Latest / How To Protect The Ocean / The Ocean Is "Protected." So Why Is Illegal Fishing Still Happening?

Transcript

The Ocean Is "Protected." So Why Is Illegal Fishing Still Happening? · How To Protect The Ocean

• 0:00
  Enforcement is
• 0:01
  the most
• 0:01
  underrated
• 0:02
  ocean tool.
• 0:03
  You can declare
• 0:04
  an ocean
• 0:05
  protected in a
• 0:06
  single afternoon,
• 0:07
  but what you
• 0:08
  can't do is
• 0:08
  protect it
• 0:09
  without
• 0:09
  showing up.
• 0:11
  Rules without enforcement are
• 0:13
  just suggestions.
• 0:14
  This is the How
• 0:15
  to Protect the
• 0:15
  Ocean podcast,
• 0:16
  your weekday
• 0:16
  ocean
• 0:17
  news update.
• 0:18
  If you care about
• 0:19
  staying informed
• 0:20
  on the ocean
• 0:21
  every weekday,
• 0:22
  hit that follow
• 0:23
  button right now
• 0:24
  so you don't miss
• 0:24
  tomorrow's story.
• 0:26
  This week, we're
• 0:27
  gonna be talking
• 0:27
  a lot about
• 0:28
  enforcement
• 0:29
  and action, and
• 0:30
  so every episode
• 0:31
  this week
• 0:32
  is gonna be
• 0:32
  themed
• 0:33
  around that,
• 0:34
  so you don't
• 0:34
  wanna miss this.
• 0:36
  Marine protected
• 0:36
  areas with
• 0:37
  adequate
• 0:37
  staffing,
• 0:38
  monitoring, and
• 0:39
  compliance
• 0:40
  systems
• 0:40
  consistently show
• 0:41
  dramatically
• 0:42
  better ecological
• 0:43
  outcomes
• 0:44
  than those
• 0:45
  without
• 0:46
  enforcement
• 0:46
  capacity.
• 0:48
  The difference
• 0:48
  between success
• 0:49
  and failure
• 0:50
  is not the
• 0:50
  boundary.
• 0:51
  It is the budget.
• 0:52
  It is the
• 0:53
  patrol boat.
• 0:54
  It is the
• 0:54
  presence.
• 0:55
  This is gonna be
• 0:56
  a breakdown
• 0:57
  of what makes a
• 0:58
  marine protected
• 0:59
  area work.
• 1:00
  Last week, we
• 1:00
  talked about
• 1:01
  marine
• 1:01
  protected areas
• 1:02
  and what they are
• 1:03
  as paper parks
• 1:03
  and how useless
• 1:04
  they are.
• 1:05
  Today, we're
• 1:05
  gonna be
• 1:06
  focusing on
• 1:07
  what actually
• 1:07
  makes an
• 1:07
  MPA work.
• 1:08
  What actually is
• 1:09
  the key to saving
• 1:11
  the ocean?
• 1:13
  So the key
• 1:13
  question here is,
• 1:14
  why does
• 1:14
  enforcement
• 1:15
  predict
• 1:15
  ecological
• 1:16
  success
• 1:17
  better than the
• 1:18
  designation
• 1:18
  alone?
• 1:19
  Let's start
• 1:20
  looking at the
• 1:21
  enforcement
• 1:21
  gap here.
• 1:22
  So over 18,000
• 1:23
  MPAs exist
• 1:24
  globally, right?
• 1:25
  We talked about
• 1:25
  that last week.
• 1:27
  Coverage has
• 1:27
  expanded rapidly
• 1:29
  in the
• 1:29
  past decade,
• 1:30
  but enforcement
• 1:31
  capacity varies dramatically
• 1:32
  between regions.
• 1:33
  That's what we
• 1:34
  talked about with
• 1:34
  the paper parks.
• 1:36
  Many countries
• 1:36
  designate large
• 1:37
  offshore MPAs
• 1:38
  without
• 1:39
  increasing patrol
• 1:40
  budgets.
• 1:42
  Imagine any type
• 1:43
  of area in the
• 1:45
  ocean, especially
• 1:46
  offshore where
• 1:47
  you can't really
• 1:48
  see the coastline
• 1:49
  from that area.
