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Nudging statutory law to make space for customary processes and community-based fisheries management in Solomon Islands

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Abstract

Like many Pacific countries, Solomon Islands has more than one legal system operating concurrently: customary law, statutory law and the common law of England. Governance also occurs at national, provincial and local scales. Local people managing coastal and marine resources under customary marine tenure (CMT) have increasing difficulties in enforcement as external threats exceed their scope of governance. Before 2015, CMT breaches were not a fisheries violation as recognised by the western legal system. Drawing on our involvement in developing a new Fisheries Management Bill in 2007–2015 and consultations within the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, we examine how, and to what effect, the resultant Act—specifically Section 18 on Community Fisheries Management Plans (CFMPs)—has accommodated or shifted the relationship between customary governance systems and the state’s contemporary fisheries legislation. We examine if, and how, employing Section 18 can contribute to regional and global fisheries governance policy implementation. The Fisheries Management Act 2015 recognises the rights of customary rights holders to institute CFMPs, provides a mechanism to codify and enforce access and use rights through CMT and empowers these efforts as a legitimate management tool under statutory law. We conclude that statutory law has been ‘nudged’ to make space for the dynamic process of customary law. We contend that use of Section 18 has the potential to elevate community voices in discussions of coastal and marine resource management at different scales, if practitioners do not lose sight of the intent behind the statute’s development.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. JG: co-drafter of the Fisheries Management Bill in 2013–2015 and legal counsel to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) 2015–2018; CR: Permanent Secretary for the MFMR 2008–2020; AS: Team Leader, Mekem Strong Solomon Islands Fisheries (MSSIF) Institutional Strengthening Programme, MFMR 2016–2020.

  2. The Director (of the Environment and Conservation Division of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology) shall verify the rights and interests in the area (Protected Areas Act 2010, Part 3, Section 10 (2) p. 12).

  3. http://www.paclii.org/sb/cases/SBCA/1999/9.html, accessed 9 November 2019

  4. Tambu is analogous to the English word ‘taboo’. It refers to a social prohibition or ban and in this case refers to the traditional closure of a marine area to fishing.

  5. Shell money is a traditional currency used as bride wealth, compensation, and for trading purposes in Melanesian societies.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge those who drove the Fisheries Management Bill between 2007 and 2015, especially the late John Hauirae, the late Simon Tiller and Judith Swan. We are grateful to colleagues at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources for spirited discussions on implementing the Fisheries Management Act 2015. Steward Tabo, Duta Kauhiona and Reuben Sulu’s particularly insightful comments improved this paper. We thank Pip Cohen and Neil Andrew for reviews of later drafts, Mary Webb for editing and anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript.

Funding

Support was provided to this analysis by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project FIS/2016/300.

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  1. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Honiara, Solomon Islands

    Anne-Maree Schwarz & Christain Ramofafia

  2. Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Anne-Maree Schwarz

  3. Boston, USA

    Jean Gordon

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Schwarz, AM., Gordon, J. & Ramofafia, C. Nudging statutory law to make space for customary processes and community-based fisheries management in Solomon Islands. Maritime Studies 19, 475–487 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00176-0

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