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weeks. It was suggested that a project such as seamoss aquaculture in the reef lagoon would be desirable because the lagoon is accessible and safe
during bad weather.
d A project should seek to reduce dependence on fishing for families willing to engage in alternative occupations.
e The project must have community approval. The respondents would be willing to listen to proposals of viable projects and decide which may be
appropriate for Mahahual. The community should also be given the opportunity to suggest their own projects.
f Successful interventions will need to be sensitive to the community’s desire to live a relatively unregulated lifestyle.
Recommendations for potential interventions focus on reducing stress on coastal ecosystems through two methods: direct i.e., changing resource use practices and
indirect i.e., changing underlying social paradigms responsible for uses and perceptions of coastal resources. The following section elaborates on interventions
which address the issues outlined in the preceding two sections.
12.3.1 Promote Alternative Fishing Activities
Current net and spear fishing practices are destructive to coral reefs. Reductions in these practices are desirable from an ICM perspective. In general, there
should be an emphasis on the creation of non-fishing activities, however, alternative fishery activities could be pursued by some fishermen.
One alternative is to promote offshore fishery activities such as palangre or sport fishing that do not directly damage coral reefs. Several key informants said that
they would be willing to devote a higher proportion of their time to palangre, particularly since the fish captured by this method fetches a higher market value.
These informants also claimed that the price for the higher quality fish will increase as tourism-related demand for the product increases. Since younger people are
significantly more likely to engage in spear fishing, a relatively destructive practice, their participation in an alternative fishing strategies will be crucial. To encourage
participation, the specific interests of young spear fishers should be determined and incorporated into any alternative fishing strategies.
However, deep-water fishery exploitation is may not be a viable alternative for all of the fishermen to transfer to, and should only be pursued by a limited amount of
fishermen. Though key informants claim that the pelagic fishery is underexploited, there is no data to determine how many fishermen it could support. In the face of such
uncertainty it is better to be conservative and limit the number of fishermen that are supported in this endeavor. Sport fishing and palangre also target predator species,
the effects of which are somewhat controversial Jennings and Polunin, 1997. Since many fishermen fish the reef lagoons in stormy weather, mobilization to a deep-water
fishery may not entirely halt the exploitation of reef resources.
Another alternative fishing option would be to limit destructive fishing practices to locations where they do the least damage. For example, net fishing in Rio
Indio would not be as detrimental to coral as in other locations because there is very little coral in the area. Benthic studies could determine where coral composition is
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relatively low and net fishing could be limited to such areas if target species can be found there.
12.3.2 Promote income-generating activities including alternative livelihoods
