Asia and Oceania

The UN estimates that there are about 370 million indigenous people worldwide. Indigenous people often find their natural resources, cultures, and communities under pressure. In many instances, they are victims of systemic discrimination and human rights abuse. Indigenous people who draw their livelihood from small-scale fisheries are no exception to this rule. The recognition of their terrestrial and marine tenure rights is often lacking, which has repercussions for their short and long-term wellbeing. In this chapter, we explore the political and legal foundation of indigenous small-scale fisheries, drawing from international and domestic law, and learning from situations in four countries: Norway, Australia, South Africa, and Nicaragua. What institutional reforms would facilitate the self-determination and sustainable economic development of indigenous small-scale fisheries, given that they are not only a marginalized group within their countries, but also within their industry? What prospects exist for the international legislation having real influence on the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and fish workers in indigenous communities? What role can customary law play in this respect?

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94938-3_14

Ecosystem approaches are increasingly mainstreamed in contemporary debate on small-scale fisheries management, however many small-scale fisheries lack solid institutional and scientific foundations on which to build such holistic and inherently more complex management systems. Most small-scale fisheries still operate with little or no effective management. Proponents of ecosystem approaches frequently malign single-species management models that placed less emphasis on wider ecosystem effects. However these ‘simpler’ approaches are responsible for significant management successes, even in contexts where fisheries were not strictly single species. We argue for incremental development of fisheries management more deeply rooted in successful past management systems. At this stage, there appears too little capacity to manage the complexity associated with a complete paradigm overhaul towards ecosystem-based approaches. The multi-dimensional importance of small-scale fisheries is highlighted in the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, where ecosystem approaches are identified to guide holistic, integrated management, and facilitate cross institutional interactions. Its application is nuanced and connected with practical measures to ensure that principles of decency, equity, and responsibility, define management’s fabric. We draw from this in problematizing the adoption of ecosystem approaches and examine the implications for small-scale fisheries management. We present six small-scale fisheries case studies; two in Australia where comparatively simple management models were applied, two operating in trans-boundary contexts with Australia and two operating under very different social, political and economic conditions in the wider region of Indonesia. We suggest initial management approaches should primarily strive for better grounding and more realistic targets.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_12

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This chapter employs a social wellbeing approach to assess the importance of small-scale fisheries in delivering viable livelihoods for a fishery-dependent nomadic community on the Ramgati coast in the Meghna River system of Bangladesh. The nomad communities of focus (known as Bede) are a fishing people, living on houseboats and travelling throughout the river ways. In recent decades, they have faced numerous threats and stressors affecting their traditional occupations and livelihoods, including growth in population as a result of the material success of their fishing occupation. The fishing Bede have persevered amidst these pressures, however, with positive relational and subjective benefits. The hilsa fishery has been very important as a basis for perpetuating the Bede community and culture. The identification of the social, cultural and livelihood contributions of small-scale fisheries through the social wellbeing lens has important implications for poverty alleviation and for the importance of securing sustainable small-scale fisheries.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-60750-4_9

This chapter examined the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) which were endorsed by FAO member states in 2014, in the Bangladesh small-scale fisheries context with particular focus on disaster risks and climate change related guidelines (Para. 9). Given that small-scale coastal fisheries in Bangladesh are subjected to multifaceted vulnerabilities due to extreme events and disasters, they provide an important case to study the potential implementation process of disaster risks and climate change related rules of the SSF Guidelines. The Bangladesh government is yet to take any decision regarding implementation of the SSF Guidelines. Reference to small-scale fisheries is largely absent in current ideologies, perceptions, and policies targeting disaster risks and climate change discourse in Bangladesh, although small-scale fishers are among the most climate-vulnerable population. Responses from relevant government agencies, fishers’ organizations, and NGOs are also inadequate in addressing the concerns of small-scale fisheries. This study identified priorities and potential entry points for implementation of the Guidelines in Bangladesh. It calls for the state to recognize that climate change induced disasters have intense but different impacts on small-scale fishing people than on other professional groups. Further, it is argued that effective and full consultation with fishing communities is needed, and that the government should incorporate fishers’ adaptation strategies against disaster risk and climate change impacts in existing climate change adaptation policy.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_24

This chapter examines the causes of conflict and social tensions in the hilsa sanctuaries of Bangladesh. To collect the empirical data, a survey was conducted in two fishing communities situated adjacent to hilsa sanctuaries, which was further informed by semi-structured interviews with other fishery stakeholders in the region. The analysis shows that conflicts in the hilsa fishery are related to a number of factors such as increased competition over fishing space and irregularities in distribution of economic incentives. Conflicts in the fishery negatively affect the well-being of hilsa fishers and lead to increased social tension in the communities. Thus, a challenge for policy makers is to find a solution that benefits both the fishery conservation and poverty reduction. Based on the findings, the present study submits thatabalance of fishery conservation and poverty reductioncould be achieved by augmenting co-operative relationship that exists among different stakeholders in the hilsa fisheryand in that case, co-management could be an effective tool.

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This chapter employs a social wellbeing approach to assess the importance of small-scale fisheries in delivering viable livelihoods for a fishery-dependent nomadic community on the Ramgati coast in the Meghna River system of Bangladesh. The nomad communities of focus (known as Bede) are a fishing people, living on houseboats and travelling throughout the river ways. In recent decades, they have faced numerous threats and stressors affecting their traditional occupations and livelihoods, including growth in population as a result of the material success of their fishing occupation. The fishing Bede have persevered amidst these pressures, however, with positive relational and subjective benefits. The hilsa fishery has been very important as a basis for perpetuating the Bede community and culture. The identification of the social, cultural and livelihood contributions of small-scale fisheries through the social wellbeing lens has important implications for poverty alleviation and for the importance of securing sustainable small-scale fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.07.003

For over 100 years, auctioned “fishing lots” dominated the fisheries in Cambodia’s Great Lake, Tonle Sap. As part of the world’s largest single managed freshwater fishery, these large scale pre-colonial aquatic resource concessions enabled elite stakeholders to strictly control access to lake resources and to extract large aquatic resource rents, paying little in tax, and not being subjected to any truly effective upward accountability to the Fisheries Administration. In 2012, in conjunction with past reforms, the Prime Minister of Cambodia finally removed all remaining lots via a unilateral sub-decree known locally as the “deep fisheries reforms”. Using the interactive governance framework and governability assessment methodology, the chapter first outlines the historical context of the fishing lot system and small-scale fishing, and the causes for their often tumultuous and violent relationship. It then begins to unpack the underlying raison d’etre for this profound top-down decree. We explore potential impacts and outcomes of what their rapid removal means for any real system reform and increase in aquatic system governability. We examine the important cross scale and organizational level challenges now facing the multiple stakeholders and players in lake management as they try to coordinate and implement these “deep reforms”.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_28

