THE LOBSTER CAN'T COME TO AN END

							             OUR LOBSTER FISHERY CANNOT COLAPSE
    CEARÁ’S FISHERMEN PROPOSE CO-MANAGEMENT PLAN TO SAVE THE LOBSTER
                FISHERY AS AN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN BRAZIL1

         Brazil´s lobster fishery crisis has been getting worse each year due to everyone’s lack of
responsibility in the activity. There are no data to prove that the stock is close to a colapse, but the
activity itself can already be declared an economic and social calamity. There are many plans and
proposals, it seems that everybody knows what the problem is, but few are willing to do something about
it.
         Thus the fishermen in Ceará, through the Ceará’s Fishermen and Fisherwomen Forum, NGO
Instituto Terramar and the Forum in Defence of the Coastal Zone of Ceará (composed of 25 NGO´s),
are proposing a co-management plan in order to salvage the lobster fishery to stakeholders. The
management plan incorporates proposals and instruments that have been discussed and published in the
past, such as the Lobster Fishery Management Plan (POPL) in 1995, ratified by the lobster producer
states at a National Conference in December 1996, and the ―Emergency action plan for the lobster
fishery2‖, These proposals showed the urgent need to take action. It is therefore the artisanal
fishermen, who depend on the lobster fishery for their survival, who assume the leadership to set the
lobster fishery on the sustainable path. The proposals must be discussed, improved, negotiated and
decided by stakeholders which are the members of the Management Group for the Lobster Fishery in
Ceará. The fishing sector of the state of Ceará, where the lobster fishery started 50 years ago, must
take on the leadership.
         The proposal calls on fish harvesters and exporters, municipal, state and federal governments,
banks and other interested parties to raise R$ 8.067.240.00 (US$ 2,8 million), to finance the co-
management plan and proposes the funds be managed by the Lobster Foundation 3, Government and Civil
Society together.

1. SHORT AND LONG TERM EXPECTED BENEFITS:

Lobster catches and export in Ceará have dropped from 2.900 tones of tails in 1991 to 1.287 tones
in 2003, reaching the lowest historical value of exports US$ 30.733.000.-- in 2003. With a focused,
shared and effective effort, the lobster fishery can recover in 4 years to return to the catch level of
1991 (since 1991 the fishing area has expanded in size), which at the actual market price of US$ 25.70
could amount to exports of US$ 74 million per year by 2009, an increase of US$ 44 million. Industry
figures published in the 2001 study make a similar projection for the recovery of the lobster fishery.

Enforcement: The estimated R$ 2.083.100.00 cost for enforcement in 2005 will decrease significantly
in 2006, thanks to the restored credibility of enforcement and the participation of fishing industry,
vessel owners, fishermen and the communities along the coast of Ceará.

Social: The lobster recovery will improve income in the communities, diminishing the government’s social
costs. Large lobsters currently captured using illegal hookas (compressor boats) will be caught by
artisanal and small scale fishers from the coastal zone, resulting in increased income and reduction in
capture of undersized lobsters.


1
  Co-management plan presented to the Participatory Management Group for the Lobster Fishery in Ceará / August, 2004
2
  Emergency action plan for the lobster fishery in the Northeast of Brazil (José Augusto Negreiro Aragão, 2001)
3
  The Pró Lagosta Foundation was founded by lobster exporters in 1994 and enlarged to include fishermen, vessel owners and NGOs in
2001



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Economic: With sustainable fishery operations, fishing and processing companies will return to
profitability, thus eliminating the need for government subsidies for the fishery sector.
Added value for fishing licenses and fishing industry: A controlled fishery will add value to licenses
and vessels reflecting the potential value with a healthy fishery, compared to today, when both license
and boats have no value. As an example: In Australia the value of a vessel – boat, equipment and permit
for 100 lobster traps - in 1998 was 2.3 million US Dollars 4). This will encouraging owners to protect
their investment and to participate in the resource management. Exporters and fishprocessors who
practice sound business principles will profit from the fishery recovery while irresponsible companies will
be punished by the market.

