Latin America and Caribbean

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.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35627

This chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities for the Bahamas to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), developed through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Specifically, this chapter focuses on the implementation potential and challenges of the SSF Guidelines that relate to sustainable resource management and the need and opportunity to integrate fishers’ knowledge. The Bahamas has a long fishing history based in small-scale fisheries. The Family Islands of the Bahamas are sparsely populated, largely undeveloped and fairly remote. Here, local populations rely on fishing as a primary source of food and income. The challenges for implementing the SSF Guidelines are particularly difficult in these islands. In addition, the Bahamian Government is implementing a wide network of marine protected areas (MPAs) to replenish fisheries and provide food security and sustainable livelihoods. Recognizing the importance of small-scale fishers and their knowledge contribution through the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the Family Islands of the Bahamas is particularly timely as the Bahamas expands their MPA network. To assist with implementation in the Bahamas, there is a need to focus on the needs of small-scale fishers, to collect fisheries and livelihood data within rural communities and to develop a national database on the extent, scale, and dependence of small-scale fishing in the Family Islands of the Bahamas.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_28

This chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities for the Bahamas to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), developed through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Specifically, this chapter focuses on the implementation potential and challenges of the SSF Guidelines that relate to sustainable resource management and the need and opportunity to integrate fishers’ knowledge. The Bahamas has a long fishing history based in small-scale fisheries. The Family Islands of the Bahamas are sparsely populated, largely undeveloped and fairly remote. Here, local populations rely on fishing as a primary source of food and income. The challenges for implementing the SSF Guidelines are particularly difficult in these islands. In addition, the Bahamian Government is implementing a wide network of marine protected areas (MPAs) to replenish fisheries and provide food security and sustainable livelihoods. Recognizing the importance of small-scale fishers and their knowledge contribution through the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the Family Islands of the Bahamas is particularly timely as the Bahamas expands their MPA network. To assist with implementation in the Bahamas, there is a need to focus on the needs of small-scale fishers, to collect fisheries and livelihood data within rural communities and to develop a national database on the extent, scale, and dependence of small-scale fishing in the Family Islands of the Bahamas.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_28

A critical component of any fishery is its economic viability, and understanding the underlying socioeconomic factors that affect fishing activity and profitability allows for more informed management. Nevertheless, data on small-scale fisheries in the Caribbean are limited, potentially inhibiting informed and appropriately scaled policy implementation. In an attempt to better understand the economics of reef-associated fisheries across the Caribbean, interviews were conducted with over 182 commercial reef fishers in three types of communities (heavily dependent on reef fishing, on reef tourism and on both) in each of three contrasting countries (St. Kitts and Nevis, Honduras and Barbados). For each of the nine study sites, estimated annual net revenues from reef-associated fishing ranged from US PPP$0.03–0.95 million. Reef fishing was most profitable in St. Kitts and Nevis, where fishers have access to productive lobster and conch fishing grounds and an export market. In the Bay Islands (Honduras), most reef-related revenues were derived from snapper and grouper fisheries (for export), whereas in Barbados, where these high-value species (conch, lobster, snapper and grouper) are rare, revenues were comparably low. The reef fishery also represented an important social safety net across all communities, providing employment and a potentially critical source of protein to many low-income persons. These results demonstrate the current socioeconomic benefits of reef-associated fishing to coastal communities as well as the diversity of economic values among Caribbean sites. This site diversity highlights the need for fisheries policy and management to be guided by site-specific information rather than generalized assumptions about the industry.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_13

Small-scale fishing livelihoods dependent on Caribbean coral reefs face an uncertain future with global climate change and mounting anthropogenic pressures threatening ecosystem integrity and resilience. In the context of future threats to coral reefs, improved governance is critical to enhance the efficacy of coral reef management. Recent research places increasing emphasis on identifying governance arrangements that enable participation and engagement, with the improved ‘social fit’ of institutions expected to engender stewardship among fishers. However, few studies have examined the perspectives of resource users in relation to a wide range of articulated principles for good governance processes. This study contributes to an improved understanding of how fisher perceptions relate to diverse governance arrangements in the Wider Caribbean Region. We quantify perceptions among 498 reef-dependent fishers in relation to principles of ‘good governance’ in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries: Barbados, Belize, Honduras, and St. Kitts and Nevis. We describe perceptions relating to two underlying governance themes – institutional acceptance (reflecting principles of legitimacy, transparency, fairness, and connectivity) and engagement in reef governance (reflecting principles of accountability and inclusiveness). In addition, we identify socio-demographic factors associated with each set of perceptions and explore the implications for future governance of small-scale Caribbean reef fisheries. The findings suggest that an understanding of heterogeneous perceptions within small-scale fisheries can inform more targeted interventions to improve the fit of governance arrangements for different groups. Governance may be more effective if perceptions are used to identify areas in which to pursue greater engagement of resource users in stewardship.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_20

Small-scale coastal fisheries, especially for small stocks of relatively sedentary species, are increasingly seen as candidates for still-novel governance arrangements such as adaptive co-management. Yet, co-management initiatives often expose deficiencies in capacity, communication, trust and other factors said to favor success. How then to govern fisheries with highly variable social-ecological systems? How is governability affected by low capacity and arbitrary governing interactions? How can interactive governance address these challenges? Fisheries governance in the Eastern Caribbean is hampered by limited capacity in community and state fisheries organizations, low levels of leadership, inadequate information exchange and low political priority compared to other economic sectors. Little guidance is available to assess pre-conditions and chances of successful adaptive co- management. Using sea urchin fisheries at five sites in Barbados and Saint Lucia as cases, this chapter investigates formal and informal processes and conditions for establishing, implementing and sustaining adaptive co-management. It assesses the potential for approaching co-governance grounded in understanding social- ecological fisheries systems. This informs fisheries governance by exploring opportunities and constraints through a governability lens.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_30

Ecosystem-based management is an approach that recognizes fisheries as complex socio- ecological systems. However, conventional fisheries management approaches still tend to rely on biologically-driven models to guide top-down decision-making which neglect the complexity of values and priorities that drive primary stakeholder actions. A consequence of these approaches is limited inclusion of stakeholder views in prioritization of a full range of management objectives, and an inability to evaluate performance of these objectives in pursuit of an ecosystem approach to management. In support of a more integrated and stakeholder-supported management approach, we test an application of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) as a possible tool to better incorporate multiple objective considerations into management planning and to provide a more holistic assessment of fishery health. With a focus on flyingfish fishery stakeholders in Barbados, Tobago and St. Lucia, the method develops a management framework that incorporates stakeholder feedback on the relative importance of a set of management criteria. The result of this process yields a set of management priorities for the regional flyingfish fishery that have been ranked through a simple card-sorting activity. We present a set of management priorities for the flyingfish fishery which are weighted in order of importance, by stakeholders. Such outputs can enrich and strengthen successful and transparent co-management planning, and, if the analysis is supported by appropriate baseline data, it can provide a dynamic framework for monitoring management performance across a range of social, economic, and ecological fishery objectives. Findings support the use of this approach for integrating multiple objectives into fisheries management planning, and as a framework for a more balanced consideration of multiple fisheries management objectives in analysis and decision-making.

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

Livelihoods that depend on Caribbean coral reef fisheries face an uncertain future as global climate change threatens the integrity of these important ecosystems. Fishers’ perceptions of past change in the environment can affect their current decision-making and behaviour. This in turn can influence the effectiveness of management measures and policies intended to conserve resources and ensure sustainable fisheries. Interviews were conducted with commercial and recreational fishers in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries (Barbados, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, and Belize) to identify perceptions of past change in reef-related resources and anticipated future responses to hypothetical changes in catch. The results identify diverse perceptions and anticipated responses to change both within and between communities. These are discussed in relation to the sustainability of coral reef fisheries and implications for effective management of natural resources are considered.

