Community Patrol – learning exchange!

At the beginning of July, we led a Peer Learning study visit from Pemba Island, Zanzibar to the Northern Mainland Tanzanian coast, and what a great success.

18 individuals travelled form Pemba to mainland Tanzania to learn from the enforcement experiences and practices of Boma Subutuni’s and Chongoleani’s Beach Management Units*. The individuals who participated includes 1 representative from the Department of Fisheries Development, a District Fisheries Officer, 12 individuals from the Shehia Fisher Committees* of 6 villages in Pemba (Fundo Island, Shidi, Kukuu, Michenzani, Makoongwe, Stahabu) and 2 Mwambao team members.

Enforcement is a vital yet challenging and potentially dangerous aspect of our community-based management activities. Thus, building the capacity of communities we’re engaged with to ensure they can safely and effectively enforce the management plans and by-laws they develop is essential!

Lessons learned include;

• Importance of identification and listing the common illegal fishers within and outside the village for effecting patrol planning
• Communication procedures and working with partners
• Protocols for how to safely approach fishing boats and fishers
• Care/precautions and confidentiality before, during and after the patrol exercise
• Responsibilities of team leader and how to interrogate offenders as well as tracing the  boat involved
• Importance of having patrol logbook and keeping proper records
• How BMU patrol funds are derived from various sources including good Samaritans, some private investors, landing site collection (from auctioning, applications of licenses and fines from by-laws enforcement etc.)
• Value addition activities for BMU, including reefball construction initiative
• How joint patrol can be conducted in collaboration with multiple management areas and stakeholders

This peer learning exchange was part of our project with partners Fauna & Flora International.

*Beach Management Units (BMUs) on mainland Tanzania and Shehia Fishers Committees (SFCs) in Zanzibar, are the village institutions responsible for management decisions surrounding marine resources.