EnglishIn the Paso del Istmo, oyster harvesting has supplemented family incomes since pre-colonial times. However, overharvesting and poor management practices are pushing native oyster populations toward collapse. As local people, particularly women, lose their supply of oysters, their food security and environmental well-being are jeopardized. Without intervention, local oyster populations will not recover.
Cooperative members clean and sort growing oysters by size.
In 2013, women from El Ostional asked us for technical and financial support in developing an aquaculture farm for Striostrea prismatica, the tropical rock oyster. Their idea made sense: farming local oysters would give their community a secure, sustainable source of food and income while restoring native shellfish populations. Moreover, farming would empower the women and help them play a stronger role in community leadership. Research conducted by Angie Gerst found a strong potential for the development of a women’s oyster cooperative.
Cooperative members pose near a rocky coastline they protect for oyster recovery.
In March, 2015, the women legally incorporated, forming the COPEOSTRAS cooperative. We have supported the women in learning business, management, and technical skills that are essential for success. The Waitt Foundation and the Loyal Bigelow and Jedediah Dewey Foundation are two major partners in this work. We have also worked with innovative experts to develop a long line system on which to grow the oysters and begin working on an oyster hatchery – the first of its kind for this species. As the women learn and refine techniques in oyster aquaculture, we are recording the lessons learned so their successes may eventually be replicated throughout Mesoamerica and the tropics.
The Ostional cooperative celebrated its first harvest in 2016, and each year brings new developments. The women of the cooperative are gaining more respect as leaders, fishers, and ocean stewards in their community, and their example is inspiring others. In fall 2017, women from El Pochote, a neighboring village, legally incorporated as Arrecifes del Sur, another sustainable oyster cooperative! We are working with them and continuing to record the lessons learned. Armed with sustainable aquaculture and the training they need to run a business, these women will improve their communities and make a difference for the coasts they call home.
Members of the Ostional and Pochote Oyster cooperatives are ready to take their first swim in the ocean after four months of swim lessons.