Legal pluralism is a prominent feature in the fisheries of Nagapattinam and Karaikal Districts, India, and it is with the role of customary village councils (ur panchayat) that this chapter is concerned. Ur panchayats still constitute a major force in protecting and facilitating the wellbeing of small-scale fishers in this region. The chapter considers the structure, scope and activities of ur panchayats and positions them on a scale running from ‘traditional’ to ‘modern’. It describes their functions with regard to social, economic and environmental dimensions of fisher wellbeing and looks into two contemporary hot issues: the incidence of pair trawling and ringseining. The chapter also examines the value of ur panchayats for their counterparts in government. It asserts that although ur panchayats engage in multiple wellbeing processes and produce important outcomes, they are independently not able to deal with all the challenges that face small-scale fisheries.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_8

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Over the past several decades, global economic relations within the fisheries sector have intensified creating a “global fish-food economy”. Until recently, relatively little attention has been paid to the gendered spatial relations underlying this system and the differential way globalization shapes men and women fish workers’ livelihood options. This paper integrates insights from feminist commodity chain analysis and livelihood analysis to analyze household-level economic data and gendered patterns of labor among three fisherfolk communities in Trivandrum District, Kerala, India. The objective is to investigate the diverse impacts of globalization within fisheries on women and men in local fishing communities. Different gender divisions of labor across the three communities studied inform very different livelihood strategies in response to economic transformations. Thus, globalization in the fisheries plays out differently for men and women in different fishing communities as a result of different configurations of gender, work, culture, identity, and economy and the different ways households and communities are connected to fish economies at different scales. Identifying these differences offers a means by which we might broaden our theoretical understanding of the gendered nature of globalization in resource-based economies.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-018-0105-9

Indian marine fishers and fishing practices vary considerably, from semi-industrial boats crewed by two-dozen to the lone fisher paddling a tiny canoe. It is difficult to capture this in simple statistical measurements, leaving much of the small-scale sector as less-than-legible. Policymakers often default to defining fishers – and particularly the small-scale – in the aggregate as locked in poverty and part of the underdeveloped “backward classes.” This view results in development focused on capitalizing and “modernizing.” This paper seeks to challenge this reductionist perspective. Following a discussion of the difficulty in defining small-scale fisheries (SSF), the paper reviews of the Indian fisheries development context. Analysis of census data from India’s Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute examines the questionable but widespread generalization that Indian SSF are synonymous with poverty. The analysis finds considerable variability in the characteristics of fishing communities and the predictors of poverty within and across geographies. Inspired by the social wellbeing framework, the paper finally attempts to describe India’s small-scale fisheries in terms beyond simplistic techno-economic measures. This more nuanced statistical picture of India’s fisheries questions the narrative that SSF are inherently destitute and leads to an argument that politics, policy and scholarship should shun overly simplified economic abstractions and reconsider the diversity and values of SSF.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-60750-4_7

This article investigates the gendered implications of environmental change using case studies of two small-scale fishing communities in Chilika lagoon, India. We undertake an intersectional analysis that examines dynamics between groups of fisherwomen in relation to social-ecological change. We focus specifically on (1) fisherwomen’s perspectives about the key drivers of change (e.g., natural disasters and aquaculture) within the social and ecological system of Chilika lagoon; (2) how environmental change is impacting the livelihoods and coping responses of fisherwomen; and (3) how fisherwomen communities are adapting to the ongoing process of change, highlighting in particular the gendered dimensions of out-migration. Our findings demonstrate that fisherwomen’s roles and identities are not static and that the impacts of environmental change vary for different groups of fisherwomen. We find that gender intersects with caste, income, geographic location, age, and household membership to create heterogeneous experiences and knowledge that reflects the complexities associated with gender and environmental change. With specific regard to the increase in fisherwomen out-migrating, we show that responses and adaptations to environmental change have gender-differentiated impacts and challenges.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-018-0100-1

Social scientists have long recognized that fishing is perceived by many coastal communities as a way of life that does much more than just provide material benefits. A corollary to this is that fishers are often reluctant to quit fishing. Marine fisheries are complex and dynamic, and are often subject to classic commons dilemmas. These dilemmas have become much more acute in recent decades as pressures on the world’s small-scale fisheries have mounted. We argue that a holistic social wellbeing approach provides a valuable perspective from which to view changing fisher perceptions of bag net fishing in the face of commons management failure in Gir Somnath District in Gujarat State, India. Fishers’ perceptions of fishing as a desirable occupation are not shaped by only their job satisfaction. Ineffective governance and largely failed institutions are the factors that fishers blame for the recent crisis in their fishery. Many fishers are pessimistic about the future of fishing and do not want their children to be a part of this occupation that was vibrant until recently.

http://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.742

Home to some of the world’s most iconic rivers and large numbers of lakes, ponds, wetlands and canals, India is the third largest producer of inland fish in the world. The freshwater resources of India feature high biodiversity and endemism, collectively threatened by increasing numbers of invasive species, pollution, water diversion, fragmentation, and habitat loss. Fishers and local communities that rely on inland water resources in India represent an equally wide-ranging human landscape, speaking over 300 languages and coming from diverse religious, economic, and social backgrounds. These communities face severe challenges regarding resource access and livelihood security in a complex governance system. In South India, numerous fishing communities manage to combine traditional and formal management techniques in various ways, including through panchayat-style decision-making processes, government programs, and community cooperatives. We discuss the fishery characteristics, governance attributes, looming threats and potential solutions for the Cauvery River commercial, subsistence, and recreational fisheries, as well as explore the ways governance structures address community participation and socio-political equality.

http://toobigtoignore.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ch-8_Bower-et-al_2017_TBTI_Inland-Fisheries-e-book.pdf