2. Enforcement actions for 2005

An enforcement plan elaborated by Ibama (Brazilian Environment and Renewable Resources Institute,
responsible for fisheries management) enforcement team and the representative of Instituto Terramar
was presented to the Management Group, aiming in the short term:

                    Total control of the fishery in the sea of Ceará through
                    intensive enforcement by Ibama, police and the coast guard
                    to make operation of hooka gear impossible, substitute gill nets with
                    lobster traps reducing capture and export of undersized lobster

The cost of the enforcement plan for 2005 amounts to R$ 2.083.100.00 (US$ 700.000.00) including
enforcement in the sea and on land, workshops, and communication costs. Intensive enforcement at sea
and on land will be complemented by other measures such as unifying the minimum size of different
species of lobsters to facilitate examination of export shipments at the destination and a cooperation
agreement for enforcement between Brazil and the USA5, which fishers have been demanding for the
last four years. These combined measures will ensure that :

           -   Hooka operations are stopped and traps are used exclusively
           -   Withdrawal of gillnets from the lobster fishery is guaranteed
           -   Fishers and legal vessel owners participate in enforcement actions
           -   Exports of undersized lobsters are stopped
           -   Productive sector and government construct and implement the
               sustainable development plan for Brazil´s lobster fishery

A seperate plan includes over 40 local actions to support enforcement and improve efficiency and
cooperation on land and at sea. Many of these suggestions from fisher communities have been ignored by
fishing authorities so far. For 2005 the plan proposes a complete socio-economic survey of the fishing
fleet, fishers and their communities. It also includes funds for improved data collection, research, pilot
projects for co-management in the coastal region for artisanal fishers and other information that will
enable the management group to tackle the problem of reducing the fishing effort.

3. COMMUNICATION AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
It is quite likely that some companies, vessel owners and fishers in Ceará and other lobster fishery
states will not join the effort to save the fishery through participatory management, but rather will
continue illegal and unsustainable practices. We believe that the market will take care of them. The
productive sector needs to show the market that it has decided to change its way of working and is
willing to recover the lobster stocks. To do so, we need to create a label (example) ―Ceará Lagosta

4
    Resource: “Fisheries Western Australia - 1998” www.wa.gov.au/westfish
5
    Based on the Lacy Act import of undersized lobsters is considered a crime and can be prosecuted in the US


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Sustentável‖ (Ceará Sustainable Lobster) and communicate this to responsible consumers in the major
markets. We know that consumers and consumer organisations in the USA and Europe are becoming more
and more concerned about the origin of the seafood they eat. One example is the campaign of
restaurants and hotel chefs to take swordfish off their menu until no fishing zones were created. Not
long ago when the trawler fleet failed to use TED´s (turtle escape devices), this resulted in the boycot
of brazilian shrimp in the US market. Brazil lobster exporters need to consider the power of consumer
organisations to influence fish and shellfish consumption. A recent study shows that 70% of seafood is
consumed in restaurants and consumers rely on advice by chefs and seafood guides. In the USA there
are over six ―Seafood Guides‖ operating and available for download on the internet. They give tips about
healthy seafood and species information. Thus we can read in the Environmental Defence Fund – Seafood
Selector web site http://www.oceansalive.org that ―MOST SPINY LOBSTERS ARE IMPORTED FROM
LATIN AMERICA, WHERE MANAGEMENT IS POOR AND DIVING PRACTICES TO CATCH THEM ARE
UNSAFE. ALTHOUGH LOBSTER TRAPS HAVE RELATIVELY LOW BYCATCH AND HABITAT IMPACTS,
THEY USUALLY REMOVE MOST OR ALL OF THE LARGE LOBSTERS FROM THE ECOSYSTEM‖ the
guide does not recommend consumption of lobster from Brazil and offers the internaut other, more
sustainable products. It is well known that the hooka fishery in Brazil is the cause of death and
disablement of many young divers. Gillnets which should have been withdrawn from the fishery two years
ago continue being used. Turtle conservation groups report that sea turtle mortality is likely caused by
increased use of gillnets in Bahia, where fishing effort has shifted to in recent years due to the lobster
crisis in Ceará.
The Fishermen and Fisherwomens Forum of the state of Ceará has booked a booth at the International
Boston Seafood Show from March 13 to 15 hoping that exporters and the government will join us to
present the new way of managing Brazil´s lobster fishery.

