Fishery Performance Indicators and Coastal Fisheries Management in Southern Rakhine, Myanmar Michael De Alessi School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington March 2017 In Collaboration with: Martin Callow, Thaung Htut, Phoe Cho, & Mya Than Tun (Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar), Dr. Maung Maung Kyi (Rakhine Coastal Conservation Association), and Aung Aung Naing (Pyoe Pin Programme) Prepared for: Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar with generous financial support from the blue moon fund i FPIs / Coastal Fisheries / Rakhine Executive Summary Nearly half of Myanmar’s population lives in one of its coastal states and regions, where small- scale fishing is a primary source of livelihood. Those livelihoods are currently under threat, with evidence showing a dramatic decline in Myanmar’s coastal fisheries over the last 30 years (IMR 2014). In support of WCS Myanmar, this report uses the Fishery Performance Indicator (FPI) (Anderson et al 2015) to characterize the available data and to assess the performance of 4 fisheries in Rakhine state: the artisanal fishery around Manaung Island, artisanal fisheries in southern Rakhine (from Thandwe to Gwa), the small-scale purse seine fishery in southern Rakhine, and the Rakhine offshore trawl fishery. For some of these fisheries and gears enough information was gathered to make a rough estimation at the current value generated (dock prices received) by the artisanal longline fleet, the mixed gear fleet around Manaung Island, the Southern Rakhine purse seine fleet, and the Thandwe-based offshore trawl fleet. More information is need to estimate the value generated by small-scale gillnets, drift gill nets, and illegal baby trawls in Southern Rakhine, but given their numbers, it is likely that the gillnets bring in far less than $1 million, and the drift gillnets and baby trawl fleets significantly more than $1 million. Table 1. Estimated Annual Value (dock price) of Some Rakhine Fisheries Location Fishing Gear Annual Value* Southern Rakhine artisanal longline $1 million Manaung Island artisanal mixed gear $1.5 to $4.5 million Southern Rakhine purse seine $10 million Thandwe offshore shrimp trawl $27 million * estimates based on limited anecdotal evidence and significant extrapolation There is evidence that all of these gears target species that are overfished to some degree, and each competes with another gear to some extent. Compared to a worldwide database of fisheries (Table 2), these four fisheries scored very poorly for ecological performance, generally poorly economically (except for the more industrialized offshore trawl fleet), and more positively at the community level (fisheries with poor ecological and economic performance can still yield significant benefits to coastal communities). ii FPIs / Coastal Fisheries / Rakhine Table 2. Fishery rankings within the worldwide FPI database (currently 118 fisheries) Sector Performance Triple Bottom Line Indicators Indicators Fishery rankings within the worldwide FPI Post- Harvest Harvest database (118 fisheries) Ecology Economics Community Sector Sector Performance Performance offshore trawl, Thandwe Rakhine 2017 69 th 34 th 55 th 64 th 15 th artisanal fishery, Manaung Rakhine 2017 79 th 73 rd 59 th 66 th 69 th Southern Rakhine purse seine Rakhine 2016 85 th 84 th 63 rd 73 rd 73 rd Mawlamyine Croaker-Hilsa Mon 2016 92 nd 90 th 69 th 84 th 78 th Southern Rakhine small boat Rakhine 2016 93 rd 100 th 77 th 100 th 96 th th th st th th Bilugyun stationary trawl Mon 2016 106 105 101 111 107 These scores and the current value generated by these fisheries suggest that a transition to more sustainable fishing practices, including limits on fishing effort, could yield significant benefits for both the marine environment and coastal livelihoods. The conclusion of the report includes recommended steps for implementing more productive, sustainable, and profitable fisheries in Rakhine state. iii FPIs / Coastal Fisheries / Rakhine Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Fisheries Management in Myanmar ............................................................................................ 1 Rakhine state ............................................................................................................................... 3 2. Report Context and Methods .................................................................................................. 3 3. Fishery Performance Indicators and Comparisons to the Worldwide Database .................... 5 Summary Comparison with the Fishery Performance Indicator database ................................. 5 Triple Bottom Line Heat Maps ..................................................................................................... 5 Stock Performance, Harvest Asset Performance, and Post-Harvest Asset Performance: .......... 8 Limited access ............................................................................................................................ 10 4. Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 11 Department of Fisheries ............................................................................................................ 11 Community organizations .......................................................................................................... 12 Fishers, Buyers, and Processors ................................................................................................ 12 5. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 13 6. Implementation Outline ........................................................................................................ 14 Southern Rakhine artisanal fishery............................................................................................ 15 Southern Rakhine purse seine fishery ....................................................................................... 16 Manaung island artisanal fishery............................................................................................... 16 Rakhine-based offshore trawl fishery ....................................................................................... 17 7. Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................. 17 8. Citations ................................................................................................................................. 18 Appendix 1: Southern Rakhine Inshore Artisanal fishery ............................................................. 19 Primary Species.......................................................................................................................... 19 Primary Harvest Technology...................................................................................................... 19 Markets and Product Forms ...................................................................................................... 20 Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 20 Appendix 2: Southern Rakhine Purse Seine Fishery ..................................................................... 21 Primary Species.......................................................................................................................... 21 Primary Harvest Technology...................................................................................................... 21 Markets and Product Forms ...................................................................................................... 22 Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 22 iv FPIs / Coastal Fisheries / Rakhine Appendix 3: Manaung Island Artisanal Fishery ............................................................................ 23 Primary Species.......................................................................................................................... 23 Primary Harvest Technology...................................................................................................... 23 Markets and Product Forms ...................................................................................................... 24 Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Appendix 4: Rakhine-Based Offshore Trawl Fishery ..................................................................... 25 Primary Species.......................................................................................................................... 25 Primary Harvest Technology...................................................................................................... 26 Markets and Product Forms ...................................................................................................... 26 Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Appendix 6: Interviewees ............................................................................................................