Using citizen science to overcome data gaps in artisanal fisheries: programme overview and spatiotemporal patterns

Artisanal fisheries contribute substantial animal protein to people in many developing countries, yet government resources for fisheries management are limited and typically allocated to larger commercial operations. This leaves artisanal fisheries vulnerable to overfishing and other anthropogenic threats. A co-management arrangement, whereby government agencies delegate management authority to fishing communities, is a solution. However, local communities lack standardised data required for informed management. To address this information gap, we developed a citizen science programme for artisanal community fishery jurisdictions of the Sre Ambel River freshwater system in southern Cambodia. We recruited 15 fishers from four villages distributed within the drainage to collect year-round data on their fishing activity and catch. Herein, we describe the implementation of the programme and use the first complete year of data to determine the current harvest characteristics of the Sre Ambel River system on both spatial and seasonal scales. Fishers captured 153 fish species belonging to 109 genera, 62 families and 25 orders or series, comprising 75,702 individual fish, with an overall catch rate of 3.75 fish per hour. Catch varied across space and time, particularly in species richness and catch rates. Effort was significantly higher during the wet season, despite greater catch rates and species richness during the dry season. These data can be used to evaluate the fishery response to future management actions, allowing for an adaptable approach to management. Furthermore, this standardised data collection through a citizen science programme, paired with a co-management approach, may serve as a model for other systems where management investment is limited, such as other South-East Asia counties, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and small island developing states.