Suchergebnisse

Fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are an important source of food security, nutrition, and livelihood for people. However, high fishing pressure and other impacts have resulted in a decline of fisheries resources, questioning the future sustainability of fisheries. Ecolabelling is a tool developed based on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Guideline for Ecolabelling of Fish and Fisheries Products from Marine/Inland Fisheries. In the past decades, only a few fisheries in ASEAN countries have been certified. This study particularly focuses on the legal frameworks of these countries and reviews the existing national fisheries legislation, including laws, acts, decrees, directives, rules, and regulations in ASEAN countries in relation to the requirement of the fisheries certification standards. The review reveals that although the legal frameworks in ASEAN member states generally provide a fair basis for their fisheries to meet the requirement of the fisheries certification standards, further improvements are required to incorporate the concept of adaptive management, precautionary approaches, and reference points on fishery management objectives. Monitoring, control, and surveillance of fisheries and other enforcement activities for fisheries legislations are other challenges to ensure sustainability of fisheries through fisheries certification.

Small-scale community fishers dominate fisheries in Cambodia. In the central floodplain of Cambodia, 35% of rural dwellers are part-time fishers and 15% full-time fishers. By 2012, the Cambodian government had abolished all commercial fishing lots and put these resources under the management of community fisheries. One challenge in the implementation of community-fisheries management is budget shortages and resultant livelihood stress. To address this problem, savings groups were established. The Sustainable Communities International program provided establishment and facilitation support for savings groups in 10 community fisheries in the Kampong Chhnang Province. The savings groups were recognized as useful support facilities, meeting the needs of community fishers and sustainable community fisheries operations. However, there were concerns about the sustainability of the savings groups and the fisheries. To date, there are no documented case studies of savings groups for community fisheries. This study was conducted in two community fisheries in the Kampong Chhnang Province. We found that the internal rules of the savings group must reflect the opinions and perceptions of the members to ensure sustainable operation. Education and integrated livelihood activities were important considerations in encouraging participation. These insights are also useful for community fisheries elsewhere.