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

Understanding biological and physical parameters of coastal ecosystems is vital for adaptive management. However, the socio-economic contexts of coastal management also impact success and failure. Monitoring socio-economic variables helps to guide approaches to successfully manage human interactions with natural resources at and around coastal sites. Socio-economic Monitoring for Coastal Managers (SocMon) is a global program that provides a practical and flexible standardized methodology for collecting and learning from social and economic monitoring data for coastal management. Socio-economic information from SocMon can improve decision-making on community needs for livelihoods, food security and equitable use of resources. Although SocMon was not designed for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), many of the monitoring variables are spatial. We describe methods for incorporating GIS into SocMon to develop ‘SocMon Spatial’ as an enhanced application for coastal, marine and fisheries management.

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

Ineffective implementation of small-scale fisheries public policy seems to be related to existing institutional and legal arrangements, which affects the social and ecological sustainability of fishing communities in developing countries such as Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean region more broadly. This dynamic has serious economic consequences for the sector, and, as a result, this lack of sustainability and institutional weakness can obstruct the implementation of public policies to enforce management measures. This chapter introduces a method of analysis and evaluation of Brazil’s institutional and legal framework for small-scale fisheries sustainability as a strategy to improve the development, control, and monitoring of fisheries rules and management measures at local, national, and regional levels. This framework is intended to facilitate the implementation of public policies for sustainable and responsible small-scale fishing. As a methodological approach, we argue that it is necessary to confront legal instruments and initiatives linked to fisheries at national and international levels, as well as the existing fisheries management system. This dynamic brings forth serious economic implications for the sector and, most significantly, may thwart the implementation of public policy intended to enforce measures needed for sustainable management. This analysis and evaluation of the Brazilian institutional and legal framework, although preliminary, is a proposition on the necessity to reach three goals for national management regimes: to stay attuned with international legal instruments, to examine existing small-scale fishing communities’ expectations and outlook, and to contribute to establishing an efficient and effective institutional and legal framework.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_21

Belize is a global leader in marine conservation, widely recognized for innovative and effective ecosystem-based management. The management of small-scale fisheries in Belize is a recent example. Historically, Belize’s commercial fisheries had been managed as an open access resource. In recent years, the number of fishermen and fishing pressure has increased, exacerbating the risk of overfishing and overcapitalization and threatening to erode profits, reduce food production, impact livelihoods, and adversely impact ecosystems. Belize is engaged in two initiatives to reduce this risk: (1) the implementation of spatial secure fishing privileges, known as Managed Access in Belize and (2) the development of an adaptive fisheries assessment and management framework. In this chapter, we describe these two initiatives and highlight the factors associated with successful outcomes observed, thus far, including the engagement of fishermen in the design and implementation of Managed Access and the adaptive management framework. We also discuss the importance of joint workplanning and execution and the need for flexibility and adaptation as new information is obtained and as political and other conditions change.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_8

Small-scale fishing livelihoods dependent on Caribbean coral reefs face an uncertain future with global climate change and mounting anthropogenic pressures threatening ecosystem integrity and resilience. In the context of future threats to coral reefs, improved governance is critical to enhance the efficacy of coral reef management. Recent research places increasing emphasis on identifying governance arrangements that enable participation and engagement, with the improved ‘social fit’ of institutions expected to engender stewardship among fishers. However, few studies have examined the perspectives of resource users in relation to a wide range of articulated principles for good governance processes. This study contributes to an improved understanding of how fisher perceptions relate to diverse governance arrangements in the Wider Caribbean Region. We quantify perceptions among 498 reef-dependent fishers in relation to principles of ‘good governance’ in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries: Barbados, Belize, Honduras, and St. Kitts and Nevis. We describe perceptions relating to two underlying governance themes – institutional acceptance (reflecting principles of legitimacy, transparency, fairness, and connectivity) and engagement in reef governance (reflecting principles of accountability and inclusiveness). In addition, we identify socio-demographic factors associated with each set of perceptions and explore the implications for future governance of small-scale Caribbean reef fisheries. The findings suggest that an understanding of heterogeneous perceptions within small-scale fisheries can inform more targeted interventions to improve the fit of governance arrangements for different groups. Governance may be more effective if perceptions are used to identify areas in which to pursue greater engagement of resource users in stewardship.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_20

Lobster fisheries in the Wider Caribbean region offer an interesting case for governance analysis. From the onset, these fisheries have been exclusively developed for the export market and have generated considerable foreign exchange and extensive livelihood opportunities. While the development of the fishery in the region took place in a similar period (between the 1950s and 1960s) with a similar end market (mainly trade to the US), and the lobster species harvested is identical throughout the region, the governance modes employed in different countries can be quite diverse. This results in differences in exploitation of the resource, value chain of the fishery and well-being of the fisheries. However, these factors will also in turn influence governance and governability. This chapter will analyze the implications of different governing modes in three countries, Belize, Jamaica and Nicaragua, on small-scale lobster fisheries. Specifically, it looks at the commonalties and variances in the governance system and system to be governed of lobster fisheries in the three countries, as well as the developments that underlie these differences and similarities. The chapter shows that the diversity in fisheries call for particularistic governing systems, and also that their diversity is actually the result of different governing modes. The governance mode and diversity of system-to-be-governed are linked by interactive relationships, and understanding the bi-directional interactions between them is crucial in order to improve governability and the wellbeing of fishers and by extension the wider society. Governability assessment of the three fisheries shows that the co-governance governance mode of Belize, resulting in a fair system-to-be-governed and governing system is most appropriate.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_12

Livelihoods that depend on Caribbean coral reef fisheries face an uncertain future as global climate change threatens the integrity of these important ecosystems. Fishers’ perceptions of past change in the environment can affect their current decision-making and behaviour. This in turn can influence the effectiveness of management measures and policies intended to conserve resources and ensure sustainable fisheries. Interviews were conducted with commercial and recreational fishers in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries (Barbados, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, and Belize) to identify perceptions of past change in reef-related resources and anticipated future responses to hypothetical changes in catch. The results identify diverse perceptions and anticipated responses to change both within and between communities. These are discussed in relation to the sustainability of coral reef fisheries and implications for effective management of natural resources are considered.

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

Species introduction, combined with changing access rules, increasing demand, and new road and dam infrastructure, are contributing to remarkable changes in Bolivian Amazon fisheries. This paper examines community responses to the appearance of a commercially valuable introduced fish species, Arapaima cf. gigas (“paiche”) in the Bolivian Amazon. Until the end of the 20th century, fisheries in this region were relatively low intensity, focused in rivers on a small number of native large-sized species by an urban-based commercial fishing fleet, and in floodplain lakes on a high diversity of native medium-sized species for subsistence by rural indigenous communities. In the seventies, Arapaima cf. gigas was introduced from Peru and has since invaded a significant portion of the Madre de Dios and Beni basins in northern Bolivia. This species now represents up to 80 % of commercial catches for the region. Occupying primarily floodplain lakes, many of which are located within indigenous territories, it has created economic opportunities and stimulated conflicts. The evolution of fisheries in one indigenous Tacana community is described, and the perspectives of local fishers are explored. Results suggest that while the new resource has strengthened incipient community-level organization, the current capture strategies and management mechanisms may not be conducive to sustainability or equitable distribution of returns. Commercial fisheries targeting a set of native species have been replaced by a single-species fishery in this community, raising questions about how the changes both in the resource-base and associated livelihood strategies are impacting system resilience. Ecosystem impacts of the introduction remain unclear. Paiche is viewed both as a potential threat and an opportunity by indigenous fishers. The management of this introduced species for a maximum social benefit and minimal environmental damage are topical concerns for communities and government actors and should be treated carefully considering local and broader, regional-scale implications.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0030-0

President, Single Federation of Fishermen, Fish Sellers and Aquaculturists of Bolivia’s Northern Amazon (FEUPECOPINAB). “The Single Federation of Fishermen, Fish Sellers and Aquaculturists of Bolivia’s Northern Amazon (FEUPICOPINAB) was born of a concern we felt as fishermen, of the abuses that we have suffered from some of the authorities. In 2010 we decided to organize, to strengthen ourselves as fishermen, to feel united because in reality all fishermen, we are a family, we have the same suffering in our day to day, and all year round. Fishing is an activity of great sacrifice, but also it is beautiful, fishing is our life, being in the river, in contact with nature, seeing so many landscapes. In total we are 15 organizations affiliated within the Federation, this includes peasants, indigenous fishers from urban areas and also merchants; we are more than 3,000 families of fishers of the Northern Amazon region.”

