Key informant interviews - stakeholders

Manell-Geus Habitat Focus Area

KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS

Stakeholder Interview Guide

Name: Day:

Village: Time:

Hafa adai! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. My name is ___________. I am part of a team that is collecting data on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service for the Habitat Blueprint. You have been selected to participate in this interview due to your experience [insert activity] in Merizo. The purpose of the interview today is to learn more about your experiences with [insert activity], coral reefs and the environment in Merizo. This interview will last for about one hour and a half. The information you provide will help us understand [insert activity] practices in Merizo, changes in [insert activity] practices and reef condition over time, and the impact of fishing regulations on the community.

Your participation is voluntary. You may be assured of complete anonymity. To protect your privacy, nothing you tell me will be personally attributed to you in any written documents that result from this session. Any specific location information you provide will be generalized. At any time during our conversation, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or if you would rather not answer any specific question. You can also stop the interview at any time for any reason. Please remember that we want to know what you think and feel and that there are no right or wrong answers.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 90 minutes for completing the survey, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for reducing this burden to Valerie Brown, NFMS, (Valerie.Brown@noaa.gov).

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number

Is it OK if I record this interview today? We are recording the session because we don’t want to miss any of your comments. The recording and all raw data will be destroyed at the end of this project.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Thank you for taking the time to assist us with this effort. Do you have any questions before we begin?

Introductory Questions:

1. How long have you been [insert activity] in Merizo? [Who taught you or how did you learn? Memorable [insert activity] experiences?]

2. What is your favorite thing about this activity?

Activities over Time:

3. How often do people [insert activity] in Merizo? Has this changed over time? Why?

4. What areas do you [insert activity] in? (Broad zones – not specific. Use map of Manell-Geus areas to point out.) Follow up: Are there places that you no longer [insert activity] in, but that you used to use? Why don’t you [insert activity] in these areas now?

5. How has the condition of the resource in these areas changed over time?

Observations and Recommendations:

6. Can [insert activity] impact coral reefs? How can users avoid these impacts? Do you feel that rules or regulations are necessary to avoid impacts to reefs from [insert activity]? If yes, what type? What are some approaches to minimize impacts without issuing rules or regulations?

7.} What other types of activities have you observed in the areas you use for [insert activity]? (Probe further: Which are currently used? Have people stopped doing xyz now?)

8.) Have you ever experienced or noticed interactions between people engaged in [insert activity] and other user groups? Can you describe how the presence of these other users affects your [insert activity]?

Reflection:

9.) Are you teaching kids in your family to [insert activity]? (Why or why not)

10.)How would you describe the future of [insert activity] in Merizo?

Thank you for your time!

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