The first step for research to impact policies and practices is to build trust between stakeholders and researchers. EfD Colombia’s experience in fisheries and aquaculture research shows that involving experts from public institutions at an early stage and as co-authors in scientific publications helps build trust between researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders that paves the way for impact. Their example also shows that this trust can provide access to valuable data and insights from stakeholders.
Jorge Marco Renau and Diego Valderrama, EfD Colombia researchers, have conducted policy-relevant research on fisheries and aquaculture in Colombia since 2017. Their research agenda can be divided into two main stages: the first on fisheries of queen conch and industrial shrimp from 2017 to 2021, and the second on aquaculture of tilapia from 2021 to 2024.
Bioeconomic models helped combine economy and sustainability
In the first stage of the research, they used the Fisheries Performance Indicators (FPI) to assess the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of fisheries sectors. These indicators are based on the triple-bottom-line definition of sustainability, which considers social and environmental dimensions in addition to economic profit.
In their study, Triple bottom line assessment for the historically underperforming Colombian queen conch fishery, the Fisheries Performance Indicators (FPI) revealed that the queen conch fishery in the Colombian Caribbean is underperforming in many aspects. This industry is near collapse, with monitoring problems, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and overfishing. However, this marine resource represents a social and cultural identity for the raizales (a native community). It also has important economic value because queen conch pearls can fetch as much as USD 120,000 in international markets.
The study was complemented by Improving utilization of the queen conch (aliger gigas) resource in the Colombian Caribbean, a pioneering bioeconomic model designed to identify optimal exploitation strategies for the queen conch in the Colombian Caribbean. It provides valuable economic insights to inform policy-making, demonstrating that implementing a rotational harvesting scheme with periodic closures significantly enhances both the ecological and economic sustainability of the fishery compared to the current management system.
In their study Evaluating management reforms in a Colombian shrimp fishery using fisheries performance indicators, they applied the FPI to the industrial deep-sea shrimp trawl fishery in the Colombian Pacific, assessing its performance before and after major management adjustments. These adjustments primarily involved implementing marine protected areas with multiple uses (e.g., conservation and sustainable fishing) and enhanced control of overfishing. The shrimp fishery creates thousands of jobs and contributes to food security and poverty alleviation in many communities. The analysis showed that regulatory reforms increased stock size and reduced bycatch. Positive social outcomes included improved food security and local labor conditions. Additionally, there were partial recoveries in resource rents (the economic returns generated from the sustainable use of natural resources), benefiting the supply chain. However, economic performance is still constrained by high operating costs, inefficient harvest technologies, and low product value.
From fisheries to aquaculture
For the second stage of this program, 2021-2024, the researchers transformed the FPI methodology into the aquaculture performance indicators (API). The study Examining the success of the tilapia industry in Huila, an emerging aquaculture hub in the Colombian Southwest, is a study in Colombia, paving the way for new efforts in assessing and monitoring progress on the sustainability of cultured fish species such as rainbow trout, cachama, and shrimp. This study found that while the export sector of the tilapia industry in Colombia achieved acceptable sustainability scores across economic, environmental, and social dimensions, the domestic sector's performance was deficient, particularly in the economic and social dimensions. Additionally, the study found that differences in production capacities, investment strategies, and vulnerability to potential risks could further exacerbate the performance gap between the two production sectors.
Key to success: Involving stakeholders and sharing information
“Many researchers from the US and Europe come to Colombia to study fisheries. They contact the communities and institutions. They do their fieldwork, collect data, and publish their research, but they don’t share the results and data with stakeholders, and they don’t communicate their findings. This erodes trust between researchers, fishing communities, and public institutions. So, our first task was to build this trust to start the research,” says Jorge Marco Renau.
The researchers engaged the Colombian institution's scientific experts as co-authors and committed to sharing data and results and being transparent with information.
For the first stage, they conducted research with Mario Rueda, Scientific Director at INVEMAR (the Colombian scientific institution for marine and ocean ecosystem studies). They found that they had a mutual interest in the research of queen conch and industrial shrimp and started working together. Mario Rueda shared scientific data and facilitated contact with fisher communities and local fishing corporations.
Mario Rueda informed the policymakers at the Ministry of Environment of Colombia and public institutions such as AUNAP (National Authority for Aquaculture and Fishery) and CORALINA (Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina) about the results of these studies. He maintains strong connections with these institutions and offers them ongoing scientific advice.
No lack of data – but lack of access
This practice ensured that research findings were not only accessible and verifiable but also effectively used to address technical challenges and serve the public interest. Moreover, the commitment of locally based researchers in Colombia to share the research results was also important.
Mario Rueda also introduced Mónica Vasquez, who at that time was working at FEDEACUA (the Colombian Federation of Aquaculturists), to the researchers. FEDEACUA facilitated the researchers’ access to tilapia producers, organized field trips, and assisted with data collection.
The researchers found that many institutions possess valuable databases and grey literature, such as technical reports, which are of great interest but often not easily accessible to them. Engaging these institutions' departments in research endeavors was an effective strategy to cultivate trust between the parties. It’s often said that countries in the Global South struggle with data scarcity for comprehensive studies on fisheries and aquaculture sustainability. However, the main challenge lies in the accessibility rather than the existence of information.
Since the research projects have produced scientific articles that have been published in journals such as Marine Policy, institutions like INVEMAR or FEDEACUA not only benefit from increased visibility but also enhance their credibility through publications.
The impact of studies
"In the region of Huila, Colombia, the big tilapia producers have some information about the environmental and social impacts of their activity, but many small producers do not. There was a knowledge gap in the overall perspective of the sector in that region and with this study we have started filling in this gap", said Mónica Vasquez, former Coordinator of Sustainability at Fedeacua.
Mario Rueda, Scientific Director at INVEMAR, explains that "this research contributes with a quick evaluation of the state of the fish population. The results are a straightforward understanding and policy application for local authorities and fishing communities. They also contribute to implementing new fishing measures, since they indicate how much and when to fish, what the environmental impact is, what the health state of the fish is, and how fishing contributes to the economic and social welfare of the fishing communities".
|
The study Improving utilization of the queen conch resource in the Colombian Caribbean received Peter Berck’s Best Discussion Paper Award at the EfD Annual Meeting in 2021 and was nominated for the Best Article in Marine Resource Economics in 2021. These studies were financed by EfD.
|