• 1:50
  Imagine having
• 1:50
  one patrol boat
• 1:51
  to patrol that
• 1:53
  huge area.
• 1:53
  Papahana Makua
• 1:54
  Kia, for
• 1:55
  instance, that is
• 1:56
  a huge area
• 1:57
  to patrol.
• 1:58
  If you only have
• 1:59
  one patrol boat,
• 2:00
  you're never
• 2:00
  gonna be able to
• 2:01
  enforce the law
• 2:02
  because if
• 2:03
  anybody wants to
• 2:04
  fish in there
• 2:04
  illegally,
• 2:04
  they can do so
• 2:05
  without
• 2:06
  being caught,
• 2:06
  unless it's by
• 2:07
  satellite, unless
• 2:08
  they have their
• 2:08
  AIS or their GPS
• 2:09
  turned on
• 2:10
  and they're known
• 2:10
  to be in
• 2:11
  that area.
• 2:13
  But without the
• 2:14
  patrol boats,
• 2:14
  you're really not
• 2:15
  gonna be
• 2:15
  able to see it
• 2:16
  and attempt to
• 2:17
  attack or capture
• 2:20
  these boats to
• 2:21
  prevent them from
• 2:22
  doing it.
• 2:23
  A protected
• 2:24
  boundary on a map
• 2:25
  does not
• 2:26
  automatically
• 2:26
  change
• 2:27
  behavior at sea.
• 2:28
  Just because
• 2:29
  there's a
• 2:29
  protection
• 2:29
  doesn't mean that
• 2:30
  people aren't
• 2:30
  gonna go
• 2:31
  in and fish.
• 2:32
  So there was a
• 2:33
  study by Gail et
• 2:34
  al in 2017
• 2:35
  in nature,
• 2:36
  and they found
• 2:37
  that most MPAs
• 2:38
  suffer from a
• 2:38
  major shortfalls
• 2:39
  in staffing and
• 2:41
  funding.
• 2:42
  On average, many
• 2:43
  MPAs operate with
• 2:45
  less than half
• 2:46
  the recommended
• 2:46
  staffing levels.
• 2:48
  Enforcement
• 2:48
  capacity explains
• 2:49
  more variance in
• 2:50
  ecological
• 2:51
  outcomes than the
• 2:52
  size alone.
• 2:54
  That's how
• 2:54
  important
• 2:55
  enforcement is.
• 2:56
  Protection
• 2:56
  without presence
• 2:57
  invites
• 2:58
  non-compliance.
• 3:00
  So here's what
• 3:00
  the data shows
• 3:01
  about the
• 3:02
  staffing.
• 3:03
  So in these key
• 3:04
  findings from
• 3:05
  Gail et al in
• 3:06
  2017 in nature,
• 3:08
  MPAs with
• 3:09
  adequate staff
• 3:10
  had significantly
• 3:11
  higher fish
• 3:12
  biomass.
• 3:13
  Sites with high
• 3:14
  staff capacity
• 3:15
  had biomass up to
• 3:17
  three times
• 3:18
  higher than the
• 3:19
  low
• 3:19
  capacity sites.
• 3:21
  Staffing and
• 3:21
  budget were
• 3:22
  stronger
• 3:22
  predictors of
• 3:24
  success than the
• 3:24
  actual area size.
• 3:26
  So imagine having
• 3:26
  just a small
• 3:27
  area, but you can
• 3:28
  patrol it better.
• 3:29
  The quality of
• 3:29
  that area is
• 3:30
  gonna be a lot
• 3:30
  better than the
• 3:31
  bigger area that
• 3:31
  you can't patrol
• 3:33
  because that
• 3:33
  means you are
• 3:33
  actually
• 3:34
  enforcing
• 3:34
  the area.
• 3:35
  You were saying
• 3:36
  to people, hey,
• 3:36
  we're
• 3:37
  gonna find you.
• 3:38
  Even if it's a
• 3:39
  small area, we're
• 3:39
  gonna protect
• 3:40
  this area because
• 3:40
  it's better than
• 3:41
  having just
• 3:42
  quantities,
• 3:43
  better than
• 3:43
  having just a
• 3:44
  bigger size.
