Programa BIOREDD+: PRODUCTO 5: MEDIDAS DE GESTIÓN PROPUESTAS Y ESQUEMA POTENCIAL DE ZONIFICACIÓN PARA LAS PESQUERÍAS ARTESANALES EN EL ÁREA MARÍTIMA Y COSTERA DE BUENAVENTURA

The extensive continental shelf and multiple river mouths in this region lead to the presence of large pelagic species further offshore, accessible only to a few communities with boats and fishing gear. Despite their importance for local income and food security, the various fisheries in the area have been poorly studied. Recent efforts to collect data were led by the Afro-Colombian Community Councils, which obtained landing statistics at the local level. The fishing industry in the Buenaventura area can be broadly divided into four sectors: 1) fishing nets that capture a diverse range of shallow-water fish along the coast; 2) longlines with bottom nets targeting predators in shallow waters; 3) shrimp caught using enclosures or trawls with low-power motors; and 4) fishermen using purse seines (boliche) in deeper waters, employed selectively in banks of unique pelagic species. There are significant ecological and environmental differences between the Buenaventura area and the artisanal fishing conditions in the Gulf of Tribugá (Chocó department) in the north of the Pacific Colombian coast. In the coastal communities of Chocó, local efforts are focused on banning nets in favor of rod and reel fishing, targeting large species of high value such as tuna or snapper. The narrow continental shelf in the Gulf of Tribugá brings tuna close to the coast, and the rocky bottom provides a habitat for grouper and snapper, favoring rod and reel fishing. However, this transition in fishing gear is not replicable for the fishing around Buenaventura. The multiple river estuaries and a wider continental shelf in Buenaventura lead to a fishing industry focused on a diverse range of species inhabiting the seafloor in shallow waters, estuaries, and sedimentary systems. In the Gulf of Tribugá, a fisherman can be over 1,000 feet of water at three nautical miles from the coast; in contrast, a fisherman in Buenaventura can be over 100 feet of water at seven miles from the coast. Based on the environment influencing fish ecology, the proposed general management objectives for developing more responsible fishing in the area are: 1) supporting the development of Community-Based Fisheries Management that integrates spatial management plans dividing areas for different fisheries, protecting critical zones through fishing prohibitions, and adopting responsible fishing agreements; 2) supporting responsible fishing agreements with a community focus, providing commercial incentives to all fishermen in a community to adopt the agreement; and 3) building a chain of redundancy in the commercial chain to estimate fluctuations in supply and demand of available species and volume. This strategy reflects the specific conditions of Buenaventura, focusing on existing or potential threats to the fishery, such as the increased adoption of small-scale "changas" nets for shrimp fishing and the use of chinchorros and purse seines in river mouths to catch juveniles. By focusing on the Community-Based Fisheries Management model, coastal communities and fishermen assume primary responsibility for managing their resources. This approach is based on the assumption that community collaboration and local participation can be highly productive and rigorous means for managing, monitoring, and conserving coastal resources (coastal communities around Buenaventura are small and united). Coastal fishing communities around Buenaventura can improve responsible fishing activities by first removing harmful fishing gear from their areas and then developing locally managed marine areas to protect critical places.