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

At the northern estuaries in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, small-scale fishing activities are intensively carried out, mostly targeting shellfishes. A compelling number of fishers make this activity their main source of income or as a complementary activity to salaried work, being an important supply of protein and food security for their families. Social inequality remains critical in most rural communities, and ongoing lack of visibility and economic perception affect household income. There are considerable conflicts associated with access to beaches, as well as seas and estuaries, mostly through private land or tourism, aquaculture, agriculture, and urbanization. The highly contested and entangled socio-spatial and institutional contours of small-scale fisheries in the study region turn the story of this fisher population into an emblematic struggle for ‘defending the beach’. We describe the wicked nature of the challenges faced by small-scale fisheries in the region, and their struggles to gain land ownership and access to the beach and to coastal fishing areas, such as estuaries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94938-3_15

Click here

Click here

Click here

Click here

Small-scale coastal communities around the globe are dealing with environmental change associated with the fisheries crisis, integration with global markets and climate change. Understanding how coastal people adapt to these challenges is not only a theoretical but also a practical concern that relates to the continuity of ways of life associated with small-scale fishing practice and the sustainability of the natural resource base on which they depend. In this chapter, I examine how people from the small coastal community of Ponta Negra, located in the Juatinga Ecological Reserve on the Atlantic Forest Coast of Brazil, have experienced and responded to environmental change in their recent history. To do so, I employ the social wellbeing framework that provides a multidimensional lens to assess how people’s current situations, as well as their desires and aspirations, shape and have been shaped by their relations with their environment. Melhorar (to improve), a common narrative, allows us to reflect upon how people in Ponta Negra negotiate the social, cultural and other trade-offs associated with livelihood transitions that reduce local reliance on the natural resource base and increase dependence on wage labour, out-migration and the growing regional tourism economy. The case of Ponta Negra highlights the challenges and opportunities small-scale fishers face in a changing world.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60750-4_4

Click here

From 2008 to 2011 the Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Canadian charity World Fisheries Trust implemented a project known as Gente da Maré (GDM), or ‘People of the Tides’. GDM worked strategically to build institutional and community capacity and linkages between government, university researchers, and local fishing associations involved in projects to improve the livelihoods and well-being of ‘marisqueiras,’ women and families that depend on clam and oyster extraction, mainly the Venerid clam Anomalocardia brasiliana, in the Northeast Region of Brazil where the country’s highest number of coastal and estuarine small-scale fishers are concentrated. Consistent with many of the principles and guidelines in FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), GDM promoted an integrated approach to equitable development of sustainable fisheries that included: co-management including participatory research and stronger research-policy interface; empowerment of women in fisheries occupations and improved opportunities for women; and value chain upgrading and democratization focusing on the decent work agenda. In this chapter, we analyze the clam fisheries component of GDM as an example of steps towards the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Brazil. We examine the context in which the project was carried out, the results that were achieved, lessons learned, and indications on how a regional government could act to implement the new SSF Guidelines to the benefit of the clam fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_22

Marine ecosystem health is threatened globally by overfishing and hábitat damages, among other things, creating major challenges for the sustainability and governance of aquatic environments. With a push toward increasing coastal and ocean protection through spatial management measures, an overlap between these marine protected areas (MPAs) and small-scale fishing grounds is expected to occur. Since MPAs are never established in a vacuum, there is a need to account for the ecological, social, and governance contexts into which they are being inserted. However, such considerations are not common, and the lack of integration of these essential elements in the design and the implementation of MPAs has often resulted in lowering their governability. We illustrate this tendency using a case study of the Marine National Park of Currais Islands in Southern Brazil, which was established without any consultation with small-scale fishers whose livelihoods and well-being depend on the use of the area in question. Using a governability assessment framework, we examine the diversity, complexity, dynamics, and scale issues associated with the natural, social, and governing systems. In addition to revealing that governance of this MPA is a “wicked problem,” the study shows that the MPA adds more complexity to a system where issues such as lack of trust and low governing capacity exist.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_19

Obtaining reliable socioeconomic information on small-scale fisheries for use in decision-making at multiple levels of governance remains a challenge for conventional approaches to data gathering, analysis, and interpretation on a global scale. Fisheries information is most often derived from biophysical data rather than human or socioeconomic sources. Even where socioeconomic data are used, the complexity of small-scale fisheries as adaptive social-ecological systems (SES) presents further challenges to aligning information, interventions, and objectives. This chapter presents the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management (SocMon) methodology for assessing the social-ecological dynamics of small-scale fisheries. It uses case studies from the Caribbean region, where SocMon has been applied for over 10 years, and from Brazil, which recently implemented the methodology. The cases examine how three features of SocMon—comprehensive socioeconomic data gathering linked to biophysical parameters, participatory methods that include stakeholders in data collecting and management, and integrated information and knowledge mobilization for decision-making— contribute to better understanding of small-scale fisheries dynamics. The cases outline challenges to implementing SocMon from a fisheries adaptive co-management perspective. The SocMon participatory methodology for monitoring socioeconomic dimensions and dynamics was found suitable for informing adaptive co-management and developing adaptive capacity in small-scale fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_12

Amazonian fisheries in Brazil contribute to the food security of over 20 million people who are mostly poor. However, multiple examples suggest that freshwater fish stocks may be under the same overfishing threats observed in marine fisheries, in addition to all the risks imposed by infrastructure development projects. While such threats may push some of these vulnerable people to the edge as some fisheries collapse, others will be pushed toward makeshift or elaborated solutions which can help them to maintain or restore local fisheries. In this chapter, we first adopt a theoretical approach to explore the main threats to Amazonian small-scale fisheries and their direct impacts on people’s livelihoods. We then move on to an empirical solution-based comparison between different types of co-management initiatives, using case studies developed within a protected area framework and community-based arrangements. We expect to show how small-scale fishers themselves can be the best, and sometimes the only, alternative for management. The different kinds of management broaden the application of eventual patterns, discrepancies, limitations, and solutions identified for Amazon to inland fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_10

In Brazil, during the past 20 years, several dynamic collaborative coastal management (CCM) arrangements have emerged in response to a variety of changing social and ecological conditions. These arrangements have led to an equally large range of outcomes, such as the fishing agreements in the Amazon basin and marine extractive reserves in coastal areas. This chapter describes the evolution of these collaborative management arrangements in coastal Brazil. We begin by introducing the major policies related to environmental management in Brazil, focusing particularly on the evolution of fisheries management and protected áreas management. We continue with an overview of (i) key events and issues that have shaped CCM in Brazil; (ii) the achievements for the advancement of CCM over the past years; and (iii) current challenges to the advancement of CCM. We conclude the chapter with our ideas and associated thinking about what lies ahead to promote CCM in Brazil.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_18

