Problem overview:

     Awareness and visions: Increasing demand for consumption of fish has imposed a strain on marine resources. Without immediate actions taken for conservation, the Government of Japan fears that the resources will soon be depleted; hence 58 marine parks have been established.

     Integrating stakeholders: Fishing communities affected from operation of marine parks have been shown other income opportunities apart from fishing that is to earn income from working with or operating supporting businesses for the park.

Background:

      Marine parks welcomed by fishers through employment opportunities

      Fisheries biologists around the world have concluded that the best way to attain sustainable coastal fisheries is through the establishment of marine parks. Even though this is of obvious benefit to fishers, there is almost always a great hue and cry by fishers whenever they are forbidden to fish in any particular area. This leads to deliberate poaching of the area and even destruction of park facilities. Japan found a very neat solution for this recurring problem. Marine parks welcomed by fishers through employment opportunities.

      Japan, experiencing a strong environmental pressure on its precious coastal and marine resources, has placed greater emphasis on managing and conserving these resources. One key strategy for this is the establishment and effective management of marine parks.

      There are currently 58 marine parks in Japan, designated under the Natural Parks law. Marine parks consist of a core area, surrounded by an ordinary marine area of up to 1-kilometer radius, which acts as a buffer zone. The Marine park zone is preserved, whilst the ordinary marine area is used for park visitors with facilities such as underwater observatories, glass-bottomed boats and diving sites. These facilities are planned and constructed by park authorities and usually operated by non-profit organisations.

      The most striking feature of the management practices followed in these parks is the involvement of local fishermen. The park corporation employs staff from fishing communities and earnings from this constitutes approximately 25 per cent of the average fisherman's income. Also, the park management purchases fish from local fishermen, who also operate facilities themselves such as souvenir shops or glass-bottomed boats. At Katsura Marine Park, the fishermen's union earns one eighth of its annual gross income from souvenir shops. The table below shows the economic benefits received by the local fishermen from selected marine parks of Japan. The management approach adopted in these marine parks has yielded a direct economic benefit to the fishermen.

      Although marine parks play an important role in safeguarding the marine environment against impacts from human activities, there has always been strong resistance, especially from local fishermen, against the establishment of such areas. In most countries, traditional fishing rights of local fishing communities are strongly protected. They perceive the establishment of a park, which places restrictions on fishing, as being against their economic interests (although setting aside closed areas as nurseries is needed for fishery and thereby serves the interest of fishing communities in the long run).

      The park management approach adopted for Japanese marine parks has shown that if economic interests of the local fishermen are linked with management practices, this dilemma can be resolved. The main issue is not the dichotomy between short and long term benefits, but rather who is being affected and who is getting the benefit. Hence, the key problem is finding a way to compensate those affected by allowing them to share the benefits. In this regard, even the short term economic return is enough to compensate for the adverse economic impact on the livelihood of fishermen, if appropriate arrangements are made to distribute fairly the benefits accrued from the park. This helps ensure the sustainability of the park, since the local community's economic interests have a direct bearing on the well being of the park.