Releasing the Giants: Saving Guyana's endangered Arapaima

A COVID-19-spurred shutdown has halted ecotourism to Siete Pecados, a marine protected area in the Philippines. As a result, many residents have turned to fishing as a way to supplement their income. To make sure this is done with the environment in mind, local residents are stepping up to help tourism workers, ensure the area stays protected, and prevent overfishing of endangered species.

Ecotourism provides an economic alternative to fishing for coastal communities. On the Island Garden City of Samal, in the Philippines, residents have embraced a giant clam nursery and sanctuary, which attracts mariculture tourists. The giant clam sanctuary is a project of the Decor United Fisherfolk Organization (AdUFOr) and Davao del Norte State College. It offers livelihood for residents of the community, especially to seniors who give tours, and also assists in the conservation of giant clam populations.

Through a co-management system, which has successfully rehabilitated degraded watersheds, the 2015 Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes-Montana Water Rights Compact has restored tribal sovereignty over their waters. This has brought bull trout back to their native streams and reconnected tribal members to traditional lifeways while maintaining water access for existing agricultural users.

Researchers, conservationists, and shellfish farmers on both U.S. coasts are starting and studying seaweed farms as a way to soak up excess nutrients in acidic water to help shellfish survive and grow.

Nonprofits and coastal communities are popularizing sustainable fishing practices and fishery management to allow ocean ecosystems to bounce back from overfishing and sustain the fishing industry long-term. For example, a community-led organization in Scotland campaigned to create the country’s first “No Take Zone” marine reserve, and a nonprofit in Hawaii is restoring fishponds to revive traditional Hawaiian aquaculture.

Fishermen in Italy are reviving a 17th-century tradition to help the steadily declining population of European perch bounce back. They’re building bundles of tree branches and dropping them underwater to give the fish a safe, effective place to lay their eggs.

The Azores archipelago transitioned from hunting whales to whale conservation and eco-tourism that support research by implementing whale watching guidelines and building up the new industry after whaling was banned.

A family of former fishers created the Kino Bay Turtle Group to monitor sea turtles in Mexico’s La Cruz Lagoon. The conservationists work to rescue and tag turtles entangled in fishing gear, track the population, and educate the public about their importance.

A fishing cooperative at the San Ignacio Lagoon protects gray whales that use the lagoon as a nursery by not fishing at that time of the year. Instead, their income comes from ecotourism which brings people close to the whales during that season.

Restaurants in the Cayman Islands are hosting lion-fish catching tournaments and then cooking and serving the invasive species to reduce their population.