Knowledge of the difficulties, costs, and territorial issues surrounding fishing communities seems crucial to achieve sustainable development goals in marine and coastal zones. However, such knowledge is not always available, sufficient, or even identifiable. The seabob-shrimp small-scale fisheries in the shallow waters of the State of São Paulo, in Southeastern Brazil, plays an important role in coastal livelihoods, providing social and economic benefits for a number of local communities and a premium source of regional seafood. Around 4000 fish-workers produce supplies for restaurants, fishmongers and supermarkets in coastal towns with about 2 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, harbor and naval mooring, the construction of pipelines, sewage disposal, controversial seasonal closures, and marine spatial zoning have all restricted the activity. A territorial approach is here proposed to examine the timeline of vertically implemented laws/regulations that may have resulted in a decrease of territories formerly available to that fisheries, accompanied by a comprehensive outlook of the overall policy context. The shrinkage of fishing territories has been evidenced and the kind of territorial loss detected does not seem to be implicit in cost analysis of fisheries, ecosystem services, or compensation. Top-down policies and a misunderstanding of environmental mitigation programs appear to have been contributing to increasing conflicts, mining multi-stakeholder processes and social justice in contrast to the ascendant economic growth of both the oil and gas and port industries. While economic and political pressures seem to shape current fishing territories, the recognition of the diversity of interests and power asymmetries in coastal zones directs our attention to a vital, often ignored, dimension of social reality. Institutional challenges and recommendations, such as territorial use rights and legal innovations are discussed, adding value to the self-organization of local communities for an effective process of balanced power both within and outside legal marine protected areas.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-016-0044-2

This chapter investigates governing interactions at the Baleia Franca Environmental Protection Area (Santa Catarina state, South Brazil) as an example of new opportunities and challenges to scale-up small-scale fi sheries governability through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Previous studies on MPAs in Brazil highlight the innovative aspects of these governing systems such as their well- functioning, active, and progressive management councils. We describe the increasing response of the governing system to fi sheries issues that are largely aligned with governance paradigms of collaboration and social learning. Despite all efforts and some notable accomplishments in responsiveness and performance, we point out the challenges related to the mismatch between the governing system and the systems-to-be- governed that hinders fi shers’ political agency and limits small-scale fi sheries governability at broader territorial levels. We identify and analyse the wicked problems faced by actors engaged in processes of transformation in coastal-marine governance and provide suggestions for improving governability.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_18

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been endorsed internationally as a tool promoting marine conservation. MPAs implementation can however be challenging, with many not achieving conservation objectives while creating conflicts with small-scale fishers, often overlooked. This study aims at exploring how MPA implementation can be improved, taking as a case study the Marine National Park of Currais Islands in Southern Brazil. Specifically, this thesis offers a theoretical contribution by applying the interactive governance framework to analyze both the natural and the social systems, focusing on small-scale fishers, governed by the MPA as an institution. The thesis also presents a methodological contribution, as it develops and applies an exploratory mapping approach. We surveyed 65 small-scale fishers from eight communities at Pontal do Paraná municipality, and conducted an exploratory mapping approach in small groups. Main findings point to challenges and opportunities to MPA implementation, and offer a way to involve small-scale fishers in the discussion about MPAs.

https://research.library.mun.ca/12072/1/thesis.pdf

The literature on commons has established the validity and significance of Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for collective action. Can these principles be used to guide policies and initiatives towards adaptive co-management? We analyze this idea by using two case studies, Piriápolis (Uruguay) and Paraty (Brazil). Both cases are small-scale fisheries, and both have been experiencing a social-ecological crisis in a context of prevailing top-down government management. However, there are signs that government policies are moving towards participatory governance. The objective of this article is to identify opportunities and barriers to adaptive co-management of small-scale fisheries in Uruguay and Brazil using Ostrom’s design principles for guidance. Both case studies partially meet seven of the eleven design principles (as amended by Cox and colleagues), but do not fulfill four. The analysis of the fisheries using Ostrom’s principles sheds light on the opportunities and barriers to adaptive co-management in three categories: resource system, resource users, and governance system. Barriers include long-standing conflicts between small-scale fishers and government agencies, and between small and large-scale fisheries sectors. Nevertheless, recent initiatives involving participatory approaches to research and management show potential to improve compliance with several principles. Two weaknesses of using Ostrom’s principles for the analysis of the cases were a lack of attention to social learning and the exclusion of external drivers.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0032-y

This paper examines the Brazilian fisheries policy between 2003 and 2011, aiming at identifying the place of artisanal fisheries. The election of the Workers Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores), its popular basis and the announced government program created expectations that this subsector would be, for the first time, especially favored. Later, empirical evidence, the critical view that arose in the autonomous organizations of artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen, and the lack of systematic knowledge motivated this research. Therefore, in addition to the literature review, we analyzed documents and data from the institutions involved, interviewed key informants, as well as made direct and participant observation. The measures directed at the artisanal subsector, despite representing several improvements, were insufficient to strengthen it and reverse the environmental vulnerability of their communities.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35547

This article discusses the importance of considering the economic dynamics in fisheries co-management. The discussion is based on a diagnosis of the main determinants of socioeconomic and ecological results of this activity in the municipality of Pontal do Paraná, on the coast of Paraná state, Southern Brazil. The analysis was guided by a systemic model that, in the light of the Marxist political economy, has incorporated elements of social organization of production to models that investigate the role of institutions in creating incentives to shape users’ behavior and, hence, determine the results obtained with the use of common resources. The approach proved extremely useful to understand the influence of economic dynamics in incentives to the behavior of fishermen and on the configuration of undesired results on fishing activity, such as the degradation of the natural resource base, social differentiation and poverty. Moreover, the approach pointed fruitful ways to incorporate the economic dimension into the co-management process in search of an economically efficient, socially fair and ecologically prudent activity.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35927

By acknowledging and engaging with alternative forms of governance that are recently emerging (see [1]), this brief note reports on one of such processes in Brazil, namely the Ombudsperson of the Sea [2] event (Portuguese: Ouvidoria do Mar). We provide an overview and update of the on-going process of setting and implementing a Programmatic Agenda for coastal-marine networks; and provide the authors’ opinion regarding its instrumental potential in improving Brazilian democracy.

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

A pilot experience of participatory monitoring and biological sampling realized by artisanal fishermen on-board their vessels was conducted between January 2011 and April 2012 in a Territory of Citizenship of Southern Bahia. The approach adopted aimed at including fishermen in the research process, valuing traditional knowledge and also ensuring the acquisition of biological data of difficult access on the spawning of reef fish caught in reproductive aggregation sites distant from the coast. The action was developed through the integration of collaborating fishermen within the research. Two masters of the artisanal handline fishing, recognized as experts in the communities of Valença and Camamu, have benefited from research grants by the state foundation for research supporting – FAPESB. The collaborating masters and crews of vessels were qualified and involved in the monitoring process, collecting information on-board about catches, fishing effort, exploited areas (fishing spots), biometrics and stages of sexual maturation. Monthly orientation and monitoring supervision of collaborating fishermen were conducted by researchers and technicians from the State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS) and the agricultural development agency of Bahia state (EBDA). A total of 56 handline fishing operations from 24 fishing spots were monitored; 26 taxa were recorded during these fisheries, 3,271 fishes were measured and weighed, and 149 gonads were collected. The evaluation of the approach was based on qualitative parameters: 1) engagement and collaboration in the activity, 2) efficiency and consistency in data collection, filling out the forms and classification of gonads. The main challenge of the proposed approach is the perception of the fishermen about the relevance of participatory monitoring to promote the construction of knowledge about the fishery and the reproductive dynamics of fisheries resources. A continuous action is considered essential to the strengthening of trust relationships established between fishermen, technicians and researchers, as well as to develop actions that promote the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35742

Change is an intrinsic feature of coastal systems. Understanding the social-ecological changes and the path-dependent set of conditions operating in evolving coastal communities may contribute to the analysis of the stewardship within small-scale fisheries (SSF). Assessing and monitoring social-ecological systems may provide important tools for analysis and policy. This study is about assessing SSF in Aventureiro – an isolated community in a Southeastern island of Brazil – in two points in history over a 15-year period. SSF stewardship is fundamental for sustaining local livelihoods. At Aventureiro, SSF are important for food security and highly significant due to community characteristics such as geographic position, high level of resource dependence, and a shared sense of community identity and culture. Over the years, SSF have maintained the diversity of fishing gears and fishing spots, but have also increased investments in gears and vessels, as financial resources have increased in the community due to community-based tourism development. Despite the fact that the SSF system has remained active and sustainable, even in face of several drivers of change related to conservation issues, there is a lack of local institutions that promote stewardship at the community level. Effort should be made to strengthen fisher and community organization, networking and social capital, increasing stewardship as well as social-ecological resilience.

