By Ron Rocky Coloma
As warming seas alter fish populations and extreme weather makes fishing more dangerous, Pacific Island communities face another challenge: securing the funding and authority to protect the coastal waters on which they depend.
The pressures have placed small-scale fisheries at the center of questions about ocean conservation, including how international efforts to protect 30 percent of the world's oceans by 2030 can recognize traditional practices and local livelihoods.
Rocky Sanchez Tirona, managing director of regional programs at conservation organization Rare, said fishing communities need a greater role in determining how their marine resources are managed, rather than relying exclusively on policies developed elsewhere.
In an interview with the Pacific Island Times connected to discussions surrounding a United Nations fisheries summit held Sept. 7-11, Tirona described climate impacts, funding barriers and the potential for community-led conservation across the region.
Rising ocean temperatures are changing where fish can be found, she said, requiring some fishers to travel farther to catch species previously available closer to shore.
“The fish are changing their path for migration. They're not necessarily in the same places that they used to be found in,” Tirona said.
Greater distances can increase the risks associated with fishing, particularly as severe weather brings higher waves and heavier rainfall. Those conditions can also reduce opportunities to work.
The stakes extend beyond income. In Pacific communities, fishing contributes to household food supplies and cultural practices and celebrations, making changes in the ocean a concern that extends beyond the fishing industry.
Rare's background materials estimate that roughly 50 million people worldwide participate in small-scale fishing and that the sector accounts for about 90 percent of fishers and fish workers globally.
The organization works with more than 2,300 fishing communities across multiple countries.
Tirona oversees regional programs involving coastal fisheries and other community-led conservation work, including initiatives in the Pacific, Philippines and Indonesia.
She said effective management begins by asking residents what they want for their waters, then combining their priorities with scientific information to develop workable rules.
That can involve deciding where fishing should be restricted, how large protected areas should be and how communities will monitor compliance.
In Palau, Tirona cited Rare's work with communities in Melekeok and Ngaraard to establish managed access and reserve areas. Residents participated in developing management plans that incorporated traditional knowledge alongside scientific findings.
She pointed to the traditional practice of temporarily closing an area to fishing, allowing fish populations time to recover before fishing resumes or restrictions move elsewhere.
Such practices can serve purposes similar to scientific approaches that establish no-take zones, she said, while retaining systems of governance familiar to local residents.
“Science has its place, right? It helps people really understand what's going on and then make decisions around that,” Tirona said.
Working with communities also requires understanding the different roles of elected officials, village chiefs and other traditional leaders, particularly where their responsibilities intersect.
Tirona said conservation organizations must consult those groups before translating local agreements into government policy and community rules.
The approach has implications for the international goal of conserving 30 percent of oceans by 2030, commonly called 30 by 30.
While supporting the the target, Tirona said governments should avoid protecting areas solely to increase the recorded percentage.
Decisions should consider habitat conditions and the people who already use those waters.
She said locally managed marine areas could contribute to the target through recognition as other effective area-based conservation measures, even when they are not formally designated marine protected areas.
That recognition could acknowledge conservation work already carried out through traditional leadership, rather than treating formal protected areas as the only legitimate approach.
The interview followed a media outreach effort tied to the September summit. Rare's materials identified climate change, biodiversity loss and inadequate investment as challenges for coastal communities.
Tirona said the Pacific presents opportunities for locally led management because fishing is closely connected to identity and longstanding ocean stewardship.
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However, conservation plans must also account for practical trade-offs, including whether restrictions reduce access to customary fishing grounds or place pressure on households dealing with changing ocean conditions.
Money remains a major obstacle. Tirona said grant applications, reporting requirements and other administrative procedures often make it difficult for small community organizations to access international conservation financing.
She called for changes on both sides: simpler requirements from donors and additional support to help local groups plan projects, manage funds and report results.
Video updates, for example, could offer a more accessible way for communities to explain how grant money was used. Financial intermediaries could also help distribute large commitments among smaller projects.
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Tirona pointed to Niue's approach of estimating the cost of conserving a square kilometer of ocean and inviting supporters to help finance that protection.
She said the example reflects a broader argument that Pacific countries should receive support for stewarding waters whose ecological benefits extend well beyond their borders.
Technology could help communities document those benefits and track environmental changes, although Tirona cautioned against allowing it to replace local decisions.
In Papua New Guinea, she cited the use of underwater video footage processed with artificial intelligence to assess reef conditions. Such analysis could reduce the expense of repeated scientific surveys.
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Rare also uses environmental data to assess climate vulnerability, including sea temperatures, sea-level rise, and habitat conditions, before sharing findings with communities.
“I think that's as far as I would go with AI for now. I'm not putting anything more because the rest of it is really about people and the choices that they make,” Tirona said.
Looking a decade ahead, Tirona said
she hopes communities will see recovering habitats, healthier fish populations and improved livelihoods resulting from their management choices.
She also emphasized the need to strengthen local food production alongside fisheries, reducing dependence on imports and improving resilience when storms or other disruptions affect supplies.
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