In India, fisheries governance suffers from weak regulation and poor compliance, with a primary exception – a collection of coastal seasonal fishing bans or closures. Much other fisheries policy (e.g., fuel subsidies or incentives for deep-sea fishing) promotes increasing production over conservation. The benefits of such measures have generally accrued to owners of industrial and semi-industrial operations, often at the expense of the small-scale fisheries sector. Viewed critically, Indian fisheries governance can be described as out of compliance with the FAO’s new Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (the SSF Guidelines). In this chapter, we analyze the coastal seasonal fishing bans in light of the SSF Guidelines and, in particular, the provisions for sustainable resource management (Section 5b of the Guidelines). Details of the monsoon bans have varied by time and place, but a diverse group of stakeholders have generally accepted the principle of a seasonal ban. However, there remains a complicated history of policy, legal, and social contestations – in short, politics – around the particulars of the bans, which we review. We also consider the specific case of Karnataka state. We find that weak scientific arguments generate a contested ecological justification and reduced support for seasonal closures. We suggest the monsoon bans are better justified when framed as safeguards for the small-scale fisheries sector. The SSF Guidelines provide a normative foundation for strengthening the monsoon fishing bans as part of dynamic fisheries management to privilege and protect India’s small-scale fisher communities.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_14

In complex social-ecological systems, patterns of utilization of ecosystem services are a key factor that shapes both the society and the broader ecosystem. This paper investigates the links between urban environmental governance and fisheries in the urban wetlands of Kolkata (India) and Colombo (Sri Lanka). We argue that, despite the similar development of formal policy and institutions in both cases, the comparative success of the Kolkata fishery is mainly due to three factors: 1) diverse-ecosystem use, 2) urban ecological symbiosis, and 3) strong community collective action. We conclude that successful governance of the environment and ecosystem uses such as fisheries will depend on collective action and informal institutions as much as the formal means of governance. We call for further research on urban governance systems that can foster diversity in land-use and harmonized utilization of ecosystem services and livelihoods for building resilient urban communities in the globalizing cities of the Global South.

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This chapter begins by confirming that issues around tenure within lagoon-based small-scale fisheries context have largely been neglected. Despite a growing body of literature on lagoon commons and property rights systems, existing literature on marine and terrestrial tenure tend to subsume tenure issues of coastal lagoons. Lack of specific attention to lagoon tenure can potentially affect their long-term sustainability and further marginalize small-scale fishers that have depended on them for generations. This chapter identifies important challenges associated with lagoon tenure in relation to the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), particularly focusing on its provisions for responsible governance of tenure. The tenure provisions in the SSF Guidelines highlight that small-scale fishing communities need to have secure tenure rights to resources that form the basis for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing, and that the state should recognize and ensure such rights. To this effect, the chapter sets forth some of the key conditions for governance of tenure in the context of lagoon small-scale fisheries social-ecological systems through an extensive treatment of a broad range of fishers’ rights and multi actor responsibilities. Fisher experiences with the impacts of ongoing rapid social-ecological changes on lagoon tenure and community responses in Chilika Lagoon, Bay of Bengal, India region is used as a case. Data analyzed in this chapter comes from a series of workshops, meetings, and consultations with small-scale fishers and other stakeholders in Chilika. The chapter offers important lessons for governance of lagoon tenure by highlighting its key connections with resource systems, resource sectors, and user-level dynamics, to offer insights on possible institutional and governance arrangements around secure lagoon tenure. Further, it provides suggestions and reflections on the specific characteristics of lagoon small-scale fisheries tenure and possible future directions for governance. Despite its specific focus on lagoon systems, the main learnings about the key conditions, characteristics, and governance directions of small-scale fisheries tenure provides crucial insights on successful implementation of the SSF Guidelines, especially its tenure provisions.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_9

Early modern regimes in India did not impose any tax on fisheries. After getting the grant of diwanior land revenue rights in 1765 the British East India Company tried to re-define all traditional rights through modern Acts and Legislations. It gradually established state control over rivers, lakes and ponds, and thus transformed the pre-colonial way ofsurviving the adverse ecological setting. State control over water meant control over access to river water. This considerably changed the pre-colonial relationship between the river-dependent communities of fishermen and fisheries. By the last quarter ofthe nineteenth century, many colonial reports recommended that fisheries might prove a valuable source of revenue for the state. It was after this that the British government passed two inland fisheries acts. For a large fishing community living in vulnerable diaralandmass the modern acts became all the more distressing. This paper attempts to understand these acts in the light of European notion of fisheries conservation and colonial interest to control water regime.

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The water body that stretches from Azhikode in the north to Alappuzha in the south in Kerala, the southernmost state of India, is generally known as the Cochin Estuarine System or the Cochin backwaters. This backwater system provides a nursery ground for many marine species, making it a productive fishing area for many small-scale fishing communities living in the vicinity. Evidence shows, however, that this water body has been subjected to both horizontal and vertical shrinkages due to various reasons associated with urbanization and industrialization. This chapter examines the challenges that modern development is posing for small-scale fisheries and how small-scale fishers cope with it. We argue that governance interventions to address the threat of urban and industrial development on backwater fisheries requires a deliberative process involving all stakeholders, particularly local organizations (panchayats) in which small-scale fishers play an important role. In order to improve governability of the Cochin backwaters, a platform needs to be created for small-scale fishers so that they can negotiate on equal terms with their urban counterparts, who hold economic and political power, and whose interests centre around industrialization, tourism, and urban infrastructure development.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_5

Transboundary fisheries are a worldwide phenomenon that has considerable impact on small-scale fisheries. This chapter explores governability problems of transboundary fisheries in connection with small-scale fishers’ marginality. Insights are derived by studying the practice of transboundary fishing in the Palk Bay, South Asia, where a sizable Indian trawler fleet impedes Sri Lankan small-scale fishers from carrying out their occupation. By analyzing the features of the fisheries systems and the fragmented governance practices, this chapter raises six issues that challenge the overall system’s governability: (1) mismatch between the scale of governance and the scale of the problem; (2) high level of institutional fragmentation with limited cross-linkages; (3) actors’ strategic framing of the nature, causes and solution to the problem; (4) power imbalances between Sri Lankan and Indian fishers; (5) deep politicization that has linked fisheries issues to higher level ethnic and geopolitical conflicts; and (6) path dependency of the trawl sector. I conclude that while co-governance is in theory crucial for transboundary governance to be more responsive to the situation at hand, governability analysis explains why constructive collaborative practices are difficult, if not impossible, to create in practice in this case.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_27

This chapter investigates the variations in governability that occur in fisheries systems. It builds upon the notion that diversity, complexity, dynamics, and scale affect the performance of societal systems profoundly, and that these effects emerge at the level of their three components. Variations in the governability of systems-to-be-governed are examined through a chain approach. Theories of legal pluralism, institutional nestedness and adaptability are subsequently applied to assess the governability of governing systems. Finally, governing interactions are considered through the lens of three ideal-typical modes – self-governance, hierarchical governance and co-governance. The many variations of governability are illustrated with cases from the capture fisheries of South India. The central message is that connections between the components of a fisheries system matter and that a better match may result in higher levels of governability.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6107-0_8

