The Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and the village of Fagasa have signed a cooperative agreement which solidifies the village’s consensus to join the Community-based Fisheries Management Program.
Effective on the date of the agreement signing, June 4th, Fagasa has declared 67,654 square yards of its Fagatele coastal waters for 5 years closure with no fishing activities allowed by village residents and outsiders.
The signing is the culmination of several meetings between DMWR with the village council.
The agreement provides a co-management approach with the Department over the marine resources in Fagasa’s village MPA.
As part of the consultations, the village Fisheries Enforcement Committee (FEC) and Fisheries Management Advisory Council (FMAC) have been set up to develop bylaws for the Fagasa village MPA and Fisheries Management Plan.
This will include the monitoring and enforcement of 
management measures within the village MPA. DMWR recognizes the leading role of Fagasa in this partnership and congratulates the village for their marine stewardship efforts.
Relevant trainings and projects, biological monitoring surveys, educational outreach and awareness activities etc. continue to support the technical and advisory role of DMWR.