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

This paper deals with the challenges of understanding landscape changes in the Rio da Madre’s watershed, located in the coastal zone of the Santa Catarina State (Brazil), from 1950 to 2010. In this sense, the authors mobilize the concepts of ethno-conservation of common-property resources and ecodevelopment in assessing the perceptions of the main social-ecological impacts of the development process at the community level. They argue that, between 1950 and 1970, the natural resources endowment of the local communities were managed in the context of a subsistence-based economy. During the second phase, from 1970 to 1990, emerged the first evidences of ecosystems and local livelihoods degradation, as a direct consequence of the regional development strategies put into action by the governmental sector. Lastly, from 1990 to 2010, this trend became hegemonic in a setting that concentrates nowadays an impressive mosaic of environmental protected areas. The paper attempts to clarify the following aspects of this dysfunctional gap between the quality of rural livelihoods and the search for new development strategies: i) the shortcomings of the natural resource management system, attached to a conventional, top down and ecologically predatory local development conception; ii) the increasing levels of contamination of water resources due to irrigated rice production and inefficient waste management in urban centers; iii) the structural crisis that affects the artisanal fisheries sector and the traditional farming system and, finally, v) the lack of governmental incentives to increase environmental citizenship at the local level. Facing these challenges from a prospective point of view, the authors acknowledge that further effort needs to be made to generate a core academic content for eco-development studies in this area in the near future.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35553

This article focuses on the case of the environmental impacts generated by the installation of the Southern Expressway, an enterprise of the State Government of Santa Catarina, on the extraction of berbigão (cockles; Anomalocardia brasiliana) in the Marine Extractive Reserve (RESEX, in the Portuguese acronym) Pirajubaé, in Florianópolis (SC). The project caused significant impacts on the marine environment of this RESEX, including the loss of about half of the cockle bank, and hence on extractive practices and their management. The socio-environmental changes resulting from the construction of the Southern Expressway led to a situation of deregulation in the use of fisheries resources, resulting in use conflicts and establishing a situation of open access to resources in the area. In the case of Pirajubaé, when interests of dominant social groups in conflict with the goals of the RESEX were imposed, its institutional arrangement proved unable to secure the rights of the local users or gatherers on the use of natural resources in its territory, which should be the main objective of this kind of Conservation Unit. This leads us to question the effectiveness of the RESEX as an institutional arrangement to ensure shared management and conservation of natural resources in a given territory.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35694

More frequent and severe coastal disasters represent major threats to small-scale fisheries and challenge their viability and potential as an engine of sustainable development. Hurricanes and storm surges and alluviums and tsunamis, among other fast and unexpected events, often drive multiple and overlapping social and environmental impacts. They also influence changes to which fishing communities must respond and adapt, such as threats to life, material devastation, natural resource loss, and ecosystem transformations. Based on empirical case studies and secondary sources, this chapter examines the successes and failures of small-scale fishing communities in the central-southern Chile since the massive February 2010 earthquake and tsunami. This study draws lessons about the key factors of adaptive capacity among coastal resource user communities. The analysis reinforces the importance of social capital and networks, local ecological knowledge, and livelihood agility, as well as stresses several opportunities and drawbacks that need to be observed on the way to pursue more sustainable small-scale fisheries. A better understanding of what makes a difference for fishing communities in response to natural hazards and other external perturbations can inform the design of more equitable and effective fisheries and coastal management policies, along with strategies in Chile and elsewhere.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_3

Small-scale fisheries in Chile, Colombia, and Peru contribute directly to the livelihoods of more than 400,000 fisherfolk. Direct interviews were conducted, and focus groups with fishers, their families, and official authorities in selected fishing communities in these countries were organized. Along with a survey conducted to estimate the contribution of small-scale fisheries to family protein consumption and income, the results showed wide differences among fishing communities. While in the Colombian Pacific the average family income derived from small-scale fishing activities is around $200 USD per month, less than the official minimum wage in Colombia, in Southern Chile small-scale fisheries-derived family income averages $728 USD per month, more than three times the official national minimum wage. A common major concern among most fishing families is the lack of social healthcare protection. As far as family consumption of protein is concerned, the results of the study show that family fish consumption depends on capture volume, cash disposal, and access to sources of protein other than fish. However, by far the major source of protein of the families involved in small-scale fisheries is fish, regardless of family purchasing power and the availability of other sources of protein. Fish consumption in small-scale fisheries-dependent families ranged between 20–291 Kg/person/year in Colombia, 104–156 Kg/person/year in Chile, and 39–218 Kg/person/year in Peru, each of which are higher than official nationally reported averages. Moreover, when capture volumes decrease or during seasonal closures, families prefer to buy fish locally or in neighboring communities rather than consume beef, chicken, or pork, regardless of price.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_14

The resilience of small-scale shellfisheries in Latin America is increasingly threatened by climatic and human drivers acting simultaneously at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Co-governance is emerging as a potential solution to enhance the capability of governing systems to respond to the social-ecological impacts of external drivers of change. Although there is an increasing understanding of the factors that determine the success and failures of diverse co-governance arrangements in Latin America, there is still a poor understanding about how this mode of governance responds to different crises, and how these responses are shaped by past experiences and by the features of the governing system and the system-to-be-governed. In this chapter, we evaluate how institutions learn, selforganize and respond to diverse climatic and human drivers in seven co-governance arrangements, and identify the factors that enable or inhibit building institutional adaptability. Our analysis shows that the combined impact of different drivers produced social-ecological impacts on local fishing communities’ wellbeing. In this context, institutions and actors displayed coping and adaptive responses to prevent or mitigate the damage on fishery resources and fishers’ livelihoods. These varied according to the magnitude, extent, periodicity and intensity of press and pulse perturbations, and were shaped by past crises, social-ecological memory and the particular social features of fishing communities in which institutions are embedded. In most cases, after severe crises, small-scale fishers took collaborative actions for re- organizing their cooperatives and their harvesting and trading strategies in order to prevent future crises and enter into more sustainable pathways. In conclusion, the same factors that promote (or preclude) high governability are also those that enable (or inhibit) building institutional adaptability and resilience.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_31

The continued degradation of marine ecosystems, along with the ecosystem services they provide, suggest that new, innovative approaches are needed to scale up marine biodiversity protection and promote sustainable fishery practices. We synthesize information from Chile on the key processes involved in the development of alternative strategies for scaling up marine biodiversity conservation and discuss the complementarities with marine protected areas. Defined as “ancillary” marine conservation initiatives under the Convention of Biological Diversity, we suggest that these alternative strategies have the potential to capitalize on local stakeholders’ participation and contribute to solving livelihood and governance issues while playing a significant role in scaling up marine conservation. We specifically focus on two recent ancillary initiatives being piloted in Chile. The development of business model innovations which could enable biodiversity benefits from territorial user rights fisheries policies and the creation of municipal conservation areas. We identify how these initiatives could eventually help scale up marine conservation, discuss opportunities and challenges from these pilot experiences and conclude with the need for developing policy frameworks and cross-scale governance approaches which formally acknowledge marine ancillary conservation measures as part of an integrated way to manage marine biodiversity. Exploring and supporting alternative complementary marine conservation strategies is particularly relevant in Chile and Latin America, if biodiversity conservation initiatives are to scale in coverage, contribute to livelihood improvement of local communities, replenish fisheries and play key roles in adaptation to climate change.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0022-0

In recent years the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) has intensified worldwide. Recent studies have shown the importance of social and political issues related to the implementation of MPAs. They influence the success and effectiveness of these management and conservation tools. This paper aims to summarize our understanding of the political process related to the implementation of MPAs in Chile based on the analysis of the emergence of the no-take marine reserve “Santuario Marino Bosque de Calabacillo de Navidad” in the Navidad Municipality. The MPA was created through the participatory effort of the fishers union, the municipal government and university academics. The results showed the role of social agency and of the different actors in guiding transformations in the system of governance of marine and coastal resources in the direction toward sustainability.

