Background & Situation Menu
Status and Trends in Fisheries and their Habitats Threats, root causes and barrier analysis Institutional, sectoral and policy context Stakeholder mapping and analysis Baseline analysis and gaps Known Areas of Critical Significance to the Life-Cycles of Fisheries Resources Priority Fisheries Refugia Areas
Establishment of Fisheries Refugia in Thailand:
Background and Situation Analysis to Support
Priority Fisheries Refugia Areas
The fisheries refugia concept was defined by the RWG-F as “Spatially and geographically defined, marine or coastal areas in which specific management measures are applied to sustain important species [fisheries resources] during critical stages of their life cycle, for their sustainable use” (UNEP, 2005) and was developed as a novel approach to the identification and designation of priority areas in which to integrate fisheries and habitat management. The fisheries refugia concept focuses on the nature of the particular habitat and its critical significance to the life-history of the fished species. Management of refugia, therefore, focuses on the habitat rather than simply restricting access, either temporally or spatially, to fishing grounds. The process of identifying priority fisheries refugia in Thailand was initiated via an RWG-F review of the above list of sites in relation to information on the distribution and abundance of fish eggs and larvae in the South China Sea; and the outcomes of country consultations on the identification of fisheries refugia.
Thereafter, country consultations were conducted in Chumporn, Trat, and Surat Thani Provinces of Thailand involving participation by representatives from local government units, law enforcers, fisherfolk organizations, and national fishery committee members. The purpose of these consultations was to introduce participants to the concept of fisheries refugia and the procedures for the identification and selection of refugia sites and involved: establishing a consensual understanding of the concept of fisheries refugia among participants and prioritizing sites for inclusion in a national and regional system of fisheries refugia. The National Fisheries Committee selected three sites which were incorporated by the RWG-F in an initial regional set of 14 priority fisheries refugia. The national consultation workshop for the preparation phase of the project refined this site selection and identified two sites for the establishment and management of fisheries refugia (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. Locations of priority fisheries refugia sites on the South China Sea coast of Thailand