As governance occurs through interaction between governors and the governed, an investigation of the conditions that facilitate ‘better’ interaction, and improve governability, is worthwhile. We argue on the basis of the interactive governance approach that one such condition is a proper match between the system-to-be-governed and the governing system. This match is conceptualized as having two dimensions: architectural compatibility and attunement. The possibilities of this assessment approach are studied in the context of the trawl fisheries in the Palk Bay, South India. The trawl fleet in this region developed rapidly since the 1960s, and has engaged in lively conflicts with small-scale fisheries on the Indian, and more recently on the Sri Lankan side of the Bay. The non-synchronization of fishing areas with administrative boundaries constitutes an important governance challenge, as is environmental pressure.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6107-0_10

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The Sama-Bajau represent one of the most widely dispersed Indigenous groups in Southeast Asia. Recent estimates indicate a total population of approximately 1.1 million, with around 200,000 living in areas of high biodiversity in the islands of eastern Indonesia, 347,000 in Malaysia (Sabah) and 564,000 in the Philippines. Sama-Bajau culture is intimately connected to marine environments on which they depend for subsistence and cash income, as well as their cultural identity. Culturally defined patterns of fishing activity (including migratory expeditions) unite all sectors of Sama-Bajau communities through catching, consuming, processing and trading of marine resources. Fishing and gathering of shellfish and other strand resources provide the focus for individual and communal relations within villages and across extensive kin and trading networks. The maintenance and transmission of Indigenous language and knowledge between generations occurs through socialisation into livelihoods and related social and cultural activities. As such, customary beliefs and practices in relation to boats and sea spirits endure among the Sama-Bajau, and are primarily oriented to ensuring return on fishing effort. Sama-Bajau small-scale fisheries (SSF) across insular Southeast Asia therefore present a highly relevant case study. We will explore the dimensions of social wellbeing in the Sama-Bajau context and identify how the Sama-Bajau have responded to endogenously developed and exogenously induced drivers. Utilising our collective experience of Sama-Bajau society in diverse locations across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, we will discuss the parameters of continuity and transformation in the Sama-Bajau way of life. The case study offers the opportunity to explore how historical and contemporary drivers have contributed to the variability of Sama-Bajau social welfare, spatially and temporally.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_5

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Marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged as a highly promoted approach to implementing integrated
management of coastal and ocean areas. It is linked to ecosystem-based management (EBM), the ecosystem
approach to fisheries (EAF), geographic information systems (GIS), marine protected areas (MPAs) and more.
Although MSP has gained global attention, its use appears to be less prominent in small island developing states
(SIDS) and other developing countries than in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss
the implications and practical application of MSP as an ocean resource management paradigm in Asia and the
Caribbean. Where will MSP fit in the range of management paradigms? Where and how can it be best utilized
for integrated resource management? What are challenges for implementation? Examples of use of MSP and
marine zoning are presented and discussed.

DOI: 10.5380/dma.v32i0.35627

According to a United Nations report, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is the main hindrance for sustainable fisheries in the open seas and inland waters. In this chapter, we explore how the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) can help address this problem and improve the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and local community livelihoods in Hormozgan Province of Iran and the Persian Gulf. At present, there is limited management planning for small-scale fisheries in Iranian waters, and information about IUU fishing is scarce. Nonetheless, IUU fishing is on the political agenda. In Daliri et al. (Ocean & Coastal Management 120:127–134, 2016), we explored what factors cause IUU fishing in the region, and highlighted culture, management, economic conditions, personal skills, and area features as important determinants of IUU fishing. We also concluded that co-management can help address this problem and promote more sustainable fisheries in this region, if implemented well. In this chapter, we argue that efforts to reduce IUU fishing must include multiple measures identified throughout the SSF Guidelines, measures that go beyond the paragraph that talks specifically about monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS).

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_26

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently began the implementation phase of its Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines). The SSF Guidelines emphasize food security, poverty reduction, and ecological sustainability. Japan is an industrialized nation with a relatively low poverty rate and good food security. Thus, what utility, if any, could the SSF Guidelines hold for Japan? And what lessons can the Japanese case provide for other nations around the world? Outsiders to fisheries may assume that developing countries are characterized by small-scale fisheries while industrialized nations have large-scale fleets and a minority of small-scale fishers. Yet fisheries in Japan are overwhelmingly small-scale and based in local communities with historic links to nearby coastal resources and characterized by strong local community culture, values, and identities, representing a way of life for these practitioners. With this reality in mind, this chapter focuses on three of the SSF Guidelines objectives for which Japan presents a positive case: sustainable fisheries management; equitable development in coastal communities; and the contribution of small-scale fisheries to an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable future. This chapter provides a brief overview of the history of Japanese coastal fisheries, with a special emphasis on the community-based management styles and how these sustain both cultural and environmental resources. The current challenges of Japanese coastal fisheries are also discussed, highlighting both lessons learned and potential challenges ahead for other nations as they work toward implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_15

Using Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan, as a case study, this chapter highlights the difficulties consolidation of fishing cooperative associations (FCAs) presents currently to small-scale fisheries governance in Japan. Historically, Japanese small-scale fisheries are known for their successful management through fisheries cooperatives and traditional local institutions. Significant change has taken place in the last 20 years, however, with the consolidation of local, port-level FCAs into prefecture level ones. A question is thus raised about the overall quality for governance, i.e. capacity and capability, in such large-scale mergers of local, port-level cooperatives into prefectural ones. In other words, is the fisheries system more or less governable with the new governance arrangement? Consolidating cooperatives may be economically rational; yet doing so disempowers local, small-scale fishers and does not, contrary to stated goals, provide better services to member fishers.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_14

