ProgressReport

SustainingFisheriesandMarineBiodiversityinBahiaSamborombon:StrategicPlanningWorkshop

Background

Forthepastseveralyears,theNewEnglandAquarium(NEAq)andAquaMarinahavebeen

carryingoutcollaborativeresearchwithfishermeninBahiaSamborombon,BuenosAires

Province,Argentina.Thegoalofthisresearchistoidentifypracticalfishingmethodsand

toolsthatcanmitigatetheunsustainablebycatchoftheendangeredFranciscanadolphin

(Pontoporia blainvillei) in gillnets, while maintaining a productive fishery. The Bahia

SamborombonandnearbyCaboSanAntonioinnorthernBuenosAirestogetherhavethe

highestbycatchrateofFranciscanadolphinswithinthespecies’entiregeographicalrange.

Also, theexistenceofan isolateddolphin subpopulation in these twoareasadds to the

urgencyofidentifyingpromptandtimelyconservationsolutions.Drawingfromthisbody

ofresearchintopotentialbycatchmitigationmeasures,ourfocusisnowshiftingtowards

helping fishermen and fisheriesmanagers implement themost appropriate sustainable

practiceswithinthisfishery.

2015Activities

During2015,we implementedseveralprojects intendedtoadvancethe implementation

of themost promising sustainable fishingmethods in the Bahia de Samborombon. The

culminationwasanationalworkshoporganized todevelopamulti-stakeholder strategy

forachievingasustainablefisheryintheregion.

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AchievementsandPreliminaryResults

1. Ourcurrentbodyofresearchintopotentialtechniquesforreducingthebycatchof

Franciscana dolphins in gillnets includes changes in mesh size and gillnetting

locations; acoustic deterrents (pingers) in gillnets and their effects on dolphin

behavior;reflectiveandstiffnets;andalternativefishinggearssuchashand-lines

andfishingpots.Decisionsregardingwhichshouldbepracticallyimplementedand

the cost-benefits associated were discussed during the workshop (see below),

primarily considering those that have shown to be effective experimentally. A

complete assessment of this research will be included in the Final Workshop

Report.

2. Thefirsteversocio-economicstudyofthebay’sfisherywasconductedinOctober

2015 (Figure 1). The participants included 35 local fishermen representing 4

fishermen associations, and La Costa County authorities. Participatory

methodologies involvingbothqualitativeandquantitativeapproacheswereused

toexaminesocial transformationprocesses,elicitperceptionofusersabouthow

scientificresearchmight leadtothedevelopmentofalternativefishingpractices,

discussthedegreeofinvolvementoffishermeninfisheriesmanagementdecisions,

andclarifytherolesofgovernmentsectors.A“SWOT”analysiswasconductedto

evaluate strengths,weakness, opportunities and threats of various options for

changing the status quo. Preliminary results showed that the main concern for

gillnetters involvedconflictswithlargetrawlersoperatingclosetoshore,thelack

of any law that legitimizes the artisanal gillnet fishery, overfishing, insufficient

fisheriesenforcement,relativelylowprofitability,andpricecontrolbythelocalfish

plant that has a monopoly in the area. We are presently collecting additional

informationonwhatlocalfishermenperceiveasthechallengestheywouldfacein

modifyingfishingpracticesthroughasecondparticipativemeeting,opinionpolls,

and personal interviews. These results will complement the on-going economic

assessmentofthemostpromisingfishingoptionstomitigateFranciscanabycatch.

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Figure1.ArtisanalfishermenfromBahiaSamborombonandCaboSanAntoniomeetaspartofthesocio-economicassessmentsupportedbythisproject,withalistofproblemstheyidentifiedduringthemeeting.

3. Areviewofwhatisknownaboutthestudyareaanditsenvironmentalchallenges

iscurrentlyinpreparation,andwillbeincludedintheFinalWorkshopReport.

