Sari Mustafa
Organization: Doga Gözcüleri Dernegi (Nature Observers' Society)
Year Founded: 2003
Country: Turkey
Website: www.dogagozculeri.org
Geographic Area of Impact: Turkey.
Model: Leveraged Non-Profit
Focus: Enterprise Development,Environment.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Turkey, 2006 Video The Innovation Mustafa Sari has reversed the extinction of a commercial species of fish because of over fishing and has come up with a replicable approach to fishery management in the process. Overcoming multiple setbacks and obstacles, Sari succeeded in using the tools of his scientific research in fishery management to bring together often conflicting viewpoints and interest of local fishermen, local government and environmental NGOs. Since 1996, and as a result of Sari’s efforts, fishermen in the Lake Van region have seen a three-fold increase in their revenues from adopting sustainable fishing practices that have risen from 10 to 60%. Background Mustafa’s work began in 1993 as a doctoral student where he concentrated on studying the depletion of the Pearl Mullet stock from Lake Van, Turkey’s largest lake and the largest soda water lake in the world (approximately 3,700 square km). He was the first to determine how many fish lived in the lake, how much was fished, and how the existing fishery affected the Lake Van fish population as well as the fishery management method to be used for sustainable fishery. But he quickly learned that it was not enough to be armed with research models and ensuring recommendations. Upon visiting the fishing communities that depended on the Pearl Mullet, he faced the difficulty of adapting academic models to the complex realities of people's conflicting desires. His problem was how to work with this poor population of 15,000 whose lives depended on fishing, so that they embraced sustainable practices to safeguard fish supply for future generations. Strategy Few scientific studies had been conducted on Lake Van Fish prior to Sari’s work, which determined the levels of fishing that could be reliably sustained. Sari found that there were approximately 43 thousand tons of fish in 1997, and concluded that to be sustainable, no more than 8,500 tons of fish should be annually fished. However, since 1987, over 10,000 tons a year had been fished, and about 90% of that harvesting occurred during the spawning period, accelerating depletion. But fishermen were not open to changing their practices and governmental regulators were indifferent. Mustafa engaged in two failed efforts to arrest the depletion of fish in Lake Van before he found success. He first tried to convince the government, using scientific data, to take action by implementing fishing prohibitions and a new 2-year management plan, after which results would be assessed. But after several years of bureaucratic wrangling, he realized he needed to try a different approach. He started to work collaboratively with the fishermen and wholesalers. He knew that every year, fishermen were selling to wholesalers for less, as the size and weight of the fish was being negatively impacted by over-fishing. Mustafa brought the two groups together in 1999, and after many meetings, it seemed that they had agreed to specific rules of engagement. But these ultimately broke down. Not to be dissuaded, Mustafa decided to try a different approach, by establishing an organization. Together with two environmental experts, Sari framed a strategy for engaging a wider group of stakeholders. They also began a national campaign to raise awareness of the depletion of Lake Van fish. As part of this wider engagement strategy, they systematically visited local government offices in the Lake Region, as well as relevant public institutions. They canvassed to change public opinion – not just the fishermen, but their families - visiting the villages all along the 400 km long shores, explaining what accurate fishing could provide. This strategy of “problem based social participation” proved to be successful because its underpinning is so simple: people respond to a problem according to their individual situation and understanding of it. Sari and his colleagues have had dramatic results in the ten years since working on multiple fronts with three different stakeholder groups – the fishing communities, local government and environmental NGOs. The Entrepreneur Mustafa Sari was born to illiterate farmers who raised their family of six children near the Black Sea. As a child he excelled at his studies. His interest in science earned him entrance into Ankara University where he was influenced by the emerging field of sustainable fishery management. But his background and practical focus did not make him suited to an academic career exclusively. Today, the model developed by Sari in Van has begun to be accepted as the blueprint for management of all freshwaters fisheries in Turkey, and in 2002 was chosen by the UNDP as one of the “World’s Best Practices”. Sari has finally succeeded in attracting the Turkish government’s attention, and as a result, modification in fishing law has been incorporated.
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