The Sama-Bajau represent one of the most widely dispersed Indigenous groups in Southeast Asia. Recent estimates indicate a total population of approximately 1.1 million, with around 200,000 living in areas of high biodiversity in the islands of eastern Indonesia, 347,000 in Malaysia (Sabah) and 564,000 in the Philippines. Sama-Bajau culture is intimately connected to marine environments on which they depend for subsistence and cash income, as well as their cultural identity. Culturally defined patterns of fishing activity (including migratory expeditions) unite all sectors of Sama-Bajau communities through catching, consuming, processing and trading of marine resources. Fishing and gathering of shellfish and other strand resources provide the focus for individual and communal relations within villages and across extensive kin and trading networks. The maintenance and transmission of Indigenous language and knowledge between generations occurs through socialisation into livelihoods and related social and cultural activities. As such, customary beliefs and practices in relation to boats and sea spirits endure among the Sama-Bajau, and are primarily oriented to ensuring return on fishing effort. Sama-Bajau small-scale fisheries (SSF) across insular Southeast Asia therefore present a highly relevant case study. We will explore the dimensions of social wellbeing in the Sama-Bajau context and identify how the Sama-Bajau have responded to endogenously developed and exogenously induced drivers. Utilising our collective experience of Sama-Bajau society in diverse locations across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, we will discuss the parameters of continuity and transformation in the Sama-Bajau way of life. The case study offers the opportunity to explore how historical and contemporary drivers have contributed to the variability of Sama-Bajau social welfare, spatially and temporally.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_5

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This chapter presents the current state of knowledge on “Inn” fisheries, an important fisheries management regime in Myanmar. The presentation made is based on a comprehensive review of literature, some original research data and the authors’ extended combined experiences working in Myanmar. The chapter starts by revisiting the origin of the “Inn” system, shedding light on the chain of events that led to its generalization under the British occupation. It further explores how fisheries statistics are derived in Myanmar and warn about the possible underestimation of the importance of “Inn” fisheries. Recent history is then used to consider how the liberalization of the economy might pose some fundamental problems of equity and sustainability. The authors further present how these fisheries relate to wider inter-sectoral considerations in the context of rural development before finally offering some suggestions to guide future research efforts in Myanmar.

http://toobigtoignore.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ch-9_Tezzo-et-al_2017_TBTI_Inland-Fisheries-e-book.pdf

The objective of this paper is to elucidate an overview of the inland fishery of Koshi Tappu area of Saptakoshi (Sapta means seven) River. The Saptakoshi is the largest river of Nepal comprised of seven large tributaries, namely Tamakoshi, Arunkoshi, Dudhkoshi, Tamurkoshi, Bhotekoshi, Sunkoshi and Indrawati. All of these tributaries flow down from high Himalaya down to southern plains. Therefore, due to large coverage, the Saptakoshi known to be endowed with more than 200 fish species but a recent compilation has shown 134 native and 7 exotic fishes. It is likely that more fish species could be recorded with further investigations. The Saptakoshi after entering into the southern plain spreads wide forming the Koshi Tappu over an area of about 175 km2(68 sq mi.) in the plains of eastern Nepal occupied by rivers, oxbow lakes, permanent ditches, ponds, water logged areas, farmland, forests, villages etc. Preliminary estimates showed that capture fishery is likely to comprise of predominantly 10 major fin fish species in addition to others with minor contribution, edible snails, bivalve, shrimp, makhana(Euryale ferox) and water chest nut (Trapaspp). The annual fish yield in Koshi Tappu is yet to be estimated. The per capita fish yield was as low as about 1-2 kg per fisher per day probably attributable to strict licensing system and provision of fish catching only by the use of cast net and women fishers’ handmade ‘covering net’ known as tappi jalor chauki jal.Use of drag net, gill net, hook and line are prohibited. The fishers often use wooden boats for fishing activities. Recently, it was reported that the fishery in the area is under overfishing pressure. However, that might be the case outside the reserve area, because it is unlikely that fishing by the sole use of cast net and tappi jalwould cause overfishing in such a vast area. Therefore, we conclude that fishery in Koshi Tappu should bereexamined considering the win -winstrategy of conservation of wild animals and fishing livelihoods, minimizing conflict in park management and benefiting fishers living in the park and visitors. If indeed the fishery is declining, the reasons of the rapid depletion of fish stock should be analyzed to develop sound management strategies for sustainability given the added stressors of climate change and anthropogenic activities.

http://toobigtoignore.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ch-12_Gurung-and-Sah_2017_TBTI_Inland-Fisheries-e-book.pdf

Fish as a food is generally acceptable to all regardless of region, religion, race, gender and age across Nepal. The aquaculture and open-water capture fishery contributes about 2 % of agricultural gross domestic production; this share of fisheries sector is tiny but promising having a fastest 8–9 % annual growth rate. Nevertheless, the contribution of fisheries sector is big from nutritional security perspective to poor and marginalized communities and thus cannot be ignored. Generally, the role and importance of the inland water fisheries had been rarely elaborated with perspectives to food and nutritional security in Himalayan landlocked country. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to elucidate the role and potential of inland fisheries for food and nutrition security in Nepal. Information was collected from secondary sources to estimate per capita fish consumption. The per capita consumption was calculated dividing the total fish production by population of specific year, which showed that per capita fish consumption has increased from 125 g in 1975 to 2060 g in year 2013, at least nine times below compared with average global consumption. The value of per capita fish consumption would increase, if native shellfish (gastropod, crab, shrimp, and turtle), frogs and aquatic plants such as foxnut (Euryale ferox) and water chest nut (Trapa sp) which are consumed by ethnic communities are added. In the fish production among the five development regions of the country, Central Development Region was at the top, while Far-Western Development Region was at the bottom. However, on altitudinal basis southern plains contribute highest production, while least is in mountain areas although potentiality of cold-water aquaculture seems high. These imply that support services and innovation should be extended in the Western Development Region and mountainous regions in addition to the plains for improving fisheries-based food and nutrition security.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-016-0063-7

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.06.022

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The Sama-Bajau represent one of the most widely dispersed Indigenous groups in Southeast Asia. Recent estimates indicate a total population of approximately 1.1 million, with around 200,000 living in areas of high biodiversity in the islands of eastern Indonesia, 347,000 in Malaysia (Sabah) and 564,000 in the Philippines. Sama-Bajau culture is intimately connected to marine environments on which they depend for subsistence and cash income, as well as their cultural identity. Culturally defined patterns of fishing activity (including migratory expeditions) unite all sectors of Sama-Bajau communities through catching, consuming, processing and trading of marine resources. Fishing and gathering of shellfish and other strand resources provide the focus for individual and communal relations within villages and across extensive kin and trading networks. The maintenance and transmission of Indigenous language and knowledge between generations occurs through socialisation into livelihoods and related social and cultural activities. As such, customary beliefs and practices in relation to boats and sea spirits endure among the Sama-Bajau, and are primarily oriented to ensuring return on fishing effort. Sama-Bajau small-scale fisheries (SSF) across insular Southeast Asia therefore present a highly relevant case study. We will explore the dimensions of social wellbeing in the Sama-Bajau context and identify how the Sama-Bajau have responded to endogenously developed and exogenously induced drivers. Utilising our collective experience of Sama-Bajau society in diverse locations across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, we will discuss the parameters of continuity and transformation in the Sama-Bajau way of life. The case study offers the opportunity to explore how historical and contemporary drivers have contributed to the variability of Sama-Bajau social welfare, spatially and temporally.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_5

