Guidelines for designing data collection and sharing systems for co-managed fisheries.

The increasing shift towards co-management has prompted managers to reflect upon their new roles and reconsider their information requirements. While a vast pool of useful literature already exists that can help guide co-managers design and implement data collection programmes to support their evolving needs, much of it has been written in the context of other sectors or with little emphasis on designing systems specifically for co-managed fisheries. This Technical Paper forms the second of a two-part set of guidelines that attempt to meet the growing need among co-managers for guidelines to help design and implement appropriate and cost-effective data collection programmes or systems. Part 1: Practical guide has been written specifically for co-managers and facilitators working in the field and offers simple and practical advice on helping stakeholders identify their information needs in relation to their management objectives and responsibilities, and developing collaborative ways of collecting and sharing the information in the most effective way. Part 2: Technical guidelines provide more technical detail on each of the sections in the Practical guide, including: examples of the types of data that might be of interest to different stakeholders; data collection methods and sources; the design of sampling programmes, and some guidance on data analysis and interpretation. They are expected to appeal to Department of Fisheries and extension staff, research agencies and academic institutions, but they will also provide field practitioners with an additional resource that can be referenced when necessary. Together, Parts 1 and 2 draw together relevant elements of the literature, the output of previous DFID-funded research, as well as the experiences and expressed needs of comanagers currently designing or preparing to design their own data collection systems. The guidelines are, however, intended to complement, rather than replace, existing relevant manuals and guides already published in this and other FAO publication series. These Technical guidelines begin by identifying four basic categories of information that are typically required to support the information-dependent management roles that key stakeholders might typically take responsibility for under co-management arrangements, and illustrate important pathways to facilitate information delivery and exchange. These four categories are: (1) Information to formulate and evaluate national fisheries policy and development plans including performance of the comanagement policy itself; (2) information to formulate and coordinate management plans; (3) information to implement management plans including enforcing rules and regulations and resolving conflicts and (4) information to evaluate and improve local management plans. Examples of data types and variables that might be selected by co-managers corresponding to these four main categories of information are provided in Section 3 together with a description of important factors that will influence their selection. Section 4 provides a brief overview of the types of data sources and collection methodologies that might typically be available or applicable. Important concepts including participatory monitoring and evaluation, sampling and stratification are explained along with important factors to consider when choosing among different sources and methods. Summary tables provide further guidance on what sources and methods might be appropriate for each data type of interest.