Island and fringing reefs in Madang Lagoon. Photo by Adriana Bennet

"They have fished out their waters, so they come to ours," says Tamlong. "They are the biggest threat to our WMA. We're stranded here at home; we need a [motor] boat and perhaps a guard to live on the island."

"When I was a little boy, my father took me to fish at Tab," recalls Tamlong. "There were lots of fish; it was easy to spear them. Back then people had lots of respect – they did not come into other people's fishing area. Today, people have no respect. They dynamite and are able to get away in fast boats."

Using dynamite and other explosives is prohibited under the National Fisheries

Management Act of 1998, under which any fisheries officer may arrest persons believed to be in violation. The penalty is a fine of K1,000 (roughly US$300), or imprisonment if the fine cannot be paid. However, punishment is uncertain. Recently, three people were caught using dynamite and their names reported to the police. Neither fine nor sentence, if any, has yet to be levied. The village councilor reported the matter to both the Provincial Fisheries Office and the police. The police claimed they did not take action because there was a fuel shortage at that time, and the fisheries office did not respond at all. Tamlong would like more involvement from the fisheries department in enforcing dynamiting laws and keeping commercial boats out of traditional fishing grounds, which extend three nautical miles out from the high water mark.

Lack of coordination in collecting diver fees is another issue. In theory, dive operators collect the money from tourists, and then hand it over to the Tab WMA management committee monthly. "Last month they gave the money to the wrong person," Tamlong remorses. "They didn't ask for identification or anything." How much money is in the Tab WMA account? "We don't have one; we need to establish an account so that dive fees go directly into it and can be used for enhancements of the WMA."

The Tuna processing plant on the mainland poses an additional threat to Madang Lagoon. Pollution coming from the plant's wastewater is believed to be the cause for a proliferation of algae on the reefs and a corresponding increase in herbivorous fishes. The non-profit organizations World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Wetlands International-Oceania (WI) have been doing water quality monitoring in the lagoon over the past year, the results of which will be published soon. WWF is also helping the S iar community with water quality monitoring, the samples from which are tested at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology.

Additionally, proposed fish pen activities could also contribute to deterioration of water quality in the lagoon. Land-owning clans have agreed not to set up fish pens until a management plan for the entire lagoon is drawn up. However, a new fish pen on floaters has recently been installed at Siar Island to raise Barramundi fish, a project initiated by the European Union Coastal Rural Fisheries Development Project, which gave loans to the communities to implement the project. At the moment, there are no fish in the nets; it remains to be seen what the outcome of fish pen activities will be.

Fish pen on floaters at Siar Island. Photo by Toni Parras

Ultimately, Tamlong and other community members have ideas for attracting tourists. There is a guesthouse on one of the nearby smaller Siar islands, however it is quite rustic (i.e., has no electricity) and attracts customers by local word of mouth only. The kind of tourism he envisions requires more infrastructure and getting the reefs into better shape. "It all takes money," Tamlong observes.

But what it also takes is community participation and commitment, as well as an education and awareness-raising campaign to enlighten and inspire nearby Kranket and other communities to adopt some protective measure s of their own and thereby decrease the rising frustrations in Siar. The LMMA Network, with support from WWF, held a workshop in September 2004 to introduce marine conservation and management concepts to communities and get residents interested in managing their marine resources and possibly establishing more WMAs to help conserve them. Training in Adaptive Management and Biological Monitoring will be held in 2005. Activities will include monitoring for specific species and training of local community members in management of the WMAs. Additional work will focus on getting the Kranget community more involved and rehabilitating their saline lake to help ease the fishing pressure on Tab. Ecotourism opportunities will also be explored as alternative income generation for communities.

Although the tangible benefits of Tab WMA are not readily apparent to community members right now, Tamlong remains optimistic for the future. "Maybe in ten years or more we will have good fishing again."

Sinub Island Wildlife Management Area

Francis Wadui is also aware of dynamite fishing in the lagoon, although he says there is less of it now than in previous years, which he remembers to be five to six blasts per day.