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4. AworkshoptookplaceattheSecretariatofNaturalResources(ArgentinaFederal

Government) inNovember2015.The“SustainableFishingPractices:Reductionof

Franciscana Dolphin Bycatch in Artisanal Fisheries” workshop involved 30

participants, including representatives of local artisanal fishermen associations,

non-governmental organizations, National and Provincial government officials

fromFisheriesandEnvironmentalAgencies,scientists,technicians,andexpertson

community-basedconservationanddevelopment(Table1;Figure2).TheFederal

Government’s Secretary of Natural Resources, and the Director of the Aquatic

ResourcesDepartmentformallyopenedtheworkshop.Theagenda(Figure4)was

designedtogetconsensusfromparticipantsaboutwhatshort-(3years)andlong-

term(5years)actionsareneededtoreducethebycatchofFranciscanadolphins.

Amongthefulllistofactionsidentified,fourshort-termoneswerelistedwithinall

the different working groups: (1) To promote fishing management policies and

practicesthathelpreducefranciscanabycatch;(2)Toimplementexistingbycatch

mitigationtoolssuchaspingers;(3)Tocontinueinvestigationofotherfishinggear

andgearmodificationsthatreducethebycatch;and(4)Todevelopanawareness

campaign about the conservation significance of the Franciscana dolphin.

Importantly, the national government formally recognized this workshop as the

first product of its National Action Plan for Reducing the Bycatch of Marine

Mammals,nowinfinaldraftformandlikelytoreceiveformalapprovalin2016.

AFinalWorkshopReportwillsynthesizealltheseprojectoutputs,tobesubmittedin

March 2016. The report will be bilingual (Spanish-English), and will include

recommendations to help guide national and provincial policies based on the

consensusviewsidentifiedduringtheworkshop.

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Figure2.ParticipantsoftheReductionofFranciscanaDolphinBycatchinArtisinalFisheriesWorkshop(middle),andduringworkinggroupsessions.

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Figure3.Someofthestrengths,weakness,opportunities,threats,andactions identifiedanddiscussedduringtheworkshop.

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Identificacióndeprácticaspesquerassustentables:“ReducciondelainteracciondeFranciscanaconpesqueríasartesanales”

SecretaríadeAmbienteyDesarrolloSustentabledelaNaciónSAyDS–SanMartín451–PBCABA

Noviembre10,201509:00-09:30Acreditaciones09:30-10:00AperturadelTalleryObjetivos(M.L.Tombesi,G.Navarro,P.Bordino,T. Werner)10:00-10:30ProgramadeTrabajoyPresentacióndeparticipantes10:30–11:00PANMamiferosMarinos(M.L.Tombesi,D.Winter) 11:00-11:15Café11:15-11:45PrincipiosenPescaSustentableyResponsable(G.Cañete)11:45-12:15Pescacosterabonaerense(L.ProdoscimiG.Navarro).12:15-12-45Efectividaddeartesdepesca.ExperienciasrealizadasporelINIDEP(R.Roth)12:45-13:15AspectossocioeconómicosdelapescaartesanalenBSByCSA(S.London,V. Vitale)13:15-14:15Almuerzo14:15-14:45AspectosantropológicosdelapescaartesanalenBSByCSA(M.Carman)14:45-15:15CapturaIncidentalenArgentina(E.Crespo)15:15-15:45MitigacióndeCapturaIncidentaldeFranciscana(P.Bordino)15:45-16:00Café16:00–16:15PropuestadePlandeAcciónenlaComisiónBalleneraInternacional (M.Iñiguez)(Aconfirmar)16:15–16:45Visiónsectorpescaartesanal.Espaciodediscusión.Trabajogrupal(Análisis FODA)Noviembre11,201510:00-11:00RevisiónDia1.Trabajogrupal(AnálisisFODA)11:00-11:15Café11:15-12:15EstrategiasviablesdeConservaciónenBSByCSA.TrabajoGrupal12:15-12:45IdentificacióndeAccionesacortoymedianoplazo.TrabajoGrupal12:45-13:45Almuerzo13:45-14:45Conclusionesyrecomendacionesfinales14:45-15:00Café15:00-15:30CierredelTaller(ML.Tombesi,G.Navarro,P.Bordino)Figure4.Workshopagenda.

Table1.ListofparticipantsattheSustainableFishingPractices:ReductionofFranciscanaDolphinBycatchinArtisanalFisheriesworkshop.