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

but make a large contribution to total national fish landings, play a pivotal role in sustaining the livelihoods of coastal communities, and supply the demand for fish protein at the local and national levels. This importance is likely to rise in the coming years given the estimated increase of national fish consumption, the regional infrastructure development plans, and the predicted increase in coastal accessibility if the peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC is successfully implemented and the region is pacified. This chapter aims to explain how artisanal fisheries have developed in the Colombian Pacific coast over the last 30 years, explaining the different types of fisheries, their current situation, and the advances and challenges facing sustainable management. Signs of overexploitation of some fisheries resources appeared as early as the 1990s (e.g., white shrimps, mangrove cockles). Updated stock assessments of these resources are needed, together with other target fisheries currently under pressure. Ecosystem-based fisheries management actions, like the establishment of MPAs and the introduction of fishing gear that reduces bycatch, have resulted in increased awareness of the importance of sustainable fisheries management and biodiversity conservation. Current challenges include further increasing this level of awareness about sustainable fishing practices, and overcoming the frequent disconnect between fisheries governmental, private, and other societal sectors. Advances in these areas could lead to more sustainable fishing practices that could be used to face the predicted scenarios of increased fish and shellfish national demand.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_4

Exclusive fishing zones (EFZs) are a type of place-based management tool designed primarily to mitigate conflicts between fishing sectors by granting exclusive rights to one sector to fish the resources that occur in a specific area. As with other tools, several factors can determine effectiveness of EFZs, and knowing what these factors are could lead to improving how the tool is performed. The effectiveness of EFZs depends first and foremost on the way in which they are considered, how they are introduced, and by whom. Such an understanding is especially pertinent when EFZs involve small-scale fisheries in order to avoid violation of rights or the displacement of livelihoods. Learning about the effects of EFZs on small-scale fisheries provides useful insights for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), which were developed to protect the rights of small-scale fishers and fish workers around the world. Under this premise, this chapter presents a case study of an EFZ established in Chocó, Colombia, in 2008. Specifically, it examines the pre- and post-implementation processes of the Chocó-EFZ, asking questions about what triggered its establishment, who was involved in the process, who was excluded, and what challenges it faced in the implementation. Finally, insights from the case study are drawn, along with a discussion of the implications for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Colombia.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_9

Small-scale fisheries in Chile, Colombia, and Peru contribute directly to the livelihoods of more than 400,000 fisherfolk. Direct interviews were conducted, and focus groups with fishers, their families, and official authorities in selected fishing communities in these countries were organized. Along with a survey conducted to estimate the contribution of small-scale fisheries to family protein consumption and income, the results showed wide differences among fishing communities. While in the Colombian Pacific the average family income derived from small-scale fishing activities is around $200 USD per month, less than the official minimum wage in Colombia, in Southern Chile small-scale fisheries-derived family income averages $728 USD per month, more than three times the official national minimum wage. A common major concern among most fishing families is the lack of social healthcare protection. As far as family consumption of protein is concerned, the results of the study show that family fish consumption depends on capture volume, cash disposal, and access to sources of protein other than fish. However, by far the major source of protein of the families involved in small-scale fisheries is fish, regardless of family purchasing power and the availability of other sources of protein. Fish consumption in small-scale fisheries-dependent families ranged between 20–291 Kg/person/year in Colombia, 104–156 Kg/person/year in Chile, and 39–218 Kg/person/year in Peru, each of which are higher than official nationally reported averages. Moreover, when capture volumes decrease or during seasonal closures, families prefer to buy fish locally or in neighboring communities rather than consume beef, chicken, or pork, regardless of price.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_14

The small-scale fishermen of Colombia face a wide range of problems and conflicts. While many problems are shared among individuals from both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts (bi-coastal), others are unique to a subset of the communities, only occur on one of the coasts (uni-coastal) or in an individual locality. To come to grips with the major problems for these fisheries requires establishing a fisheries management strategy that can prioritize solutions at different levels: national, coastal, and local. This study describes the solutions identified by three sets of stakeholders: fishermen, local leaders and fisheries experts, to improve small-scale fisheries management in Colombia. Some cross-cutting solutions were recommended by all three sets of stakeholders. In other cases, only two of the three stakeholder groups agreed on certain proposals, and some isolated solutions were found in only one type of stakeholder. All three sets of stakeholders recommended that the government put in place fundamental regulatory framework for small-scale fisheries including support for alternative employment opportunities to reduce fishing pressure on the resources. Some but not all groups supported specific measures, such as gear restrictions, closed areas and closed seasons. There was also a clear need to distinguish those truly engaged in fishing as their livelihood from opportunists moving in and out of the sector. Specific recommendations are here presented to reform and restructure governance through co-management, and to develop a consensus among the main government and user stakeholders.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-016-0047-z

Small-scale fisheries are not a fixed scale in terms of governance and governability. While they may be small by their individual size, small-scale fi series are strongly interconnected to higher levels of governance. This interconnectedness makes them vulnerable to external influences and shocks, which in turn affect their governability. This chapter calls for an analysis of scales beyond the local community in order to grasp all the complexity, diversity and dynamics of interactions at multiple levels. As an illustration, the case of small-scale fisheries in the San Andrés archipelago on the Caribbean coast of Colombia will be looked at. Due to the International Court of Justice decision over boundary dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua in 2012, small-scale fishers in this area lost access to their traditional fishing ground. The chapter examines consequences of this decision using the governability assessment framework and provides lessons about small-scale fisheries governance when spatial scale is a critical issue.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_26

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.

https://revistas.ufpr.br/made/article/view/35627

Click here

Research on fishery fleet dynamics and fisher behavior often rely on rational economic assumptions to explain decision-making processes based on cost and income expectations as an input to management strategies. However, understanding the complexity of small-scale fisheries, which are defined by their importance as a source of income, employment, food security, and cultural traditions, requires the use of emerging systemic thinking concepts to face the challenges involved in their management. In this study, fishing effort dynamics and two types of diver behavior are analyzed within the multispecies fishery at Playa Lagarto, Costa Rica. We sought to answer whether or not the allocation of fishing operations that defines fishing effort responds to only the rational economic theory or to other dynamics related to the fishery’s social and ecological systems. Also, given different dive methods, tactics, and factors that define catch variability, fisher behavior drivers were explored. A combination of surveys, interviews, and a participatory diagnostic approach were used to collect data during fishing trips. Although some target species were common to both dive methods, differences in the spatial and temporal allocation of fishing effort were evident due to different fishing tactics. When facing environmental constraints, social interactions fostered cooperative tactics in order to maintain or even increase their catches. Given these results, a set of recommendations were outlined that could improve sustainability and strengthen the socio-ecological resilience of the fishery.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_16

This chapter uses a case study approach and a transdisciplinary perspective to shed light on Costa Rica’s implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), and assess their potential to make Costa Rican small-scale fisheries ecologically and socially sustainable. The chapter identifies how the government, together with fishers’ organizations, is aligning its conservation and participative management policies to the provisions of the SSF Guidelines. It also discusses how a small-scale fishery cooperative’s participative management initiatives have led to the establishment of an institutional arrangement which has the potential to successfully promote the implementation of the SSF Guidelines not only in Costa Rica but also in the Central American region as a whole. Involving small-scale fishers in dialogue and design of their own sustainable future is key to how Costa Rica has become a champion of the SSF Guidelines.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_17

PRETOMA is a Costa Rican based marine biodiversity conservation NGO. The organization’s mission is to protect and restore populations of sea turtles, sharks, and other endangered marine species, by advancing a vision of sustainable fishing practices and community-based conservation, through scientific research, policy reform, public education, and strategic litigation. PRETOMA researchers have been working with Bejuco’s artisanal fishers since 2007 to collect and analyze catch data in order to assess the sustainability of bottom longline use.

