Ernestine Perline is only 29 years old but is already a leader in her community. As the president of the fishers’ association of Marohata in southwest Madagascar, the mother of four has guided her community on using sustainable fishing tools and establishing locally managed marine areas. This way, she contributes to maintaining the fish populations and safeguarding the livelihoods of her community. WWF-Madagascar works with Ernestine as part of the sustainable coastal fishing project that supports local communities living near the country’s national parks.
What is your most unforgettable ocean memory?
I am from Marohata, an isolated fishing community near the Belo-sur-Mer Kirindy Mite Biosphere Reserve in the Menabe region. It is not common for women to fish, but I am an adventurous woman. I remember the first time diving into the ocean with my husband, it was an empowering experience. At first we did not have the right tools for fishing and we had to borrow them. After a few months, we bought our own tools and became independent fishers. We had great catches in those times.
The catches have changed since then?
A few years ago, the ocean was doing better and the fish were big. In 2013 problems with illegal fishing tools started and fish stocks dropped drastically. We used to catch enough fish to save money; now we live from day to day. The numbers are clear: in 2003 our community caught approximately 60kg of fish, but last year it was only 20kg. The people are frustrated because of the decline in catches. They get angry easily and some of them have started stealing in ruthless ways.
“We used to catch enough fish to save money; now we live from day to day.”
Even though we have gone through difficult times, I believe in my community. Almost two years ago, I was elected president of the fishers’ association of Morahata: I am the only female president of the associations in the nine villages WWF is working with as part of the sustainable coastal fishing project. The name of our association is MAHASOA, which means “soothing” in English.
What challenges have you encountered in your work with the community and what solutions have you developed?
Mobilising community members to make our fisheries more sustainable has not been easy. A major challenge has been destructive fishing practices. It is especially difficult to work on eradicating these practices with people who are new to our village and oppose the rules; in general the community members work in solidarity.
I have never stopped organising meetings with the board members of the association, patrollers and other community members. These meetings, combined with several awareness sessions, made people more aware of the importance of collective action for the sustainable management of marine resources. During these events I always emphasise the importance of marine life and respecting fishing laws. Many people in the community now realise that good fishing practices are the future of our village. We have managed to stop illegal fishing without creating conflict and have seen an increase in catches since then.
“We have managed to stop illegal fishing without creating conflict and have seen an increase in catches since then.”
How can these solutions have a greater impact?
We are on the right track in terms of changing behaviour. Still, it is important that the partners that support us, especially WWF, continue to work with us until we can manage the fishery independently. It is all connected: the sustainability of the marine ecosystem can only be ensured if the community is healthy, properly educated and has a way to survive apart from the exploitation of marine resources. Because of this, we also started an initiative to increase literacy in the community.
Our partners can help us engage community members in conservation efforts, building capacity and providing materials that support catch quality and monitoring catch landings. Capacity building should focus, for example, on the effective management of locally managed marine areas and establishing fishing and other associations. All of these activities contribute to a sustainable use of our marine resources.
“It is all connected: the sustainability of the marine ecosystem can only be ensured if the community is healthy.”
Mialisoa Raharimanana, WWF-Madagascar:
Ernestine’s village, Marohata, is only accessible over sea, which makes her a key person in the communication with the rest of the community. She has an important role in raising awareness about a sustainable use of marine resources, mangrove restoration, the importance of monitoring catches and other conservation topics.
Marohata is one of the nine communities with which WWF-Madagascar is working under the sustainable coastal fishing project, a collaboration of Blue Ventures, MIHARI and WWF. With the support of WWF staff in the field, the Marohata community developed an annual work plan for the fishers’ association to set a strategy for sustainable development. Besides the abolition of destructive fishing practices, the successful collaboration also led to the implementation of management structures, including monitoring tools and surveillance through community patrols.
The next step is to consolidate the conservation achievements in Marohata. WWF-Madagascar will continue its activities to strengthen and support coastal communities so they can take full ownership of their marine resources. As Ernestine said, community members have to be healthy to be able to protect their resources. Due to the isolation of Marohata, its residents seek to improve their health care system as part of a sustainable way of life.
Ernestine Perline is only 29 years old but is already a leader in her community. As the president of the fishers’ association of Marohata in southwest Madagascar, the mother of four has guided her community on using sustainable fishing tools and establishing locally managed marine areas. This way, she contributes to maintaining the fish populations and safeguarding the livelihoods of her community.