Cu Lao Cham Island, including eight islets, 20 kilometres offshore Hoi An Ancient Town in Quang Nam province. Cu Lao Cham is located on an area of 15 square kilometres. Cu Lao Cham islet is the biggest with a population of 3,000, mostly fishermen. It has wonderful sand beaches, forested hills and the sea.
Cu Lao Cham is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a marine protected area, which accommodates important ecosystems such coral reefs, sea weeds and marine fauna communities.
Land crabs (scientifically named Gecarcoidea lalandii) are widely distributed on the island and play an important role in the local inhabitants?s daily livelihoods. Cu Lao Cham land crabs have become a well-known tourism products and as a result facing the risk of extinction.
Restoring the ecology and sustainable management of land crabs is a crucial need to protect a local land crab species that are endangered of extinction due to uncontrolled exploitation.
In the right season one single person used to catch 30-50 crabs/night. Nowadays, nevetheless, due to huge demand, land crabs are subject to all-year-round exploitation. As a result the animals have been recently greatly reduced in quantity, approximately by 80% compared to previously. The crabs have been caught in an non-selective manner, that is at every age/size.
The group of local people who make a living by land crab catching consists of 37 persons, of which 12 are frequent catchers. Through a survey, it has been widely agreed by 78.2% of the island population that a crab group should be established to manage land crab fishing in a more sustainable way. It was sugested that not only the crab fishermen should be included in the group but also related people such as land crab traders. It was also suggested by the local people that regulations are established to ensure long-term sources of income for members. The prospective regulations are supposed to cover, among others, timing for crab catching with restrictions during crab reproductive stages, selective catching based on gill size, ban on buying and consumption of land crabs during restricted months. The local people also recommended that the Government provides support to establish the Land crab group, regulations and approve the regulations. It was expected that the government agencies provide more guidance and disemmination activities to guide the mangement and conservation of land crabs. During the non-fishing season for land crabs, there should be some financial and technical support available to help the land crab group to earn some income as replacement to incomes raised from land crab fishing. It was also recommended by the community that conservation of land crabs should be based on zoned arears with permission for fishing after 2-3 years of conservation on a rotating basis.
To address those issues, Cu Lao Cham needs a project with a community management approach in the principle of both the local and the Government share the responsibility and benefits in regard of land crabs as a natural biodiversity resource item so as to manage them in a sustainable way. As a consequence, the local people need technical supports on aspects such as crabs biological and ecological characteristics, habitats, reproduction, feeding, distribution pattern, life cycle and life span in order to adapt their fishing practices to ensure sustainability. The community also need support on team building, drafting regulations and enforcement measures and monitoring activities. Technical support is also needed for research on strategies to ecologically restore the land crabs such as zoning for fishing and fishing-free areas, restrictions on crab sizes open to fishing. From the community?s perspective, the project would need to involve active participation and cooperation from each member of the community.
Expected results (after 3 years):
+ All of the land crab fishmen and assocated traders become members of the Cu Lao Cham Land Crab Group.
+ Fishing and consumption of land crabs is regulated according to rules developed by the community with high committment for enforcement.
Long-term objective:
Cu Lao Cham land crabs are ecologically restored and the local community are directly involved in conservation and sustainable management of the animals.
Immediate objectives
Objective 1:
Local community participate in ecological restoration of land crabs
Output 1.1
Zoning of land crabs distribution and regulations on adequate land crabs management and fishing are agreed by the local community and approved by Hoi An People?s Committee.
Output 1.2:
A crab bank is established to ecologically restore Cu Lao Cham Land crabs
Objective 2
The community participate in sustainable management of land crabs
Output 2.1
The community are actively involved in sustainable fishing of crabs to ensure sustainable livehoods
Objective 3
Support research to provide information on biological and ecological characteristics of Cu Lao Cham land crab species.
Output 3.1
Advocacy activities were carried out on protection and sustainable fishing of Cu Lao Cham land crabs
Output 3.2
Land crabs are monitored on a frequent basis.
Objective 4:
Establish a community participatory model for management, protection and sustainable management of natural resources
Output 4.1
A model for for management, protection and sustainable management of natural resources on a joint-management scheme.
Output 4.2
A model to demonstrate crabs activities is developed to serve advocacy and educational purposes
Major activities:
- Providing training on information collection, analysis of stakeholders, crab distribution zoning, fishing, indicators for monitoring.
- Conducting community and stakeholders workshops on zoing and regulations related to land crabs
- Developing a zoning plan and regulations on sound protection and fishing of land crabs
- Participatory selection of the appropriate geographical area to organize a crab bank (tentatively at Hon Tai and Hon Dai islets) and participatory development of rules of the crab bank
- Enforcement of crab bank operation
- Establishing a land crabs group and developing the group regulations
- Developing a monitoring strategies on sustainable land crab fishing
- Developing a crab restoration land (including experiment farming of land crabs and monitoring natural restoration)
- Design and distribute advocacy materials and disseminate information on public communication media
- Developing a monitoring team
- Support to research on biolgical and ecological characteristics of Cu Lao Cham land craps
- Design and build a model for sustainable management of land crabs