Scientific baseline data of species behavior and environmental impact is used to design appropriate tools for control. The use of these tools is continuously monitored, enabling their assessment and adjustment in an adaptive management process.

With the researchers gaining their MSc degrees and PhD degrees over the first 3 years of the study, we were then able to start publishing papers and to entertain the idea of attending and presenting at international meetings. Meeting at a national venue (Russian biennial conference) led to European Cetacean Society conference presentations which then opened up the main Society for Marine Mammalogy Biennial as a platform for presentation.

Meeting MarViva staff and president at meetings and making a plan to work together. Agreeing to send someone to the regional EBSA workshop. Helping to prepare the submission to the workshop. Gaining acceptance for the area proposed as an EBSA.

In each country, a focal point supports awareness-raising through a poster in the national language, a radio spot and a T-shirt.

Social marketing (SM) uses commercial marketing methods and tools (e.g. diffusion of innovations, behavior-change-focused communication channels and messages, community mobilization) to promote a voluntary behavior change in a target audience, that benefits society as well as the target group. For a Pride campaign, social marketing is an integral component to promote community stewardship of their resources. Creating a clear, consistent and positive identity (i.e., a brand) around the conservation/management of their resources that resonates with community perceptions, values and traditions regarding these resources helps boost community buy in. This brand is linked to a clear request (e.g., what do you want your target audience to do when it comes to sustainable management of their resources), both of which will be underlined and repeated throughout campaign activities (e.g. community events, media outreach) and promotional materials (e.g., posters, booklets, flyers, wall paintings, props, text messages) that form part of the social marketing strategy.

Collaborative efforts among governments, reef-reliant industries, civil society and academia promote buy-in and enhance extraction resources. Defining roles, responsibilities and strategic priorities of all parties involved aids in increasing the effectiveness of lionfish control programmes.

Working with other species groups, sea turtles, sharks, seabirds; interviewing experts on the Dome and oceanography of the region; converting raw data on blue whales and other species into usable maps

Catch data from the last centuries collected from research institutes, libraries and maritime museums, and through surveys.

Partnerships with fisheries management bodies such as national fisheries administrations, the FAO and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism as well as relationships with the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute have provided for the provision of funding and technical expertise to develop fishers’ capacity to engage in fisheries governance. These partnerships promote the appreciation of differing perspectives, sharing of lessons and form the basis of integrated fisheries management with the participation of fishers.

Rare’s Pride Program training is a two-year process through which local conservation leaders receive formal university training, followed by periods of field-based formative research and results analyses. Participants learn how to change attitudes and behaviors, mobilize support for environmental protection, and reduce threats to natural resources. Rare’s local partners not only receive classroom training, but also implement an entire social marketing campaign in their communities, designed around a specific conservation goal. Participants in the program receive a toolkit for community outreach: Training 1 provides trainees with basic community engagement tools, so that they can start embedding themselves in the target audience and earn their trust. Training 2 takes place after a period of 1-2 months of field embedding, and teaches research techniques for qualitative and quantitative formative research. Training 3 takes place after 2-3 months of data collection and information gathering, to analyze data collected and design the Pride Campaign. Training 4 takes place upon campaign conclusion, to evaluate results and produce final report.