Page 91 - Agricultural innovation

For people-based management, it is first necessary to empower an organized fishing community,
which is a prerequisite for the development of the system. After that, the grassroots Fishery Associations
promote self-management over the granted fishing and aquaculture rights to gradually organize and
mobilize human and property resources, assign them to jointly manage and coordinate the fishing
activities. Thus, the fisherman organizations manage themselves together, and together with the State
better manage aquatic resources.

5.11.3. Opportunities and challenges
Practice of co-management and community-based fisheries management and fisheries protection
zones in Thua Thien Hue have been operated under the new institutions such as “co-management”
and “fishery resource protection zone” to encourage restructuring the Aquatic Resource Protection
Area and co-management system for better management of coastal aquatic resources.
The great prospect of a people-based fishery co-management and management system for higher
efficiency and effectiveness of fisheries management is already a reality. However, the challenge
is not small because the state management mechanism in this respect is very new, requires a lot of
thinking and creativity in order to achieve legitimacy, selective traditional inheritance and approach
to modern and scientific fisheries management methods of some advanced countries in the world.
On the other hand, despite the institutional arrangements, the decentralization and authorization of
local governments at district and commune levels is often slow progress due to the implementation
capacity of grassroots officials is often limited and most of the new thinking is not fully understood.
For the majority of fisheries managers, they still expect and rely on the power of the State, but often
underestimate the power of the people. So it is necessary to:

• Thoroughly grasping the idea of “depending on the people” to each fishery management officer,
through the study and application of specific fisheries management methods, for each type of
fishery, for each specific region.
• Applying “people-based” results achieved in the lagoon to freshwater fisheries and marine
fisheries in coastal waters, which have been decentralized by the Government to the province,
in order to “develop management models” for “community participation in the management of
aquatic resources at the shoreline”.
• Promote decisions to delegate authority to the grassroots Fisheries Association to manage
identified fishing grounds and water surface whenever they are fully qualified and well prepared
in terms of technical expertise.
5.11.4. Conclusions

• The model of co-management in lagoon fishery in Thue Thien Hue has solved the conflict
between the State–Fishermen in resource protection and utilisation. The State only coordinates,
guides and supports fishing communities to self-manage each other in the relationship of
using resources. The State only focuses on key and necessary issues, makes policies, strategies,
planning, institutions. Fishmen are main users who have to utilise these resources effectively and
environmentally sustainable.
• The fisherman’s organization built in Thua Thien Hue, the grassroots Fisheries Association,
whose legal status (seal) is a consultation between the local authorities at the commune level and
Thua Thien Hue Fisheries Association. The fisherman organization has become a legal entity,
acting as a bridge between the local government and the fishermen. Ensuring people’s rights
specifically to self-manage internal community issues has been enable aquatic resources to serve

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