Tools for Participative Artisanal Fisheries Management in Transboundary Coastal Environments

World-wide, artisanal fishing represents an important economic and cultural activity.  In most regions, it is poorly assessed and perceived as threatened due to a declining resource, decreasing revenues, competition/conflict from industrial fishing and among neighbor states, and lack of habitat protection.  Co-management, implying local participation and the sharing of control over resource exploitation between users and government, has been proposed as a solution for improving effective resource protection and is beginning to be used in many situations.  In Central America, the governments of Costa Rica and Panama have attempted to address co-management in legislative actions concerning fisheries.  However, advancement has been slow and problematic due to lack of local initiative, mistrust between fishers and government entities, and conflicts over resource use.  To overcome these problems, a 10-year process was initiated to improve local awareness and practices for resource conservation.  A 5-day international transboundary workshop was held in March 2011 to explore opportunities for cooperation among fishermen from Pacific Costa Rica and Panama (Golfo Dulce - Golfo de Chiriqui).  Over 45 fishers, professionals, administrators and academics attended the workshop.  A participatory workshop format was adopted that featured plenary and breakout group sessions, informational presentations, field-trips and visits at fishing villages, pre- and post workshop surveys, and interviews.  Workshop outputs will include three regional co-management action plans.  The participatory methodology is analyzed and recommendations for improving its effectiveness in promoting co-management are presented.