A growing awareness of the decline in ecosystem health and the depletion of resources world-wide has led researchers to explore the use of ecosystem-based management (EBM), an approach that integrates ecological, social, and economic goals, and explicitly recognizes humans as key components within an ecosystem. EBM is still in its infancy, and a number of research projects have been launched to try to increase understanding, develop EBM tools, and attempt to mitigate or even reverse at least the worst of the present trends.
One such study is within the Coral Triangle, spanning eastern Indonesia, parts of Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, where the highest coral reef biodiversity on earth has been measured. At the heart of the Coral Triangle is the Bird's Head Seascape, off the west coast of Papua Province, Indonesia. This is still a relatively remote and pristine area, home to about 75% of the world's reef-building coral species, and over 1,000 fish species. The Raja Ampat archipelago, where Alfred Wallace made a home in the 1830s, has attracted the interests of conservation groups and scientists, and has been selected as one of the top conservation priorities in the world. The high level of biodiversity has lead to a growing marine tourism sector, and the newly decentralized government is trying to develop the area sustainably for the 31,000 inhabitants. Three teams at the Fisheries Centre are working to provide a synthesis of key ecological, economic and historical components, supporting field teams from UNIPA, TNC, CI and WWF who are sampling and collecting data. This report represents the second of UBC's contributions to the Bird's Head Seascape EBM project.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is now widely recognized as undermining management goals. The second paper in this report, from the Fisheries Economics Research Unit, uses field observations to estimate the unreported and unregulated catch of anchovies in Kabui Bay, Raja Ampat. The estimates include uncertainty, revenues, costs and the apparent profitability of the fishery. Results suggest that fisheries managers in Raja Ampat could consider capturing some of the fishery rent. The UBC team hopes to provide an IUU estimate for all of Raja Ampat upon the completion of the project, and the anchovy estimate will contribute to this.
The aim is to use the models to develop optimal management scenarios in order to provide EBM advice that can be appraised by stakeholders in the Raja Ampat archipelago. The models can help design sustainable fishing strategies that maximize economic benefits while protecting coral reef communities. Fishing policies developed with these tools can be made robust against various future climate scenarios, and the risk and uncertainty surrounding harvest recommendations can be evaluated and quantified. Importantly, the spatial models are able to forecast the effects and benefits of spatial management schemes, such as the application of marine protected areas (MPAs). The models are built within a flexible framework that can be continually modified and improved as new data becomes available. The work presented here should provide a starting point for further study of ecosystem-based management (EBM) strategies helpful to the management of the Bird's Head Functional Seascape (BHS).
Ecological And Economic Analyses Of Marine Ecosystems In The Bird's Head Seascape, Papua, Indonesia: I, Tony J. Pitcher, Cameron H. Ainsworth and Megan Bailey (eds). FCRR 2007, Vol. 15(5) 184 pp
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