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This study aims at establishing the state of the art regarding professional fishermen organizations' participation in writing MPAs management plans.
A survey was led with 11 employees or professional representative from local or regional French fishermen organizations, each concerned by an MPA on some of their fishing sites, these MPA having a management plan. The survey outputs can't be generalized, as the sample is small. The results can only apply to the cases participating in this study. Nevertheless, they can be used as a basis for discussion when writing an MPA management plan with professional fishing organizations.
Seven organizations took part in writing an MPA management plan, always after a proposal by the MPA manager. Thematic meetings and work papers exchanges are most commonly used to write the management plan. Professional fishing organizations have a strong will to participate in the management plan elaboration: they put a huge investment in this work. There are as much satisfied as dissatisfied structures, regarding the methodology used to write the MPA management plan.
Writing the management plan is an essential stage in implementing an MPA, because this is the moment when stakeholders and managers build bonds. It's also the stage when stakeholders move to a less theoretical vision of the MPA and know more about the kind of work that will be led in the MPA. Globally, participating in the management plan writing allowed professional fishing organizations to get or maintain a good opinion of the MPA.
This study shows some of the key elements to succeed in working with professional fishermen organizations during the management plan writing. Communication about the MPA and its management plan, transparency of the process, trust between stakeholders and manager and objectivity in the management decisions are the main points.