Co-Management of Benthic Fisheries with Puerto Peñasco commercial divers.

Concerned about their diminishing fisheries, in 1998 commercial divers of Puerto Peñasco approached CEDO for help in developing more effective management actions for their benthic mollusk fisheries. These divers harvest mollusks from snails to octopus on offshore rocky reefs and adjacent sandy areas using Hookah (compressed air taken in through hoses). From 1998 to 2002 divers implemented season closures for octopus and black murex snail and a closure of the San Jorge Island fishing grounds for one year. Encouraged by the improved harvest from these actions in 2002 they decided to work with CEDO to test the use of marine reserves for their two economically most important fisheries: the black murex snail (Hexaplex nigritus) and rock scallop (Spondylus calcifer). Divers have participated with CEDO in over 100 hours of subtidal monitoring of their resources and in dozens of meetings to develop these initiatives. CEDO has provided continuous support with funding, diving courses, assistance in obtaining permits and many other incentives.

These community-based initiatives resulted in the divers’ receiving the 2003 National Conservation Award bestowed by the Commission of Natural Protected Areas. Positive examples for sustainable fisheries are important incentives for the entire country, as well as for divers.

Working towards sustainable fisheries is a long term adaptive management process. Some of the lessons, results and publications we have obtained from this work to date are highlighted below.

1. For a description of the diving fisheries see:
- Cudney Bueno y Turk Boyer, 1998, Capítulo
- Cudney Bueno, R. 2000. (Doctoral dissertation)

2. To begin to propose management for the divers’ fisheries, vital information was needed on basic biology and ecology of the species harvested. Our work has focused on understanding the two economically most important fisheries Hexaplex nigritus and Spondylus calcifer.
- Cudney Bueno, 2000 dissertation
- Cudney Bueno 2007 dissertation
- Publications in press.

3. Globally no fishing reserves are actively being proposed as important management tools for marine fisheries and conservation of marine resources. Our research with divers provides the most important data available in the Gulf of California on the efficacy of this tool for two species of mollusks.
- Cudney Bueno, 2007 dissertation.
- Cudney Bueno efficacy of reserves publication.

4. We conducted interviews with divers before and after the establishment of these reserves to understand the socio-economic factors that led to their cooperative actions. Participation in monitoring was key because it increased the rate of socio-ecological feedback on the response of the system and provided a powerful incentive to the divers.
- Cudney Bueno, 2007 Dissertation
- Cudney Bueno publication.

5. The lessons learned about the process of co-management, with participation of fishers, NGOs, and the government are brought together with other examples from the Gulf of California to suggest how to improve on the management processes.
- Cudney Bueno et al. Governance

6. Though both social and ecological outcomes of the community established reserves were positive, the divers ceased to maintain the reserves when outsiders began to poach them. Finding appropriate legal tools to control access to these areas has proven to be a challenge. In 2006-07 we worked with Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources to establish a Management and Recovery Program for Spondylus calcifer, a species protected under the NOM-ECOL-059... Divers now harvest the species using good management practices, including quotas, no-fishing zones and seasonal closures. Each year the divers survey their reefs and the management plan is adapted based on these results to maintain healthy scallop populations.