“Marine Areas of Responsible Fishing”: A Path Toward Small-Scale Fisheries Co-Management in Costa Rica? Perspectives from Golfo Dulce

Abstract

This chapter analyzes participatory management processes of small-scale fisheries in two Pacific embayments of Costa Rica, a centralized state of Central America where fisheries management is traditionally “top-down”, data deficient, and poorly adapted to local biological and socio-economic conditions. We provide an historical overview of coastal activities governance and fisheries national context, and describe different participative approaches to small-scale fishery management. The Marine Area of Responsible Fishing (Área Marina de Pesca Responsable, or AMPR), created in 2008, is a management tool developed by the Costa Rican government to effectively involve fishers organizations in small-scale fisheries management. In this paper, we compare participative management initiatives associated with AMPRs in the Golfo Dulce and Golfo de Nicoya (Palito and Tárcoles), and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Cahuita and Marino Ballena National Parks. Based on our analysis, we recommend ten measures to improve the small-scale fisheries co-management process. Among these, five recommendations stand out: (1) increase the participation of artisanal fishers in the development of collective choice rules; (2) allocate costs and benefits of management measures among artisanal fishers; (3) improve local leadership; (4) improve understanding and transparency of the management process; and (5) formalize and implement strategic fisheries management plans.

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8917-2_12

Appendix

Co-management potential evaluation matrix from a literature synthesis of case studies analyzing fisheries participative processes. Numbers in the references column correspond to the following publications: 1, Chuenpagdee and Jentoft 2007); 2, Carlsson and Berkes 2005); 3, Govan 2008); 4, Nielsen et al. (2004); 5, McConney and Baldeo 2007); 6, Geoghegan and Renard (2002); 7, Geoghegan et al. (1999); 8, Renard (2001); 9, Cumberbatch (2001); 10, Mahon and Mascia 2003); 11, Ravndal (2002): 12, Renard (1991); 13, Govan (2003); 14, Brown and Pomeroy (1999); 15, CARICOM-CFRAMP (1995); 16, Almerigi et al. (1999); 17, White et al. (1994); 18, McConney (1999); 19, Begossi and Brown (2003); 20, (Renard, 1991); 21, Pomeroy et al 2003); 22, Pomeroy et al. (2001); 23, Pomeroy and Carlos (1997); 24, Jentoft et al. 1998); 25, Noble (2000); 26, Fonseca-Borrás 2009); 27, Luna 1999); 28, Nuñez Saravia 2000); 29, (2003); 30, Ostrom 1990); 31, Nuñez Saravia (2005); 32, Pinkerton 2005); 33, Pomeroy et al. 2011); 34, Gutiérrez et al.2011); 35, Kikuchi and Hayami (1980); 36, Hayami and Kikuchi (1981); 37, Pomeroy and Berkes (1997); 38, Weitzner (2000). Ind.: Individual.