• 3:45
  So instead of
• 3:45
  saying, hey, the
• 3:46
  bigger the MPA,
• 3:46
  the better we're
• 3:47
  gonna be able to
• 3:48
  have success.
• 3:49
  No, the smaller
• 3:50
  the, really it's
• 3:51
  the
• 3:51
  enforcement size.
• 3:52
  So the better the
• 3:53
  staffing and the
• 3:53
  funding for that
• 3:54
  staffing and the
• 3:55
  number of
• 3:55
  patrol boats,
• 3:56
  the better you're
• 3:57
  gonna have
• 3:57
  success.
• 3:58
  Doesn't matter
• 3:58
  the area.
• 4:00
  That's what it
• 4:00
  really
• 4:00
  comes out to.
• 4:02
  Size matters less
• 4:03
  than enforcement
• 4:03
  intensity.
• 4:04
  That's what it
• 4:05
  comes down to.
• 4:06
  So let's get into
• 4:07
  the funding
• 4:07
  mechanisms of
• 4:08
  everything.
• 4:10
  Stable line items
• 4:10
  and national
• 4:11
  budgets.
• 4:11
  So that's the
• 4:12
  line item that
• 4:13
  allots the
• 4:13
  number, the
• 4:14
  amount of money
• 4:15
  that goes towards
• 4:16
  these enforcement
• 4:18
  productions and
• 4:19
  staffing.
• 4:20
  Allow managers to
• 4:21
  plan long-term
• 4:23
  patrols and
• 4:24
  monitoring.
• 4:25
  So a strong
• 4:26
  examples of the
• 4:27
  Papahana Makua
• 4:28
  Kia monument or
• 4:29
  Marine National
• 4:30
  Monument
• 4:30
  in Hawaii.
• 4:31
  So it's managed
• 4:32
  by the National
• 4:33
  Oceanographic and
• 4:34
  Atmospheric
• 4:35
  Administration,
• 4:36
  NOAA, and the
• 4:37
  state of Hawaii.
• 4:38
  It receives
• 4:38
  federal funding
• 4:39
  that supports
• 4:40
  enforcement
• 4:41
  vessels, research
• 4:42
  expeditions, and
• 4:43
  operational
• 4:44
  continuity.
• 4:45
  So this monument
• 4:46
  is not just
• 4:47
  declared
• 4:47
  protected.
• 4:48
  It has officers,
• 4:49
  it has vessels,
• 4:50
  and it has the
• 4:51
  presence
• 4:51
  necessary to
• 4:53
  enforce the
• 4:53
  protections that
• 4:54
  are guaranteed
• 4:55
  within Papahana
• 4:56
  Makua Kia
• 4:57
  National, Marine
• 4:58
  National
• 4:58
  Monument.
• 4:59
  When governments
• 5:00
  actually commit
• 5:01
  real budget
• 5:01
  lines,
• 5:02
  enforcement
• 5:03
  actually happens.
• 5:05
  Now we look at
• 5:06
  tourism revenue
• 5:06
  and reinvestment
• 5:07
  for funding.
• 5:08
  Some MPAs fund
• 5:09
  themselves
• 5:10
  through visitors
• 5:11
  and like visitor
• 5:12
  fees and dive
• 5:12
  permits.
• 5:13
  I've gone diving
• 5:14
  in marine
• 5:14
  protected areas
• 5:15
  off of Costa San
• 5:16
  Martin, where you
• 5:17
  were actually
• 5:17
  allowed to dive,
• 5:18
  but you had to
• 5:19
  pay a
• 5:20
  certain amount.
• 5:21
  A little bit more
• 5:21
  than you would
• 5:21
  normally pay.
• 5:23
  And we were okay
• 5:23
  with that.
• 5:24
  At Bonaire
• 5:25
  National Marine
• 5:25
  Park, they even
• 5:26
  have divers
• 5:27
  purchase a Marine
• 5:28
  Park tag.
• 5:29
  That revenue
• 5:29
  directly supports
• 5:30
  reef monitoring,
• 5:31
  reef buoy
• 5:32
  maintenance, and enforcement.
• 5:33
  So healthy
• 5:34
  ecosystems
• 5:35
  attract visitors,
• 5:36
  visitor revenue
• 5:37
  funds protection,
• 5:38
  protection
• 5:39
  maintains
• 5:39
  ecosystem health.
