In the early 1960's, Discovery Bay fishermen began noticing a sharp decrease in their mature fish catches - a precursor to what was soon to become a near collapse of Jamaica's fisheries resources. Since that time, Jamaica’s population has continued to rise, as has its reliance on fisheries.

Montego Bay is no exception to this pattern. In 1970, Montego Bay housed approximately thirty thousand people. Today the city boasts over 170,000 residents - approximately thirty thousand of whom live in informal settlements. Due to the nature of their establishment and rapidity of their growth, these settlements are typically plagued with reduced access to employment and basic municipal services - while education and literacy rates remain among the lowest in the country.

What these communities have had, however, is open access to marine resources. According to anthropologist, Dr. James Carrier, Jamaica's marine resources have traditionally been viewed in a similar light to that of 'family land' - a place of respite and/or subsistence during times of economic hardship. This notion is enforced by a 1998 World Bank study, which stated that “fishing has been, and continues to be an important socioeconomic component of the Montego Bay Marine Park”. More recent project surveys have also indicated that the majority of fishers operating out of these beaches, originate from within these informal communities.

Unfortunately, 'open access' resources are typically the first to pay the toll for sliding economies, while their accelerated consumption further propels economic decline through the degradation of critical natural resources. This point is emphasized by the closure of the once lucrative Montego Bay Scuba Diving industry (due to negative publicity generated within the industry) - and extensive reporting of decreased fish catches from within the local fisher community.

Recognizing the enormity of the challenge ahead, this project sought to establish a framework for collaborative fisheries management that was responsive to external regulatory and economic forces; sensitive to cultural context; and responsive to resource management imperatives. Adopting a human-centered approach, the project, at its most fundamental level, sought to change perceptions and behaviors within the fishing community, by: