A science-based monitoring protocol for hydrological, chemical and biological parameters enables the detection of changes over time, thereby increasing the effectiveness of restoration actions.

A study provides information about the ecological structure of healthy mangrove stands and the original conditions of hydrological flow at the site.

Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) are zones managed by coastal communities to help protect fisheries and safeguard biodiversity. Through the use of Dina – customary laws that are recognised by the Government of Madagascar –partner communities have designed effective rules that can be enforced locally to ban destructive fishing practices, protect endangered species and designate priority marine areas for protection. To ensure the long-term financial sustainability of LMMAs, a variety of mechanisms including marine ecotourism programmes, seafood supply chain incentive schemes, eco-certifications for sustainable fisheries, and payment for ecosystem services are developed. Velondriake is Madagascar’s first LMMA where elected representatives from 25 villages have put in place a management plan that includes permanent reserves, temporary octopus fishery closures, community-based aquaculture of seaweed and sea cucumbers, all regulated through a series of locally developed and enforced rules (Dina). Preliminary protected status was granted by the Government of Madagascar in 2010 and definitive protected status was successfully acquired in 2015.

The purpose of this building block is to provide Blue Ventures’ partner community members with positive experiences of marine management, demonstrating that it can yield tangible economic benefits in reasonable timeframes. The short-term octopus fishery closure model involves periodic closures of a portion of a village’s octopus gleaning grounds. At any communally agreed time, up to a quarter of a community’s fishing area may be closed for around three months. This approach has been shown to result in dramatic increases in octopus landings and improved fisher incomes when closed areas are reopened to fishing (Oliver et al., 2015), thereby sparking and building enduring support for more ambitious marine management efforts (including the creation of permanent marine reserves within locally managed marine areas) that are led by communities, for communities. By returning meaningful economic benefits in timeframes that work for traditional fishers, these temporary octopus fishery closures inspire local leadership in marine conservation. The approach depends on and benefits from broad support from the entire seafood supply chain, with fishers and buyers now contributing to the modest costs of establishing and managing the closures.

The enterprise helps to raise community awareness on the need for proper management of fisheries waste by collecting their waste, which is then picked-up by staff of Grupo Crustil. Training on the production of fish and shrimp meal is provided to increase staff competency. The enterprise is also presented to other communities in the area to facilitate its replication.

In collaboration with fishers and key local stakeholders, we design, implement, and monitor marine reserves to foster the recovery of fisheries and marine ecosystems, both within and beyond the reserves. This building block has three branches:

1. Design. We have workshops with resource-users to present the marine reserves theory and to design the map of uses and ecosystems. We then conduct acceptance and cost analyses. We define the objectives of the reserves, select the best sites to meet these objectives, and finally define operation procedures, financial sustainability plans, and formal agreements with the cooperatives.

2. Monitoring and evaluation. We select indicators and monitoring methodologies to collect the data. Then, we train the community in the monitoring techniques so they can collect data, evaluate progress, and engage in the process.

3. Management. We support our community partners in all the paper work to make the reserve official, as well as to elaborate and refine operational plans for the success and adaptive management of the reserve. 

We have 79,500 marine hectares protected, more than 300 species monitored, and 100 Mexican fishers (including 18 women) trained in submarine and oceanographic monitoring techniques.