Coastal community heroes

Overfishing, pollution, coral bleaching, climate change—the threats facing our ocean are daunting. But there are stories full of hope from coastal communities, the stewards of the ocean whose livelihoods depend on its health. Working to protect these natural resources and improve their livelihoods with the help of WWF, they are the heroes of the sea. Six of these ocean witnesses tell us why they are so committed to the sea and what it has brought to their lives.

In Croatia, Helena Lešić's story is a love story: To the sea, to fishing, and to her husband, Ivica. “The sea is our income and our life,” Ivica says. “This is where I was born, where I am raising my family, and where I will die.” For years Helena and Ivica lived solely from the sea but, over time, fish populations declined and their income dried up, so they turned to tourism with help from WWF. “By demonstrating our way of fishing to tourists we share a piece of our lives,” Helena says. 

Today the demand for their tours is so high that they don’t have to just rely on fishing to support their family. At each tour’s end, the catch of the day is cooked up right on the boat—as fresh as it gets.

Patricio Merino has lived on the Chilean island Raúl Marín Balmaceda since he was 13 and has worked in fisheries for years. “25 years ago, nobody thought about conservation issues and the only thing that mattered was catching as many fish as possible,” he says. But deep down, Patricio knew that fishing grounds weren’t infinite.

Over the years as he fished around the island, he grew particularly fond of Pitipalena-Añihué, an area off the coast where fjords, rivers, and ocean ecosystems melt together, making it ecologically rich with whales, dolphins, and sea birds. He knew that in order to both protect these natural wonders and preserve the fishing industry itself, fishers needed to come together to prioritize conservation. “In 2011 we started organizing meetings: the beginning of a long but successful participatory process,” he says. Today Patricio is Director of the Pitipalena-Añihué Foundation, the region's first community-managed marine protected area. “Without realizing it, we were visionaries.” Now he envisages many more protected areas across Chile’s extensive coast.

Dhaval grew up in Porbandar, a coastal town in Gujarat, India. “Fishing has been the main livelihood and the ocean has always played a central role in the lives of the people in my community—it is even considered sacred,” he says. Influenced by the changes he has seen in the ocean, how his community is impacted by these changes and how their practices, in turn, impact the ocean, Dhaval took up fisheries science at university, focusing on sustainable fishing. 

Today he works with WWF on tackling shark bycatch in trawl nets. Shark bycatch is common with around 160 shark and ray species found along the region’s coast. To mitigate this problem, Dhaval is testing nets that would allow juvenile sharks to escape and hopes to introduce these nets in other regions.

Jack Sagumai’s goal in life is to restore the health of the ocean. He grew up in a coastal community in Papua New Guinea and studied marine biology. “We rely on seafood, especially fish is a main ingredient of our diet,” he says. “The ocean also brings us seeds that grow into new trees and provide logs that serve as firewood or timber to build houses.” 

Papua New Guinea is part of the species-rich Coral Triangle and Jack wants to preserve its great biodiversity. He works with WWF and his community to collect data on sharks and rays and wants to teach his people the importance and process of fishing sustainably. “People talk about leaving a better planet for our children, but we need to leave better-informed children for our planet,” he says.