Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a widely used marine conservation tool designed to preserve marine biodiversity and improve fisheries management. Although the environmental benefits of MPAs are well established, evaluating the social and economic impacts of MPAs is challenging. In this paper we quantitatively identify the economic and social differences between communities based on whether or not the community has a tabu area in their local fishing ground. This is an area permanently closed to fishing within a locally managed marine area (LMMA), a form of MPA in the Pacific region. To do this we analyse survey data at both the household and village level in Kadavu, an administrative province of Fiji. We find there are differences in economic activity and diet between the communities but little difference in overall income and wealth. Our study shows that villages with an active tabu area have more positive social outcomes in terms of perceptions of LMMAs. However, there are some notable negative social outcomes as well. In particular, we find that households not engaged in commercial fishing perceive conflict around the management of marine resources. We also find that households engaged in commercial fishing believe penalties for violating LMMA rules are high. Together, these results could potentially impede the adoption of LMMAs and tabu areas. Overall, our survey results do not indicate that tabu areas are detrimental or beneficial on the whole, either economically and socially.
Highlights
There is a high degree of consensus about the policies of the Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA)
Community members agree with Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) rules
Our research quantitatively explores the socio-economic differences between communities with and without active tabu areas in their LMMA in the province of Kadavu in Fiji
Summary
Marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a widely used marine conserva tion tool designed to preserve marine biodiversity and improve fisheries management. The need to conserve marine biodiversity and preserve fisheries is acute in Fiji, where the national economy and citizens’ well-being are directly tied to marine resources; fishing and aquaculture alone accounted for 1.6% of Fiji’s national GDP in 2016 [10]. To achieve marine conservation goals, the Fijian government makes wide use of MPAs, mostly in the form of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs). An LMMA, in the South Pacific context, is rooted in traditional and customary fisheries management [12,13,14] and is designed to gain support and active engagement from the local com munity, with the latter being a key condition for the successful and lasting implementation of MPAs
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