4. IDEA BANK FOR THE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT INPUT
         If the fishing problem has not been solved, this is due to several causes: Lack of continuity in
government actions. Lack of support from state and municipal governments and lack of recognition of
better practices by artisanal fishers and communities. The recovery of the lobster stock and the way to
sustainability is a big challenge, but not impossible in the opinion of fishers. Over the last ten years
artisanal fishers and NGOs together with modern fishery scientists (who believe there is more to
fisheries management than lobster biology and CPUE - catch per unit effort; that fishers, communities
and culture are part of it). We have an idea bank with over 60 proposals for local, regional and national
action and many more ideas will come forward with a participatory approach to fisheries management.

4. FINANCING OF ENFORCEMENT AND MANAGEMENT:
Fishers understand that fisheries authorities, admitting their responsability in the lobster disaster, are
waiting for the productive sector to take the first step and to invest money to solve the problem they
helped create. It is the productive segment of the fishery which will eventually benefit from the
recovery of the fishery. No doubt the government on all three levels will support this proposal. We plan
to raise funds with voluntary contributions from fishers, vessel owners and exporters and to call on
government and other stakeholders to match their contribution. These expenses should be considered as
investment and not as an expense. Thus an investiment of US$ 2.881.000.-- per year until 2008 will
produce a return of US$ 40.000.000.—per year, which can be considered an excellent investment.

Here is why and how much stakeholders should contribute to the fund per year in US$:

- Fishermen from east coast communities and some local governments have contributed to enforcement
  in the past. Most fishermen and legal vessel owners will contribute R$ 1.00 per kg
  of lobstertail to guarantee enforcement and sound management. ($ 430.000.--)
- Exporters are asked to match the contribution of fishers and vessel owners ($ 430.000.--)
- SEAP’s (Special Secretariat of Acquaculture and Fishing) collects fees for fishing licenses
  and Ibama Fisheries Authorities collects fines for illegal fishing. The federal


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   government must make these funds available to match the funds from fishers and businesses.
   ($ 860.00.--)
- The fishery effort study6 shows a great number of boats fishing without licenses. Owners
   can apply for temporary license, paying a special fee. The artisanal fleet of over
   1.000 sail boats should be licensed, pay license fees reflecting the reduced number of traps and work
   towards co-management regimes in marine protected areas MPA´s. ($ 150.000.00)
- Banks (especially state banks) have a great deal of responsibility for the increase of the
   fishing effort by financing vessels without business and environmental criterias; contributing
   to this effort is the only way to recover bad loans made since 1996. ($ 215.000.--)
- State and municipal governments must particiapte for very obvious reasons; to avoid
  unemployment, improve quality of life in coastal communities and generate economic activity
  and promote exports. ($ 257.000.--)
- Other contributions from Petrobrás (Brazilian state owned petrol company), fishing
  gear suppliers, parliamentarians, foundations and international cooperation agencies will add
  another $ 539.000.--. Notwithstanding support by other agencies such as federal police,
  environmental police and naval authorities who are participating in the management group.
Conclusion:
The new climate in Brazil´s political landscape and the tireless work of NGO´s, artisanal fishers and
community leaders in the state of Ceará make this proposal, revolutionary by today´s standards,
possible. Fishers have nothing to lose and are no longer willing to wait for the government and economic
interests to decide ―their future‖. The lobster is a resource that belongs to the people who fish and who
depend on it for survival. Decisions need to be made by the end of October, so that management
measures can be put into place in time for the next fishing season, which begins on the first of May,
2005.


                Contact adress: CFSLF - Coalition for a Fair and Sustainable Lobster Fishery in Brazil
                Caixa Posta 52722, Aldeota, 60.151-970 Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil – fishnet@uol.com.br



Prainha do Canto Verde, September 18, 2004




6
    Resource: GTT Lagosta 2002, Ibama lobster technical work group ( the GTT has never published the results of the technical work)



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