Conserving artisanal fisheries through territorial use rights in co-managed marine protected areas in Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone fisheries currently contribute around 10% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and serves as an affordable source of animal protein for over 90% of the country’s population. However, as the... [ view full abstract ]

The Sierra Leone fisheries currently contribute around 10% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and serves as an affordable source of animal protein for over 90% of the country’s population. However, as the number of fishing boats in the artisanal fisheries increased by about 55% over the past fifty years, the catch per unit of effort (CPUE) continues to decline.  The use of illegal fishing gears and methods in sensitive coastal areas are among important causal factors for catch declines. In order to remedy this situation, territorial use rights in fisheries (TURFs) is being introduced using co-managed marine protected areas (MPAs) as a conduit. This paper presents the detailed process of the evolution of MPAs into TURFs, using scientific and local community knowledge within a co-management framework. Community participatory management skills has been strengthened through the legal establishment of 32 clustered co-management associations (CMAs), with constituted roles to enable their assumption of stewardship responsibilities for MPAs that are now evolving into TURFs.  A multi-criteria decision making analysis has revealed a number of successes and challenges with the key lesson that the MPA establishment process was rushed without fully addressing the community requirements for alternative livelihoods. Hence the high dependence on fishing as a sole economic source in most communities has hindered the adherence of resource users to MPA regulatory rules. Access right enforcement decision making ranks highest amongst the various management criteria impeding the introduction of territorial use rights in the artisanal fisheries of Sierra Leone.