Marine Conservation Outcomes are More Likely when Fishers Participate as Citizen Scientists: Case Studies from the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef

Stuart Fulton,Alfonso Aguilar-Perera,Luis Bourillón,Jacobo Caamal-Madrigal,William D Heyman

doi:10.5334/cstp.118

Abstract

Small-scale fishers on Caribbean coral reefs have exploited fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) for generations, but intense fishing has led to the loss of traditional aggregation sites. In many areas, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of fishers has contributed greatly to the characterization of spawning aggregations and implementation of local conservation initiatives. TEK has identified more than 40 potential FSA sites along the coast of the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef. These sites have been characterised and scientifically validated, in some cases with traditional western science and in others, with a participatory citizen-science approach. The objective of this work is to compare the science and conservation outcomes at these FSA sites. We report that those FSA sites where scientific surveys were conducted without community participation remain unprotected. By contrast, the FSAs where local fishers were engaged in characterization and subsequent monitoring are now protected at the behest of the fishers themselves. Conservation initiatives to protect FSAs can be more effective through a combination of TEK, western science, and participatory citizen science involving local fishers.

Highlights

In the past decade, scientific studies involving the participation of members of the public have greatly increased in number (Conrad and Hindley 2011, Theobald et al 2015)
Methodologies for fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) Site Characterization The fieldwork methodologies used by each group (WS, western science (WS)*, and citizen science (CS)), identified in the literature review, were similar (Table 1)
Conservation Outcomes of WS, WS*, and CS-led FSA Studies This study compared the outcomes from case studies using western science (WS) to those using a participatory citizen science (CS) approach for the characterization and conservation of fish spawning aggregation sites in the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef (MAR)

Summary

Introduction

Scientific studies involving the participation of members of the public (citizen science) have greatly increased in number (Conrad and Hindley 2011, Theobald et al 2015). Bonney et al (2014) define citizen science as scientific research and monitoring conducted by non-specialist individuals who are involved in collecting, categorizing, transcribing, or analysing scientific data. Wider participation of citizens reporting sightings of key species has increased the size, geographical distribution, and analytical power of datasets used to address complex large-scale issues (e.g., Butcher and Niven 2007, McClellan et al 2014, Theobald et al 2015).

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