• 5:41
  It is a
• 5:42
  reinforcing
• 5:42
  cycle.
• 5:44
  Now there's also
• 5:44
  NGO co-management
• 5:45
  systems for
• 5:46
  funding.
• 5:47
  So government
• 5:47
  agencies often
• 5:48
  lack sufficient
• 5:49
  technical or
• 5:50
  financial
• 5:51
  capacity alone.
• 5:52
  At Cabo Palmo
• 5:53
  National Park in
• 5:54
  Mexico, the local
• 5:55
  community worked
• 5:56
  with NGOs and
• 5:57
  federal
• 5:58
  authorities after
• 5:59
  fishing ended in
• 6:00
  the mid-1990s.
• 6:00
  Scientific
• 6:02
  monitoring
• 6:02
  supported
• 6:03
  adaptive
• 6:03
  management,
• 6:04
  community
• 6:04
  enforcement
• 6:05
  increased
• 6:05
  compliance.
• 6:06
  Within a decade,
• 6:07
  fish biomass
• 6:08
  increased by more
• 6:08
  than 400%.
• 6:11
  Community plus
• 6:11
  NGO involvement
• 6:13
  increases
• 6:13
  ecological
• 6:14
  results and
• 6:15
  political
• 6:15
  durability.
• 6:17
  Now long-term
• 6:17
  budget guarantees
• 6:18
  also help.
• 6:19
  So multi-year
• 6:19
  funding allows
• 6:20
  strategic
• 6:20
  planning instead
• 6:21
  of reactive
• 6:22
  crisis
• 6:22
  management.
• 6:23
  The Great Barrier
• 6:24
  Reef Marine Park
• 6:25
  is supported by
• 6:25
  federal
• 6:26
  allocations and
• 6:27
  reef trust investments,
• 6:27
  enabling
• 6:28
  continuous
• 6:29
  monitoring of
• 6:30
  coral cover,
• 6:31
  water quality,
• 6:31
  and fish biomass.
• 6:33
  Long-term funding
• 6:34
  creates long-term
• 6:35
  data sets.
• 6:36
  Long-term data
• 6:37
  sets creates
• 6:37
  accountability.
• 6:39
  Having that
• 6:40
  long-term funding
• 6:41
  is really going
• 6:42
  to help the
• 6:42
  long-term success
• 6:43
  of the Marine
• 6:44
  protected area.
• 6:45
  What happens when
• 6:46
  funding is
• 6:47
  unstable?
• 6:48
  So then you get
• 6:49
  patrol
• 6:49
  interruptions.
• 6:50
  In the last few years, in several
• 6:51
  West African
• 6:51
  coastal MPAs,
• 6:53
  patrol vessels
• 6:53
  lack the fuel
• 6:54
  budgets.
• 6:55
  It costs a lot of
• 6:56
  money to get
• 6:57
  boats on the
• 6:57
  water and be able
• 6:58
  to work
• 6:58
  all the time.
• 6:59
  When boats remain
• 7:00
  docked, illegal
• 7:00
  trawlers enter
• 7:01
  the protected
• 7:02
  areas, even short
• 7:03
  enforcement gaps
• 7:03
  can create
• 7:04
  opportunities for
• 7:05
  intrusion.
• 7:05
  These illegal
• 7:07
  fishers are not
• 7:07
  messing around.
• 7:08
  They will wait
• 7:09
  patiently
• 7:10
  out at sea.
• 7:11
  They have the
• 7:11
  money to be able
• 7:12
  to wait
• 7:13
  patiently at sea.
• 7:14
  Once those
• 7:14
  enforcement
• 7:15
  patrol boats go
• 7:15
  back in, they
• 7:16
  will come in and
• 7:17
  they will
• 7:17
  illegally fish as
• 7:18
  fast as they can.
• 7:20
  You also have
• 7:21
  monitoring gaps.
• 7:22
  You also have monitoring gaps.
• 7:22
  In parts of South
• 7:23
  Asia, if you
• 7:24
  don't have
• 7:24
  funded, donor
• 7:25
  funded monitoring
• 7:26
  programs collapse
• 7:27
  when grants end.