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This chapter identifies and describes the challenges in small-scale fisheries governance in the context of Taklong Island National Marine Reserve in Guimaras Province, Philippines. Results show that diversity (diverse species of flora and fauna; many fishers highly dependent on the fishery resources and other users), complexity (relationship between key fishery habitats and fish catch; low cooperation and compliance to laws and regulations and conflicts within and among stakeholder groups), dynamism (decline in the quality of the resources overtime; low mobility), and scale (relatively small-sized marine reserve with stakeholders from local to national levels) characterize the natural and social systems in the marine reserve, which lend themselves to low governability. The hierarchical governing mode with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources heading the interim Management Board has not been responsive to governance challenges posed by small-scale fisheries in the reserve. The lack of representativeness and inadequate exchange of information have led to poor quality interaction between the systems. Barriers have been created since “step zero” contributing to low governability. The case illustrates that a “non-functional marine reserve” is detrimental to the sustainability of coastal resources and wellbeing of the people.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_20

Marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged as a highly promoted approach to implementing integrated
management of coastal and ocean areas. It is linked to ecosystem-based management (EBM), the ecosystem
approach to fisheries (EAF), geographic information systems (GIS), marine protected areas (MPAs) and more.
Although MSP has gained global attention, its use appears to be less prominent in small island developing states
(SIDS) and other developing countries than in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss
the implications and practical application of MSP as an ocean resource management paradigm in Asia and the
Caribbean. Where will MSP fit in the range of management paradigms? Where and how can it be best utilized
for integrated resource management? What are challenges for implementation? Examples of use of MSP and
marine zoning are presented and discussed.

DOI: 10.5380/dma.v32i0.35627

Here we explore the tradeoffs between the distances that gleaning and non-gleaning fishers 7travelled, and the benefits they gained. We found that gleaners stayed close to their starting 8location and obtained larger, more valuable catches when they travelled further. Non-9gleaning fishers travelled four times further on average, but travelling far did not correspond 10to larger or more valuable catches. Regardless of gear, fishers described important fishing 11grounds as having desirable catches and being nearby, but also being safe and having good 12habitat quality. Our findings suggests that management could benefit from accounting for the 13spatial and economic differences among fishing methods, and from identifying the diversity 14of attributes of fishing grounds that fishers value.

https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/cermes/getdoc/46176c96-4bbc-4b1d-af73-b59eb5197bed/mcconney_et_al_2014_tbti_wg4_ebook_enhancing_stewa.aspx

In this paper, we examine the role of gender in community-based management of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Central Philippines. MPAs are a common conservation and fisheries management tool in this area, but the relationship between gendered fishing practices and participatory MPA management is rarely considered. In this region, women and men’s fishing practices are often socially and ecologically distinct. MPAs are found in both intertidal and subtidal areas where women and men tend to fish respectively. Based on over 500 interviews in 12 fishing communities, MPAs were largely perceived to be a management tool for men’s fishing. Very few men and women reported a negative effect on their personal fishing or displacement from their fishing area. However, in two communities MPAs that had been in intertidal areas had either been moved or opened specifically to allow for gleaning. Women were less likely than men to report that the MPA had a positive effect on their fishing, but women and men recommended the MPA in equal numbers. Women and men reported attending MPA meetings, but women were less likely to describe active participation in MPA management such as decision making. This research adds to the larger body of work that considers gender and inequality to critically examine issues of power and exclusion in community-based resource management.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-018-0107-7

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Gender shapes livelihoods through access to resources and the distribution of benefits from economic activities. To workeffectively with local people, resource management and community development initiatives should therefore be sensitive tothe influence of gender on livelihoods. This paper considers gender in the context of broader social trends around livelihoods andfocuses on a case study of shell money production and trade in the Langalanga Lagoon in Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. Wepool data from several recent research projects with historical material from secondary sources. We find that the gender divisionof labour in the shell money value chain has changed somewhat over time, particularly in that women are now actively involvedin trading. However, this shift has created friction due to norms about what kinds of activities are suitable for women, and whoshould control cash incomes. Whilst shell money remains one of the most important livelihoods in Langalanga lagoon, ourfindings also illustrate that the shell money value chain and the income earned varies considerably from family to family, withsome making a better living than others. We argue that interventions seeking to improve livelihoods in coastal communitiesshould thus be based on an understanding of differentiation within communities, and practitioners should consider whether interventions will result in community development, or may have the impact of increasing inequality between families.

doi:10.1007/s40152-018-0111-y

Women play an important role within small-scale fishing communities in the South Pacific, contributing to food security and income. Yet, decisions on the management of coastal fisheries are mostly taken by male community leaders. Given that women and men interact with marine spaces differently, there is a need to further analyze women’s and men’s differentiated roles and participation in marine resource use and governance. This study does so by drawing on qualitative data from a case study in Solomon Islands. In the fishing community studied here, women had crucial and differentiated effects on social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Our study reveals that women provided significant social and economic benefits to their families and the broader community. At the same time, we find that some women were inclined towards breaking local marine management rules (i.e., potentially lowering positive ecological effects of the conservation efforts) because (1) women had been little involved in the decision-making with regard to local marine management; (2) women had partly lost trust in the local male leadership due to a perceived misuse of money; and (3) women were more constrained in their fishing activities because a marine closure was located where mainly women used to fish. Our study highlights the importance of paying attention to women’s needs and actions in the governance of the fishery—including both the positive as well as potentially negative consequences thereof. Furthermore, our study shows that, besides gender, other socio-cultural variables (i.e., religious denomination and place of birth) shaped a person’s role and interactions in the fishery. It thus adds weight to intersectional approaches to gender.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40152-018-0106-8