INVITADOS INSTITUCION MAIL

ALBAREDADiegoProgramaRegionaldeInvestigaciónyConservacióndeTortugasMarinasdelaArgentina(PRICTMA) diego.albareda@gmail.com

ARIASAlejandro FundaciónVidaSilvestreArgentina alejandro.arias@vidasilvestre.org.arBERNASCONIJuanFederico SubsecretaríadePescayAcuiculturadelaNación-MINAGRI jbernasconi@magyp.gob.ar

BONAIRIEEmilio AsociaciónPescadoresArtesanales(APAT) BORDINOPablo FundaciónAquaMarina bordino@aquamarina.org

CAÑETEGuillermo FundaciónVidaSilvestreArgentina guillermo.canete@vidasilvestre.org.arCARDONENéstor AsociacióndePropietariosdeEmbarcacionesdePescaArtesanal(APEPA) apepa@hotmail.com

CARMANMaría CONICET mariacarman@uolsinectis.com.arCASTRESANAGabriel OrganismoProvincialparaelDesarrolloSostenible(OPDS) gabrielcastresana@yahoo.com.arCRESPOEnrique CentroNacionalPatagónico(CENPAT-CONICET) kike.crespo@uv.esDENICHILOAntonio SAyDS-SecretariadeAmbienteyDesarrolloSustentabledelaNación ajdnichilo@ambiente.gob.ar

DENUNCIOPablo UniversidadNacionaldeMardelPlata(UNMdP) pdenuncio@mdp.edu.arDESPOVanesa ÁreaPescaArtesanal-SecretaríadeAgriculturaFamiliar-MINAGRI pescaartesanalargentina@gmail.com

GAETEDardo PrefecturaNavalArgentina GIANGIOBBESilvia SAyDS-SecretariadeAmbienteyDesarrolloSustentabledelaNación sgiangiobbe@ambiente.gob.ar

GONZALEZCARMANVictoria

InstitutoNacionaldeInvestigaciónyDesarrolloPesquero(INIDEP)/FundaciónAquaMarina vgcarman@gmail.com

HERASMaríaPia DirecciónProvincialdePesca-MinisteriodeAsuntosAgrarios mariaphf@gmail.comIÑIGUEZMiguel ComisiónBalleneraInternacional(CBI) miguel.iniguez@cethus.orgLEBANGabriel AsociacióndePropietariosdeEmbarcacionesdePescaArtesanal(APEPA) apepa_@hotmail.com

LONDONSilvia UniversidadNacionaldelSur silvia.london@gmail.comMAESTREIgnacio ÁreaPescaArtesanal-SecretaríadeAgriculturaFamiliar-MINAGRI pescaartesanalargentina@gmail.com

MAURSChristian AsociaciónPescadoresCosteros(APC) elcapitanpesca@gmail.com

NAVARROGabriela SubsecretaríadePescayAcuiculturadelaNación-MINAGRI ganava@magyp.gob.ar

PROSDOCIMILaura SubsecretaríadePescayAcuiculturadelaNación-MINAGRI lprosdocimi@magyp.gob.ar

REBUÑALGustavo AsociacióndePescadoresCosteros(APC) presidentedeapc@outlook.es

ROCHENéstor UniónArgentinadePescadoresArtesanales(UAPA) nestorroche@gmail.com

ROTHRicardo InstitutoNacionaldeInvestigaciónyDesarrolloPesquero(INIDEP) rroth@inidep.edu.arRUARTEClaudio InstitutoNacionaldeInvestigaciónyDesarrolloPesquero(INIDEP) cruarte@inidep.edu.ar

SALVAREZZAJuanCarlos PrefecturaNavalArgentina jcsalva48@gmail.com

SAURAAna SubsecretaríadeFortalecimientoInstitucional-SecretaríadeAgriculturaFamiliar asaura@magyp.gob.arTOMBESIMaríaLaura SAyDS-SecretariadeAmbienteyDesarrolloSustentabledelaNación mtombesi@ambiente.gob.ar

UBIETARoberto AsociaciónPescadoresArtesanales(APAT) robertoubieta62@gmail.comVITALEValeria UniversidadNacionaldelSur/FundaciónAquaMarina valeriay.vitale@gmail.comWERNERTimothy NewEnglandAquarium(ConsorcioreduccionMortalidadIncidentaldeVidaSilvestre) twerner@neaq.org

WINTERDébora SAyDS-SecretariadeAmbienteyDesarrolloSustentabledelaNación dwinter@ambiente.gob.ar