Case 2-7 Practicing awareness-raising activities that lead to the development of fishermen leaders: case study of the COGEPAS experience

The role of a fisher leader in fisheries resource management activities is to build trust with those involved in fisheries in their own village, motivating them to take part in fisheries resource management activities and encouraging them to act on their own. It is also important to extend fisheries resource management activities from the village level to the regional level, in collaboration with fishers’ leaders from other villages. Within the COGEPAS framework, fishers’ leaders have taken the initiative to implement various awareness-raising activities. For example, (1) door-to-door visits, (2) visiting fishers’ rest areas on the beach, (3) group meetings, (4) calls in a public space, (5) exchanges between villages, (6) making panels for landing sites, (7) making posters and (8) local radio broadcasts. Among these activities, (1) through (4) are awareness-raising activities that can be conducted independently by the fishers’ groups, while (5) through (8) are activities that require support and coordination from external funders.

(1) Door-to-door visits, where fishers’ leaders visit influential fisher households in the village individually to explain the importance of fisheries management activities and seek their support. One-time door-to-door visits were not effective, and fishers’ leaders developed their own outreach style through repeated visits.

(2) Fishers’ leaders visited the rest areas of fishers, scattered along the beach, to inform fishers and encourage them to participate in fisheries resource management activities. This activity became an opportunity to establish initial contact with fishers and contact fishmongers and processors.

(3) Group meetings provided a platform for fishers’ groups to share information and exchange views with each other by discussing the concrete content of resource management and sharing their experiences.

(4) Calls in a public space provided a platform for direct dialogue and consultation with fishers. Awareness raising activities using microphones and music were conducted at landing sites in Joal with the support of COGEPAS.

The awareness-raising activities that were effective at the planning stage of the fisheries resource management were as follows: (1) door-to-door visits, (2) visiting fishers’ rest areas on the beach, (3) group meetings and (5) exchange between villages. The activities that were effective at the implementation stage were as follows: (3) group meetings, (4) calls in a public space, (6) making panels for landing sites and (8) local radio broadcasts. Through the implementation of these awareness-raising activities, fishers’ leaders developed their own leadership style and capacity, and those who inspired by their awareness-raising activities also became leadership candidates.

Chapter 2 Establishing and strengthening the resource management implementation system

2.2 Training of stakeholder leaders from fishing villages

Each leader should provide ‘opportunities’ and ‘venues’ for discussion on a daily basis in his or her group to understand each member’s position, ideas, and opinions. Leaders should also actively participate in other groups’ meetings to deepen their understanding of each group’s positions and issues. Awareness-raising activities are an effective means for leaders to strengthen their capabilities through practice.

Even if there is an organisation to co-manage fishery resources, leaders are essential for the organisation to function. This case study, in which the capacity of fishermen leaders was strengthened through extension activities, would be helpful in developing fishermen leaders.