Documents

The project MAIA (Marine Protected Areas in the Atlantic arc) provided an opportunity to address the problems of fishery data quality within an MPA (Marine Park Luiz Saldanha - PMLS) through a partnership between fishers and scientists. The long-term goals of this partnership were to reinforce the trust among stakeholders, improve accuracy in catch data and, eventually, enhance fisheries management within the MPA by the elaboration of proposals with scientific and fisher backing. For that a model for fishery data collection through anonymous self-register by fishers was tested for 16 months, aiming to describe fishing reality in PMLS and to derive appropriate indicators (biological and socioeconomic) for fishery monitoring and MPA management effectiveness evaluation. This report presents a summary of the MAIA study that was proposed to PMLS fishers, together with its execution and main findings in relation to participatory monitoring. Results are discussed in relation to the specific objectives set by the project, but also within the wider context of tensions and dilemmas resulting from working in the peculiar frontier between empowerment and regulation in small-scale fisheries that interact with MPAs.