The discourse on solutions to address small-scale fisheries concerns in the Pacific tends to focus heavily on community-based forms of co-management. Decentralizing governance to the community level permits responsiveness and specificity to local dynamics, not possible through hierarchical governance. It also allows for proper recognition of the (often legally backed) customary rights of local resource owners, common throughout the Pacific. Partnerships between communities and governments, NGOs or research organizations draw together knowledge, expertise and institutions to develop and implement co-management arrangements. In exploring Solomon Islands as a case study we find that interactions between community-based, co-management (a form of co-governance), and self-governance (particularly customary institutions) are fundamental for contextualizing and ‘fitting’ management to the community level – and that this helps to account for the exceptionally high social and ecological diversity and complexity of Solomon Islands. Community-based, co-management represents a hybrid of traditional and contemporary, local and higher level images, instruments and actions. Interactions between community-based, co-management and hierarchical governance can bolster and inform local management and governance solutions. This is particularly true (and necessary) for pressures (e.g., population growth and commercial, export-orientated exploitation) that extend beyond the local scale or have not before been encountered by customary institutions. While these relations can increase governability, they can also be contradictory and undermining, particularly when objectives are dynamic and differ across scales. Finding the ‘best mix’ of governance modes and responses is a moving and elusive target. Nonetheless, we conclude that while community-based, co-management is an appropriate and fitting mode for increasing the governability of Pacific small-scale fisheries in some contexts, in its current form it alone is not up to the task of realizing fisheries sustainability objectives. We recommend that small-scale fisheries policy more explicitly seeks, and tests, new forms of governance interactions amidst the diversity and complexity of Pacific small-scale fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_3

Concerns about the sustainability of small-scale fisheries, and the equitable distribution of fisheries benefits, are wide-spread within government agencies, non-government organizations, and rural fishing communities throughout Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Addressing these concerns was given renewed impetus in recent years with the completion and adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines). This global document enters a complex policy landscape within the Pacific region. In anticipation of its region-wide implementation, this chapter focuses on policy coherence; using Solomon Islands as a case we investigate the potential interplay of the SSF Guidelines with priority policies at the regional, national, and sub-national levels. We first examine the SSF Guidelines to identify 22 dominant themes, including human rights, adaptive capacity, and tenure rights. We then focus in on 11 on policy instruments known to directly influence small-scale fisheries governance; we examine to what extent and in which direction the small-scale fisheries themes are represented in these 11 regional, national, and sub-national policies. We find areas of incoherence in addition to nine themes that are relatively poorly represented (‘gaps’) in the current policy landscape. More positively, however, we also observe a large-scale overlap on many of the key themes. While our analysis is specific in its application to Solomon Islands, our approach to diagnose areas of incoherence and gaps is easily applicable to other countries. This type of policy-based analysis is a useful first step to understanding priorities and strategies for implementation, and in particular opportunities for the SSF Guidelines to prompt adjustment and transformation of existing policies.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_4

To facilitate a systematic and comprehensive capturing of small-scale fisheries’ societal contributions, this chapter proposes a ‘value-contribution matrix’ and applies it to the case of a swimming crab fishery in South Korea. In the matrix, objective, subjective, and relational values are identified for the major stakeholder categories such as fishers, a coastal community and the wider society. Through consideration of these values, multifaceted contributions of the swimming crab fishery were examined and their governance implications drawn. Around the world, small-scale fisheries have been unduly dismissed in policy despite their ubiquity. This analytical tool could prove to be an accessible and pragmatic heuristic for highlighting their varied (both positive and negative) contributions. Learning about which values are being emphasized or neglected, and for whom, and the consequences they generate for stakeholders’ wellbeing, could point to alternate ways of creating a more governable fishery and help to alleviate fishery sustainability challenges.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_6

This chapter explores interactions between institutions and stakeholders’ mindset in the context of a fisheries co-management system in South Korea. Locally called Jayul, this co-management system was initiated by the central government to address resource degradation and illegal fishing concerns by involving small-scale, coastal fishing communities in fisheries management. As part of this, the program strives to affect changes in the minds of involved stakeholders, most notably fishers, to instill certain ideals such as self-initiative, community cohesion, and local rule-setting. Using semi-structured and open-ended surveys as a primary method, I conducted a study to examine the ‘match’ between the institutional aims of the Jayul program and the people’s mindset. Results show that while mismatches prevail suggesting that implementation has been less than effective, some attunement of this co-management institution can be done to better align with the mindset of small-scale fishing people, such as incorporating the principles of equity and adjacency. I argue that such attentive consideration towards the institutional design and implementation is crucial for improving the governability of the system and facilitating the governance transition.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_35

This study explores the role of religious values at the individual and community levels in relation to the moral economy of fishing in Sri Lanka. Comparing daily interactions among Sinhala Buddhist, Tamil Hindu and Muslim fishers in the eastern coastal district of Trincomalee, this chapter explores how fishers choose and mix different value systems to justify various decisions and behaviours. Both religious and fishing motivations are examined. Our findings indicate that people take advantage of the malleable nature of seemingly static religious doctrine to mix, match and choose from different religions to suit the current need and the occasion. Religious beliefs and ideologies also create and sustain socio-political differences, which are further constructed by macro-level political discourses. This chapter also analyses how discourses on religious identity play out in everyday life and how economic rivalries over fishing resources spill over into—or are reinforced by—religious and ethnic tensions in the post-war context. In terms of fisheries governance, the analysis shows that managers need to recognise and understand the role of religion and value systems in shaping the moral economy of fishing, as well as the processes by which religious beliefs and ideology can create and sustain social cleavages.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_11

In complex social-ecological systems, patterns of utilization of ecosystem services are a key factor that shapes both the society and the broader ecosystem. This paper investigates the links between urban environmental governance and fisheries in the urban wetlands of Kolkata (India) and Colombo (Sri Lanka). We argue that, despite the similar development of formal policy and institutions in both cases, the comparative success of the Kolkata fishery is mainly due to three factors: 1) diverse-ecosystem use, 2) urban ecological symbiosis, and 3) strong community collective action. We conclude that successful governance of the environment and ecosystem uses such as fisheries will depend on collective action and informal institutions as much as the formal means of governance. We call for further research on urban governance systems that can foster diversity in land-use and harmonized utilization of ecosystem services and livelihoods for building resilient urban communities in the globalizing cities of the Global South.

http://toobigtoignore.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ch-5_Hettiarachchi-and-Morrison_2017_TBTI_Inland-Fisheries-e-book.pdf

This chapter proposes that fisheries cooperatives can play an important role in furthering the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) in Sri Lanka. These organizations have a long history of supporting the fisheries sector, both in northern and southern Sri Lanka, with strong contributions to fisher wellbeing and the functioning of the value chain. Their involvement in resource management, however, is still relatively minor. The authors evaluate the performance of cooperatives against the outcomes of the South Asia consultation on the SSF Guidelines (November 2015). They argue that while fisheries cooperatives in Sri Lanka have many weaknesses, they are uniquely positioned to aid the small-scale fisheries sector. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for improving the performance of cooperatives.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_18

