Abstract

After a period of closure brought about by excessive harvesting of sea urchins, the Department of Fisheries adopted a new, participatory system of sea urchin management in an attempt to avoid the over exploitation of the past This new system involves the issuing of harvest permits to persons who have completed a number of requirements and have agreed to harvest under certain conditions specified by the chief fisheries Officer. Requirements include: ; assisting in the annual preharvest monitoring and assessment of the sea urchin resource, participating in meetings to assess previous harvests, discuss recommendations to upgrade the system, and lectures on health related aspects of food preparation and the biology of the animal. ; The structure of the legislation relating to this resource allows for the development of such participatory management It allows the management authority to select only individuals who have proven themselves concerned with the welfare of the resource. It also allows annual review of the permits granted so that persons have to qualify annually in order to be considered. In addition there is scope to adjust the level of effort (number of divers, period of harvesting) to the level of the resource each year. ; The system is now in its fourth year, and has continued to evolve each year. ; Conditions have been added and reviewed, making the system more effective. ; Mechanisms have bad to be devised to deter illegal harvest and encourage involvement of licensed harvesters in surveillance of their harvest area. ; With the apparently poor recruitment of juveniles during the past year, it has become apparent that annual adjustment of the size limit is essential as a means of insuring sufficient individuals remain in the water to attract new recruits. This poor recruitment following the harvest of 1992 has forced the temporary closure of the main sourthern harvest area this year.

PDF Preview