The decline in inshore catches of fish and shellfish in Samoa, due to human activities, overexploitation, destructive fishing methods and the aftermath of two recent major cyclones, has greatly reduced the availability of marine protein resources, causing concerns for the nutritional status of coastal village communities. Government actions and national laws to protect fish stocks have not previously proved successful. Wise practice involves using a culturally appropriate extension process to encourage and motivate village communities to manage their own marine resources. A range of resource management undertakings and conservation measures are incorporated by communities into their own management plans. These measures include the establishment of small marine protected areas (MPAs) within traditional fishing grounds.

Village management actions have included: banning of chemicals, explosives and plant-derived fish poisons; banning the smashing of corals to catch fish; enforcing national laws on fish size regulations; controlling the use of nets and underwater torches for fishing at night; collecting and removing crown-of-thorns starfish; banning the removal of beach sand (sand mining) and the dumping of rubbish in lagoon waters. Reciprocally, to support community undertakings, the Fisheries Division has undertaken to provide various forms of assistance and technical training. For example, to relieve inshore fishing pressure, communities are assisted to purchase small aluminium boats for outer reef slope fishing. Tilapia stock are introduced into villages where there are suitable natural lakes or ponds. Communities are also provided with giant clams to restock lagoon fish reserves. In addition, regular demand-based technical training workshops are held in tilapia and clam aquaculture, fishing methods, gear technology, sea safety, fish handling and skills for small business management.

Faasili, U. 1997. The use of village by-laws in marine conservation and fisheries management. Pacific Science Association Intercongress, July 1997, Fiji.

King, M. and Faasili, U. 1998. Community-based management of subsistence fisheries in tropical regions. Fisheries Ecology and Management UK. 6, 133–144.

King, M. and Faasili, U. 1998. A network of small, community-owned fish reserves in Samoa. PARKS 8, 11–16.

Kallie, J.Y., Taua, A. and Faasili, U. 1999. An assessment of community-based management of subsistence fisheries in Samoa. Marine Resources Assessment Group Workshop on Aspects of Coastal Fisheries Resource Management, Fiji.

The Community Fisheries Management programme attracts considerable interest from new coastal village communities and the waiting list is increasing by ‘word of mouth’ of existing participants. The success of community-based management in Samoa is also evidenced by the growing interest of other islands around the Pacific.

The Fisheries Division Annual Plan is to increase the number of participating communities. However, it is now timely to consider how best to deploy limited government services for the future. Villages who consistently score highly must be empowered and encouraged to completely self-manage their programme with minimal government assistance. Conversely, villages with only average scores may simply require time to consolidate their views and actions and it can be argued that a significant proportion of Fisheries Division services should be allocated to these villages to assist them in reaching autonomy. Finally, in the light of limited staff and material resources, support for poor performing villages needs to be withdrawn to facilitate participation of additional villages potentially more ready to self-manage their subsistence fisheries.

Approximately 20% of communities perform poorly for various reasons; some management committees fail to hold meetings; some do not enforce village rules; many do not care for restocked clams; others fail to maintain shorelines, reserve signs and markers. The readiness of a community for a long-term commitment with few immediate rewards is an unknown variable in the initial years of a community-based programme. Nevertheless, the fact that at least 25% of the communities are managing their own fisheries very effectively, indicates that communities are ready for self-management and, indeed, value the opportunity.