an independent, long-term
scientifi c monitoring be conducted. In June 2006, the results of 2 years of monthly
monitoring were presented to the local community that claimed traditional ownership of this site (Table 10.1 ). On the basis of these scientifi c results, the community
decided that a seasonal ban from October to January would not effectively conserve
this grouper aggregation, and the community consequently voted to turn the aggregation site and the surrounding reef area into a community-based no-take MPA.
Attention attracted to aggregations can even lead to much broader initiatives, following validation. In the southern Philippines, the discovery of several small aggregation sites in TayTay Bay, northeastern Palawan, followed by on-site validations
resulted not only in protection of the sites, but was also the catalyst for many communities to come together in the Bay to discuss marine protected area work in general, work that later helped to address concerns about the developing export trade in
live fi sh, particularly the leopard coralgrouper (YSM personal observation 2006).
Finally, the case study from southern Manus (Table 10.1 , Fig. 10.6 ) provides a
contrasting example of where a community was so confi dent of their LEK on their
FSA that they used it to immediately develop a community-based fi sheries management strategy. In early 2004, the Pere community from Southern Manus placed a
lunar-based ban on spearfi shing and commercial fi shing at the aggregation site in
the 10 days leading up to and including the new moon in every month of the year.
During this period only subsistence hook and line fi shing was allowed at the aggregation site (Hamilton et al. 2004 ) . In this particular case, long-term monitoring
commenced only after management measures based on local knowledge were
implemented, and long-term scientifi c monitoring simply confi rmed what local fi shers already knew regarding lunar and annual seasonality of the aggregations. This is
not to say that monitoring did not serve an important role in adaptive management
or broader conservation initiatives. In early 2007 when the Pere community saw
monitoring data that indicated that the densities of groupers at their FSA had not
improved, they voted to place a 1 year ban on all fi shing at the aggregation site during
lunar periods when aggregations formed. Initial efforts to protect and monitor this
10 The Role of Local Ecological Knowledge in the Conservation and Management...
Kimbe Bay independently confi rmed that grouper aggregations formed at fi ve out of
eight sites previously identifi ed through LEK. These verifi ed sites were subsequently
given a much higher ranking than non-verifi ed sites when Marxan software was used
to design a MPA network for Kimbe Bay by an NGO working in the area (Green
et al. 2009 ) . In Fiji, the participation during interview studies of the Research Division
of the Fisheries Department and subsequent preliminary evaluation of several sites
were important factors in the inclusion of grouper aggregation protection in both
outreach work by the Division and in a draft revision of the national fi shery ordinance. Management or conservation initiatives that are at least partly in line with
traditional thinking have far more chance of success than approaches that are not
familiar to, or consistent with, local beliefs and understanding.
Even communities might prefer to base their actions on more detailed studies. In
2004, traditional owners in Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, expressed interest in
placing a seasonal ban at one aggregation during the locally defi ned grouper spawning season (October to January) (Hamilton and Kama 2004 ) . However, before placing a seasonal ban on this FSA they requested that an independent, long-term
scientifi c monitoring be conducted. In June 2006, the results of 2 years of monthly
monitoring were presented to the local community that claimed traditional ownership of this site (Table 10.1 ). On the basis of these scientifi c results, the community
decided that a seasonal ban from October to January would not effectively conserve
this grouper aggregation, and the community consequently voted to turn the aggregation site and the surrounding reef area into a community-based no-take MPA.
Attention attracted to aggregations can even lead to much broader initiatives, following validation. In the southern Philippines, the discovery of several small aggregation sites in TayTay Bay, northeastern Palawan, followed by on-site validations
resulted not only in protection of the sites, but was also the catalyst for many communities to come together in the Bay to discuss marine protected area work in general, work that later helped to address concerns about the developing export trade in
live fi sh, particularly the leopard coralgrouper (YSM personal observation 2006).
Finally, the case study from southern Manus (Table 10.1 , Fig. 10.6 ) provides a
contrasting example of where a community was so confi dent of their LEK on their
FSA that they used it to immediately develop a community-based fi sheries management strategy. In early 2004, the Pere community from Southern Manus placed a
lunar-based ban on spearfi shing and commercial fi shing at the aggregation site in
the 10 days leading up to and including the new moon in every month of the year.
During this period only subsistence hook and line fi shing was allowed at the aggregation site (Hamilton et al. 2004 ) . In this particular case, long-term monitoring
commenced only after management measures based on local knowledge were
implemented, and long-term scientifi c monitoring simply confi rmed what local fi shers already knew regarding lunar and annual seasonality of the aggregations. This is
not to say that monitoring did not serve an important role in adaptive management
or broader conservation initiatives. In early 2007 when the Pere community saw
monitoring data that indicated that the densities of groupers at their FSA had not
improved, they voted to place a 1 year ban on all fi shing at the aggregation site during
lunar periods when aggregations formed. Initial efforts to protect and monitor this