• 7:29
  Grants always
• 7:29
  have an end date
• 7:30
  to their funding.
• 7:31
  Although it's
• 7:32
  great, we've seen
• 7:32
  long-term data
• 7:33
  sets be really
• 7:34
  great, but you
• 7:35
  see data gaps in
• 7:37
  those long-term
• 7:38
  data sets.
• 7:38
  Because funding
• 7:39
  has run out or it
• 7:41
  came to the end
• 7:43
  of its period of funding.
• 7:44
  The people who
• 7:46
  are doing it are
• 7:47
  trying to get
• 7:47
  more funding.
• 7:48
  Sometimes you
• 7:48
  can't get the
• 7:49
  funding depending
• 7:49
  on how the
• 7:50
  economy is going
• 7:51
  and what the
• 7:51
  granting
• 7:52
  priorities are at
• 7:53
  that point from
• 7:54
  that foundation
• 7:54
  or many
• 7:55
  foundations.
• 7:57
  Data continuity
• 7:57
  breaks make it
• 8:00
  impossible to
• 8:01
  measure recovery.
• 8:02
  Without
• 8:02
  consistent
• 8:03
  monitoring,
• 8:03
  protection cannot
• 8:04
  be evaluated.
• 8:06
  You have loss of
• 8:08
  community trust
• 8:08
  when you don't
• 8:09
  have the proper
• 8:10
  funding.
• 8:10
  In some
• 8:11
  Mediterranean
• 8:11
  MPAs, uneven
• 8:12
  enforcement has
• 8:13
  undermined local
• 8:14
  confidence.
• 8:15
  Small-scale
• 8:15
  fishers have
• 8:16
  reported stricter
• 8:17
  enforcement
• 8:18
  against them than
• 8:19
  industrial
• 8:20
  fleets, which
• 8:21
  face weaker
• 8:22
  oversight.
• 8:23
  So when these
• 8:23
  rules appear
• 8:25
  inconsistently
• 8:26
  applied,
• 8:26
  voluntary
• 8:27
  compliance
• 8:28
  declines.
• 8:28
  So if you have a
• 8:30
  small-time
• 8:31
  fisher,
• 8:31
  small-scale
• 8:32
  fisher, who's
• 8:33
  just fishing for
• 8:33
  his local area
• 8:34
  and trying to
• 8:35
  make money for
• 8:35
  his family,
• 8:36
  if those are
• 8:37
  stricter because
• 8:37
  they're easier to
• 8:38
  enforce, then
• 8:39
  that's not going
• 8:40
  to really help
• 8:41
  while the bigger
• 8:42
  companies are
• 8:43
  coming and
• 8:43
  probably getting
• 8:43
  more fish
• 8:44
  affecting the
• 8:45
  capacity of the
• 8:47
  small-scale
• 8:47
  fishers to be
• 8:48
  able to get fish
• 8:49
  in the future.
• 8:50
  These industrial
• 8:50
  places, the
• 8:51
  companies are
• 8:52
  just coming in
• 8:52
  and doing
• 8:53
  whatever and they
• 8:53
  will not get
• 8:54
  prosecuted.
• 8:55
  Maybe because
• 8:55
  they have more
• 8:55
  money and the
• 8:56
  funding is not
• 8:56
  enough to pay for
• 8:57
  the court fees,
• 8:58
  who knows what that would happen.
• 9:00
  So trust is
• 9:03
  essential to
• 9:03
  enforcement. Once
• 9:04
  lost, it is
• 9:05
  difficult to
• 9:06
  rebuild.
• 9:07
  Now, if you want
• 9:08
  this type of real
• 9:09
  ocean protection
• 9:09
  stories backed by
• 9:11
  science, follow
• 9:12
  this show
• 9:12
  right now.
• 9:13
  Hit that follow
• 9:13
  button so you
• 9:14
  don't miss
• 9:15
  tomorrow's
• 9:15
  episode.
• 9:17
  So here is the
• 9:17
  final word on all
• 9:19
  of this.
• 9:19
  Enforcement is
• 9:20
  not optional when
• 9:21
  we're talking
• 9:21
  about marine
• 9:22
  protected areas.
• 9:23
  It is the
• 9:23
  mechanism that
• 9:24
  turns policy into
• 9:25
  ecological
• 9:26
  recovery.