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

Click here

Click here

Fisheries in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands are a very complex, diverse, and dynamic sector. Unfortunately more often than not, policies and practices applied to govern fisheries have proven to be inappropriate. Small-scale fisheries in mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands face multiple challenges mostly linked to the limited governability of the fisheries systems. By using empirical evidence based on triangulation of qualitative open-ended surveys and intensive literature review, this chapter explores the fisheries sector in Ecuador through the lenses of the Buen Vivir standpoint, which is the guiding principle of Ecuador’s National Development Plan. Under the interactive governance approach, which is used as the primary analytical framework, this chapter examines the challenges encountered in governing small-scale fisheries in both the Ecuadorian mainland and Galapagos Islands. This chapter highlights the coincidences and mismatches between the two normative instruments simultaneously operating in these two regions. Main findings confirm the existence of incongruities between the Buen Vivir-inspired national development path and the policies and practices taken to address small-scale fisheries issues. Yet, common grounds between both instruments exist, and they may serve to pave the road for a comprehensive governance model for the national fisheries systems. We suggest that by implementing a comprehensive overarching national policy framework for fisheries, the Buen Vivir principle – ruling the national development plan – would be better illustrated. By doing such, the overall governability of fisheries in Ecuador would improve, and thus the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and the viability of fishing communities in both regions would be fostered.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_22

The Buen Vivir paradigm, that inspired the Ecuadorian National Development Plan (PNBV) represents a shift in understanding development and articulates mother earth’s and human’s rights, both as subjects of legal protection. This chapter aims to disentangle contradictions between the PNBV and current practices at the small-scale fisheries sector. Theoretically grounded in the governability concept, we explore commonalities between the Buen Vivir objectives and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) principles. The chapter (a) illustrates how are the PNBV objectives align to the guiding principles of the SSF Guidelines; (b) explores to what extent the actions taken by the state address issues desired to achieve small-scale fisheries sustainability; and (c) identifies what elements within the Ecuadorian fishing governance system are missing in order to enhance small-scale fisheries sustainability. The study involved a  comprehensive literature review and empirical work using semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Commonalities on both instruments (e.g. diversity, sustainability, and human dignity) were found but also some unique elements such as in the PNBV (e.g. rights of nature and sovereignty) or in the SSF Guidelines (e.g. gender). Additionally, initiatives addressing some threats to the fisheries occur, but still are isolated practices with low connectivity to the entire fisheries systems. Finally, mismatches between the PNBV’s rhetoric and the fisheries governance practices occur and have inordinately delayed the improvement of small-scale fisheries governability. Coherent theories and practices at the political and social realms, under innovative ontological and epistemological connotations of fisheries will help to achieve their sustainability under the Buen Vivir paradigm.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_33

The small-scale fisheries sector in the Ecuador mainland and Galapagos Islands face major challenges triggered by large scale human and climatic events, which compromise their sustainability. Lack of trust, leadership and cohesion among small-scale fisheries entities, limited organizational skills, and social problems within fishing communities reduce this sector’s governability. Further, lack of willingness of fishers to observe rules, limited governing capacity and lack of political attention to small-scale fisheries often contribute to making the overall system less governable. According to interactive governance theory, different governing modes would be suitable for different systems, depending also on the types and quality of governing interactions. Using the interactive governance framework, this chapter explores the performance of the hierarchical and co-governance mode for small-scale fisheries governance in the Ecuador mainland and Galapagos Islands, respectively. These two case studies, by using empirical evidence and triangulation-based methods, analyze the small-scale fisheries sector and some mechanisms through which the governing system, the system-to-be-governed, and governing interactions are operating. The chapter highlights that both hierarchical and co-governance modes of governance have underperformed and consequently that their governability has been reduced for three main reasons: the mismatch between legal frameworks, the undefined social system’s borders, and the use of inappropriate mechanisms for information mobilization. The chapter concludes by suggesting that both models need to contribute to national initiatives, to strength the social system, and to increase the small-scale fisheries sector governability. Only then can fisheries sustainability be achieved.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_9

The resilience of small-scale shell-fisheries in Latin America is increasingly threatened by climatic and human drivers acting simultaneously at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Co-governance is emerging as a potential solution to enhance the capability of governing systems to respond to the social-ecological impacts of external drivers of change. Although there is an increasing understanding of the factors that determine the success and failures of diverse co-governance arrangements in Latin America, there is still a poor understanding about how this mode of governance responds to different crises, and how these responses are shaped by past experiences and by the features of the governing system and the system-to-be-governed. In this chapter, we evaluate how institutions learn, selforganize and respond to diverse climatic and human drivers in seven co-governance arrangements, and identify the factors that enable or inhibit building institutional adaptability. Our analysis shows that the combined impact of different drivers produced social-ecological impacts on local fishing communities’ wellbeing. In this context, institutions and actors displayed coping and adaptive responses to prevent or mitigate the damage on fishery resources and fishers’ livelihoods. These varied according to the magnitude, extent, periodicity and intensity of press and pulse perturbations, and were shaped by past crises, social-ecological memory and the particular social features of fishing communities in which institutions are embedded. In most cases, after severe crises, small-scale fishers took collaborative actions for re- organizing their cooperatives and their harvesting and trading strategies in order to prevent future crises and enter into more sustainable pathways. In conclusion, the same factors that promote (or preclude) high governability are also those that enable (or inhibit) building institutional adaptability and resilience.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_31

Small-scale fisheries, critical to the livelihoods, coastal economies and food security of coastal communities, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As such, developing sustainable resource management for this sector depends on our ability to predict the risk of climate change on small-scale fisheries and harness the capacity of coastal communities to cope or adapt with these changes. This chapter describes progress to date in building a spatial vulnerability assessment of Grenada fisheries. A framework to guide these types of assessments, the indicators developed to date, and the challenges and opportunities encountered in building the Grenada fisheries vulnerability assessment are discussed.

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

Livelihoods that depend on Caribbean coral reef fisheries face an uncertain future as global climate change threatens the integrity of these important ecosystems. Fishers’ perceptions of past change in the environment can affect their current decision-making and behaviour. This in turn can influence the effectiveness of management measures and policies intended to conserve resources and ensure sustainable fisheries. Interviews were conducted with commercial and recreational fishers in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries (Barbados, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, and Belize) to identify perceptions of past change in reef-related resources and anticipated future responses to hypothetical changes in catch. The results identify diverse perceptions and anticipated responses to change both within and between communities. These are discussed in relation to the sustainability of coral reef fisheries and implications for effective management of natural resources are considered.