Francis lives in Riwo Village , a bit further north of Siar on the inner coast of Madang Lagoon . He is part of the landowning clan of Sinub Island , which was declared a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in 1997, and is Chairman of its management committee.

Madang Lagoon is dotted with small coral islands. Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

The Sinub Island WMA sign in Riwo Village . Photo by Daisy Flores-Salgado

Sinub is a small coral rubble island about 300 square meters in size, surrounded by fringing coral reefs that slope down to 30-40 meters. Its relatively sheltered location inside the lagoon makes it a good scuba diving spot when rough weather makes other sites inaccessible. Unlike Tab, Sinub Island is relatively accessible to its owners, being less than one and a half kilometers offshore from Riwo Village . However, like Tab WMA, Sinub Island is not patrolled; rangers lack both boat and fuel. Although visible by day, Sinub is believed to be subject to poaching at night.

In the past, the waters around Sinub were heavily dynamited, leaving craters and coral rubble in fishers' wakes. In the 1990s, people in Riwo noticed that they were staying out in their canoes longer and longer only to catch one small fish. They knew they had to do something. In 1997, after a series of community meetings, Sinub was declared a WMA, legally protected under PNG’s Fauna (Protection and Control) Act.

Asked if he has noticed an increase in fish in the area since declaring Sinub a WMA, Francis replies, "Not yet. But maybe in ten years time."

Francis recognizes the importance of staying the course in order to see results. Francis, like Tamlong in Siar, sees tourism as a potential benefit from the WMA. Recently, tourists came to his home to ask if they can stay on Sinub. A makeshift barbeque shelter once stood on the lee side of the island, but has since blown away during a bad storm. Attendees at a recent monthly clan meeting determined that a more permanent guesthouse must be built on Sinub so that benefits can be realized from the land as well as the reefs.

Labor for such an endeavor is readily available, but supplies are not. While palm trees are abundant, there are no more hardwood trees on either Sinub or in Riwo for building canoes, let alone houses. Raw materials would have to be brought in from a mainland supplier. The landowning clans do have an account for Sinub WMA in which diver fees are deposited, however funds are not sufficient to cover costs for building a guesthouse.

Bessie Gigeu used to collect octopus from Sinub, which she can no longer do since its declaration as a protected area. "That's okay," she says. "There are other places to go."

Now she digs for clams and other shellfish in the mudflats. She, too, understands the idea of the WMA, and believes it's good for fish to have a chance to multiply and come back. "But we don't see it yet," she admits.

She gazes just offshore where a woman in a canoe tosses a line into the water. "We used to be able to catch fish anytime. Now, you must time your fishing to the correct tide, wind and current to have a better chance of catching fish. Also, the fish are getting smart - getting used to bait, so you have to try different things."

Bessie Gigeu, originally from Siar, married into the Riwo community, where she now lives with her husband. Photo by Toni Parras

Bessie is originally from Siar, where her grandfather used to be a headman. "When I was young," Bessie remembers, "my grandfather would see a certain type of fish in a particular area and say 'we shall leave this area alone.'" This is a type of traditional practice that has provided marine resources protection in the past (read more about traditional practices on our website www.lmmanetwork.org).

According to research conducted by Wetlands International, the reef around Sinub Island is experiencing a comeback. Ongoing coral reef and fish monitoring since 1997 indicates a doubling in the number of fishes on Sinub fringing reefs. Socio-economic survey results indicate that there are perceptions among community members of more fish around Sinub.

Still, the interest in WMAs has died down in the years following their establishment. This is due in part to the community having unrealistic expectations that were not cleared up right away. For example, during the awareness campaign, there were misconceptions that WMA chairmen would be paid for their role. Having unclear perceptions about the WMAs has led to community members losing interest in further participation in WMA activities.

On the positive side, there have been recent experiences shared of catches of big fishes on Riwo Village's Panudau Island, close to the Tabad WMA, another protected area belonging to the Riwo clan.