Abalone Coast Watch Forum
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre
February 27 to March 1, 2007

Interview Exercise

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The following is a summary of comments from participants taking part in an interview exercise during the Coast Watch forum. Three questions were asked and each participant had the opportunity to respond to each question.

Interview Questions

1. How is Abalone Coast Watch effective in reducing abalone poaching?
2. In your opinion what would help strengthen Coast Watch?
3. What are some ways that we can increase communications and collaboration for abalone Coast Watch?

Comment Summary

How is Abalone Coast Watch effective in reducing abalone poaching?

1. In Alert Bay, what would be effective is not a focussed Abalone Coast Watch but a holistic ecosystem approach starting with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK); the power of asking questions to bring out knowledge from elders about traditional use and management.
2. Community based, local problem-solving, bottom-up approach, community engagement, means that the people have a vested interest
3. Helps people care, generates awareness about why abalone are threatened and why it might be important to encourage their recovery
4. Provides motivation to make a commitment
5. Coast Watch provides a social context for the science, brings the social and ethical together to enhance the science
6. Brings awareness which may make people less likely to buy it
7. By belonging to something bigger, heightens awareness of the severity of the issue
8. The loss of a cultural resource can provide hope for recovery
9. Having the ORR line gives a feeling that reporting is important and a big part of improving the situation.
10. Good to have a consistent 1 800 number
11. More effective if info was provided on the black market (where illegal abalone is sold)
12. Profile/behaviour of what to look for, what is suspicious activity
    

In your opinion what would help strengthen Coast Watch

1. Link all Coast Watch groups
2. Share info between groups
3. Include other species (ecosystem approach)
4. Maintain continuity to ensure sustainability
5. Additional and long-term funding for a united program
6. Resolve power “mismatch” between communities and DFO ‡ equal partnership between DFO and communities (respect and trust)
7. Increase First Nations ability to enforce and educate
8. Training FN to manage Coast Watch and workshops
9. More youth involvement – classroom programs
10. Incentives/rewards for reporting and participating and attending meetings
11. Increase visibility of the program – outreach
12. Constant evaluation
13. Regular meetings to network, have fun, and learn
14. Inform other user groups, specifically commercial fishermen
15. Increase involvement/support/leadership from elders
16. Emphasize scale of loss of Abalone, e.g.: Loss of cod
17. Direct efforts to the whole community (less science jargon) – make it relevant
18. Set up a Coast Watch area in community
19. Focus on goal of recovery
20. Bigger, faster boats
21. Travelling road-show of Coast Watch – make sure Elders’ history is incorporated
22. Improve trust and working relationship with DFO fisheries officers and Coast Watch
23. Social marketing for Coast Watch
24. Hand-out success and public info, including past convictions to users (e.g. divers, fishermen, any licenses)
25. Local champion for each community

1. Try to get community-based facilitators to educate the communities, and to run Coast Watch in those communities
2. Training other groups (e.g. crab fisher-people, fishing communities, restaurants, whale watching communities, sports lodges, observers)
   
3. Develop communication strategies ‡ website, e-mail, global examples (is poaching happening elsewhere?)
4. Sharing info between groups, workshops/forums
5. Schools (see points below)
6. Integrate abalone management with that of other species
7. Ensure Traditional Ecological Knowledge is incorporated
8. Making a commitment to join Coast Watch
9. Support between enforcement and Coast Watch
10. Rebuild trust and respect between different organizations
11. Create permanent signage/notices
12. Have a social event to raise awareness
13. Try to get other user groups involved especially in metropolitan areas e.g.: Vancouver Aquarium, Parks Canada, Asian communities

• pen pals between communities
• have speakers going from the community into schools
• focus on what is “cool”
• incentive programs/contests/videos

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