Transboundary fisheries are a worldwide phenomenon that has considerable impact on small-scale fisheries. This chapter explores governability problems of transboundary fisheries in connection with small-scale fishers’ marginality. Insights are derived by studying the practice of transboundary fishing in the Palk Bay, South Asia, where a sizable Indian trawler fleet impedes Sri Lankan small-scale fishers from carrying out their occupation. By analyzing the features of the fisheries systems and the fragmented governance practices, this chapter raises six issues that challenge the overall system’s governability: (1) mismatch between the scale of governance and the scale of the problem; (2) high level of institutional fragmentation with limited cross-linkages; (3) actors’ strategic framing of the nature, causes and solution to the problem; (4) power imbalances between Sri Lankan and Indian fishers; (5) deep politicization that has linked fisheries issues to higher level ethnic and geopolitical conflicts; and (6) path dependency of the trawl sector. I conclude that while co-governance is in theory crucial for transboundary governance to be more responsive to the situation at hand, governability analysis explains why constructive collaborative practices are difficult, if not impossible, to create in practice in this case.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_27

Small-scale fisheries often exist among other activities, such as large-scale fisheries, urban development, tourism industry, and transportation that may be competing for resources and/or for space. To a varying degree, and depending on the practices, all of these activities affect the health of ecosystems and contribute to degradation of the environment. This is particularly problematic in ecologically important and biologically sensitive areas. Governance of the multiple-use system is challenging because of the complexity of the problem and the general lack of data to determine the levels of impacts. Further, sectors may disagree about what causes degradation and will likely support interventions that have the least consequences on their activities. Sectors that are not well organized and have little political influence or economic power are prone to being disadvantaged by decisions that inhibit their opportunity for viable livelihoods. Small-scale fisheries frequently fall into this category, despite the fact that impacts from their practices may be less than other sectors. Importantly, insufficient consideration is given to the social and cultural connectivity that small-scale fisheries have to their surroundings and the importance of such connectivity on conservation and stewardship. A holistic perspective and innovative thinking are required to level the playing field for all sectors and stakeholders and to encourage collaboration and synergies. The chapter presents a case study of Trat Bay in the east coast of Thailand as an exercise in transdisciplinarity to enhance interactions and discuss stewardship options in the area.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-94938-3_12

Global attention on issues affecting fisheries sustainability, particularly those related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, has recently heightened. As one of the world’s top seafood producers, Thailand is under immense pressure to illustrate commitment to address these issues. A new Royal Ordinance on Fisheries (2015) emerged as a result, replacing the Fisheries Act (2015). The Royal Ordinance includes several policies and regulations that aim to put a new order in the Thai fisheries, for instance, by addressing illegal fishing and promoting environmental protection and sustainable resource use. One of the main objectives of the new decree is to protect and assist or support small-scale and community-based fisheries, making it align well with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines). The Royal Ordinance could provide Thailand with a critical and timely opportunity to transform fisheries from an unsustainable and over-capacity situation to a well-balanced system. Proper operationalization of the new decree could also mean fair and equitable benefits to small-scale and large-scale fishing sectors, thus rectifying the existing economic and political imbalance. Similar to the prerequisites for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines, many conditions have to be met for this to happen, starting from having a common understanding about what the law says and what it implies in practice. This chapter presents the case of Trat province, which is one of the first provinces in the country to take the step towards operationalizing the new fisheries law.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-55074-9_32

The continuing loss of coastal-marine biodiversity and the over-exploitation of coastal fisheries in many parts of the world fuel debates about what governance arrangements can turn the tide on these declines. Using the governability framework, this chapter investigates the comparative strengths and weaknesses of self-governance and co-governance arrangements, by interrogating six case studies from a mangrove region in Thailand. Our examination of three successful and three unsuccessful case studies, identifies the characteristics that distinguish cases which were successfully able to continue long-term implementation of negotiated resource management arrangements: (1) trust and cooperation in governance interactions, which enables conflict resolution and informal sanctioning; and (2) stakeholders’ perceptions that the solution was fair and legitimate. Our analysis also challenges three widely accepted “good practices” for managing natural resources: the need for extensive community engagement in designing solutions; the requirement for formal recognition of community-designed solutions; and the desirability of large inputs of funding from external donors. Our data showed that whilst these three good practices are desirable, they are not necessarily required for successful initiatives. We also offer observations about the influence of diversity, complexity, dynamics, and scale on governance outcomes.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_22

Environmental degradation continues in Thailand, despite the establishment of severalenvironmental protected areas (EPAs) since their inception in 1992. EPAs aim to promotethe conservation and sustainability of natural resources through decentralization andimproving the participation of local governments and communities. Not all EPAs aresuccessful, however. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors affecting theimplementation of the EPAs program in Thailand, using the Phetchaburi and PrachuapKirikhan EPA, in southern Thailand as a case study. Following the governabilityassessment framework, natural, social,and governing systems associated withthe EPA were first described in terms of diversity, complexity, dynamics, and spatial andjurisdictional scale. Next, we examined the extent to which the EPA, as a participatoryregulatory tool, corresponded with the natural and social systems it aimed to govern.The analysis reveals that the EPA did not function as effectively as it should be, eventhough the governing system was well structuredtodealwithcomplexcoastalecosystems in the area. The deficiency in the function of the EPA was duelargely to poor sectoral coordination, weak financial commitments, and uncoordinatedgoverning interactions. Based on these findings, we suggest that the EPA should besituated in a broader context of land and marine spatial planning and that it needs tobe attuned to existing policies in a way that collaboration between agencies and policyintegration is possible.

doi:10.1186/s40152-015-0035-8

The concept of stewardship offers a comprehensive and broad perspective for 10understanding stakeholders’ interactions with the coastal environment. In order to enhance 11stewardship among coastal stakeholders, this paper posits that institutions can play an 12important role. Through mechanisms that are inclusive of a range of actors, context-13appropriate, locally-engaged and interactive, institutions can provide a platform from which 14stewardship can be cultivated. To illustrate ways in which institutions increase capacity for 15environmental stewardship, a coral restoration project by the United Nations Environment 16Programme and Global Environment Facility in Koh Chang, Thailand,will be presented.

https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/cermes/getdoc/46176c96-4bbc-4b1d-af73-b59eb5197bed/mcconney_et_al_2014_tbti_wg4_ebook_enhancing_stewa.aspx