• 9:26
  MPAs are
• 9:27
  necessity. They
• 9:28
  are crucial. They
• 9:29
  are critical to
• 9:30
  making sure that
• 9:31
  we are protecting
• 9:32
  the ocean, the
• 9:34
  most important
• 9:35
  parts of
• 9:36
  the ocean.
• 9:37
  Thirty percent of
• 9:37
  the ocean can be
• 9:38
  protected, but it
• 9:39
  has to be
• 9:39
  enforced.
• 9:41
  Fish do not
• 9:42
  recover because a
• 9:43
  law was passed.
• 9:44
  They recover
• 9:44
  because
• 9:45
  extraction stops.
• 9:46
  The science is
• 9:48
  consistent across
• 9:49
  ecosystems and
• 9:49
  continents. When
• 9:51
  enforcement is
• 9:51
  strong, biomass
• 9:52
  increases. When
• 9:53
  enforcement is
• 9:54
  weak, paper
• 9:55
  park fails.
• 9:56
  That's really
• 9:57
  what it comes
• 9:57
  down to.
• 9:58
  Governments can
• 9:58
  announce
• 9:59
  protections all
• 9:59
  day in a press
• 10:00
  conference, but
• 10:01
  ecosystems
• 10:01
  respond to only
• 10:03
  what happens on
• 10:04
  the water.
• 10:04
  Protection works
• 10:05
  when it's real.
• 10:07
  That's really the
• 10:07
  lesson today.
• 10:08
  Enforcement is
• 10:10
  absolutely
• 10:10
  critical on the
• 10:12
  water in marine
• 10:13
  protected areas.
• 10:14
  It is very
• 10:14
  difficult to get
• 10:15
  protection across
• 10:16
  different marine
• 10:18
  protected areas
• 10:19
  or outside of
• 10:20
  marine protected
• 10:20
  areas, but those
• 10:21
  boundaries that
• 10:21
  are designated by
• 10:22
  law should be
• 10:23
  enforced by law.
• 10:25
  That's really
• 10:25
  what it comes
• 10:26
  down to when
• 10:26
  we're talking
• 10:27
  about protection
• 10:28
  of marine
• 10:28
  protected areas.
• 10:30
  That's the
• 10:30
  episode for
• 10:31
  today. I would
• 10:31
  love to hear what
• 10:32
  you think. Go to
• 10:33
  speakupforblue.com
• 10:34
  forward slash feedback.
• 10:35
  You can either
• 10:36
  leave a voicemail
• 10:37
  or you can type
• 10:38
  out your answer.
• 10:39
  I want to hear
• 10:40
  from you. This is
• 10:41
  just the
• 10:41
  beginning of a
• 10:41
  conversation that
• 10:42
  I want to have
• 10:43
  with many of you.
• 10:44
  With you
• 10:44
  listening in this
• 10:46
  audience being
• 10:46
  like, "Hey, I
• 10:47
  have some
• 10:47
  questions about
• 10:48
  this. Let me know
• 10:49
  your questions.
• 10:49
  Maybe they'll
• 10:50
  spark another
• 10:50
  episode."
• 10:51
  I would love to
• 10:52
  hear from you. Go
• 10:53
  to
• 10:53
  speakupforblue.com
• 10:54
  forward slash feedback.
• 10:55
  And of course, if
• 10:56
  you want more of
• 10:57
  this type of
• 10:58
  content, you want
• 10:59
  to hear more
• 10:59
  about enforcement
• 11:01
  and monitoring
• 11:01
  and all that kind
• 11:02
  of stuff this
• 11:03
  week, you can hit
• 11:04
  that follow
• 11:04
  button so you
• 11:05
  don't miss
• 11:05
  tomorrow's
• 11:05
  episode.
• 11:06
  I want to thank
• 11:06
  you so much for
• 11:07
  joining me on
• 11:08
  today's episode
• 11:08
  of the How to
• 11:09
  Protect the Ocean
• 11:09
  podcast. I'm your
• 11:10
  host, Andrew
• 11:11
  Lewin. Have a
• 11:11
  great day. We'll
• 11:12
  talk to you next
• 11:12
  time and happy
• 11:13
  conservation.