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

A critical component of any fishery is its economic viability, and understanding the underlying socioeconomic factors that affect fishing activity and profitability allows for more informed management. Nevertheless, data on small-scale fisheries in the Caribbean are limited, potentially inhibiting informed and appropriately scaled policy implementation. In an attempt to better understand the economics of reef-associated fisheries across the Caribbean, interviews were conducted with over 182 commercial reef fishers in three types of communities (heavily dependent on reef fishing, on reef tourism and on both) in each of three contrasting countries (St. Kitts and Nevis, Honduras and Barbados). For each of the nine study sites, estimated annual net revenues from reef-associated fishing ranged from US PPP$0.03–0.95 million. Reef fishing was most profitable in St. Kitts and Nevis, where fishers have access to productive lobster and conch fishing grounds and an export market. In the Bay Islands (Honduras), most reef-related revenues were derived from snapper and grouper fisheries (for export), whereas in Barbados, where these high-value species (conch, lobster, snapper and grouper) are rare, revenues were comparably low. The reef fishery also represented an important social safety net across all communities, providing employment and a potentially critical source of protein to many low-income persons. These results demonstrate the current socioeconomic benefits of reef-associated fishing to coastal communities as well as the diversity of economic values among Caribbean sites. This site diversity highlights the need for fisheries policy and management to be guided by site-specific information rather than generalized assumptions about the industry.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_13

Small-scale fishing livelihoods dependent on Caribbean coral reefs face an uncertain future with global climate change and mounting anthropogenic pressures threatening ecosystem integrity and resilience. In the context of future threats to coral reefs, improved governance is critical to enhance the efficacy of coral reef management. Recent research places increasing emphasis on identifying governance arrangements that enable participation and engagement, with the improved ‘social fit’ of institutions expected to engender stewardship among fishers. However, few studies have examined the perspectives of resource users in relation to a wide range of articulated principles for good governance processes. This study contributes to an improved understanding of how fisher perceptions relate to diverse governance arrangements in the Wider Caribbean Region. We quantify perceptions among 498 reef-dependent fishers in relation to principles of ‘good governance’ in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries: Barbados, Belize, Honduras, and St. Kitts and Nevis. We describe perceptions relating to two underlying governance themes – institutional acceptance (reflecting principles of legitimacy, transparency, fairness, and connectivity) and engagement in reef governance (reflecting principles of accountability and inclusiveness). In addition, we identify socio-demographic factors associated with each set of perceptions and explore the implications for future governance of small-scale Caribbean reef fisheries. The findings suggest that an understanding of heterogeneous perceptions within small-scale fisheries can inform more targeted interventions to improve the fit of governance arrangements for different groups. Governance may be more effective if perceptions are used to identify areas in which to pursue greater engagement of resource users in stewardship.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_20

Livelihoods that depend on Caribbean coral reef fisheries face an uncertain future as global climate change threatens the integrity of these important ecosystems. Fishers’ perceptions of past change in the environment can affect their current decision-making and behaviour. This in turn can influence the effectiveness of management measures and policies intended to conserve resources and ensure sustainable fisheries. Interviews were conducted with commercial and recreational fishers in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries (Barbados, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, and Belize) to identify perceptions of past change in reef-related resources and anticipated future responses to hypothetical changes in catch. The results identify diverse perceptions and anticipated responses to change both within and between communities. These are discussed in relation to the sustainability of coral reef fisheries and implications for effective management of natural resources are considered.

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

Obtaining reliable socioeconomic information on small-scale fisheries for use in decision-making at multiple levels of governance remains a challenge for conventional approaches to data gathering, analysis, and interpretation on a global scale. Fisheries information is most often derived from biophysical data rather than human or socioeconomic sources. Even where socioeconomic data are used, the complexity of small-scale fisheries as adaptive social-ecological systems (SES) presents further challenges to aligning information, interventions, and objectives. This chapter presents the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management (SocMon) methodology for assessing the social-ecological dynamics of small-scale fisheries. It uses case studies from the Caribbean region, where SocMon has been applied for over 10 years, and from Brazil, which recently implemented the methodology. The cases examine how three features of SocMon—comprehensive socioeconomic data gathering linked to biophysical parameters, participatory methods that include stakeholders in data collecting and management, and integrated information and knowledge mobilization for decision-making— contribute to better understanding of small-scale fisheries dynamics. The cases outline challenges to implementing SocMon from a fisheries adaptive co-management perspective. The SocMon participatory methodology for monitoring socioeconomic dimensions and dynamics was found suitable for informing adaptive co-management and developing adaptive capacity in small-scale fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_12

Conventional rights based regimes designed to streamline small-scale fisheries governance have slowly moved towards embedding policy considerations that aim to bridge fishing rights and human rights (including social and economic rights). This chapter discusses the extent to which the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) can take root within the Commonwealth Caribbean state of Jamaica. Particularly, this chapter explores to what extent Jamaica’s enabling environment facilitates the implementation of Section 10(7) of the SSF Guidelines: Policy Coherence, Institutional Coordination and Collaboration. In order to implement the current SSF Guidelines effectively, they should be in tune with national and local specificities and nuances.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_7

Lobster fisheries in the Wider Caribbean region offer an interesting case for governance analysis. From the onset, these fisheries have been exclusively developed for the export market and have generated considerable foreign exchange and extensive livelihood opportunities. While the development of the fishery in the region took place in a similar period (between the 1950s and 1960s) with a similar end market (mainly trade to the US), and the lobster species harvested is identical throughout the region, the governance modes employed in different countries can be quite diverse. This results in differences in exploitation of the resource, value chain of the fishery and well-being of the fisheries. However, these factors will also in turn influence governance and governability. This chapter will analyze the implications of different governing modes in three countries, Belize, Jamaica and Nicaragua, on small-scale lobster fisheries. Specifically, it looks at the commonalties and variances in the governance system and system to be governed of lobster fisheries in the three countries, as well as the developments that underlie these differences and similarities. The chapter shows that the diversity in fisheries call for particularistic governing systems, and also that their diversity is actually the result of different governing modes. The governance mode and diversity of system-to-be-governed are linked by interactive relationships, and understanding the bi-directional interactions between them is crucial in order to improve governability and the wellbeing of fishers and by extension the wider society. Governability assessment of the three fisheries shows that the co-governance governance mode of Belize, resulting in a fair system-to-be-governed and governing system is most appropriate.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_12

Fisherman, Jamaica. “Pollution from industrial waste and the continuous release of effluent has destroyed a great portion of the marine life. The Hotel chains also contribute to these types of pollution. Pollution such as this causes over fertilization of the green algae and as a result overgrowth and proliferation of the algae have suppressed other marine vegetation on the ocean floor and also smother the coral reefs. The reduction of the parrotfish population which is herbivorous in nature and are grazers who feed on the seamoss also contribute to the over growing of the algae and the eventual smothering of the reefs.”

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

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are generally understudied, their impacts on marine ecosystems not well documented and their vulnerability to large-scale change processes not fully recognized. A better understanding of the dynamics and underlying drivers of SSF is imperative given their important contributions to local economies and community wellbeing. We argue that an assessment of the economic viability of SSF can help improve governance for this sector. Economic viability is defined here as the net benefit to society from fisheries, accounting for subsidies that represent a private benefit to fishing sectors but a cost for society at large, that are above or equal to zero over time. We developed an approach to assess economic viability using data that is often available at national scale, including estimates of total revenue from fishing, total costs of fishing, and fisheries subsidies for SSF and large-scale fisheries (LSF). We applied the methodology to Mexican fisheries and found that LSF receive subsidy amounts disproportionate to their landings and employment relative to the SSF sector; when these subsidies are taken out, SSF are generally more economically viable than their LSF counterparts. To improve the economic viability of SSF, key recommendations include the redirection and redistribution of subsidies, better monitoring, and improved access to data.

https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12942

Small-scale fishing communities are highly vulnerable to changes both climate-related and other socio-economic and institutional changes mostly because of their high dependency on natural resources. Several of the approaches that have been developed and applied to reduce their vulnerability are largely externally driven and involve pre-determined vulnerability assessments. Vulnerability is, however, context-specific, i.e., it may mean different things to different people. Understanding what makes people vulnerable, determining feasible policy interventions for ameliorating such vulnerability, and exploring options for enhancing viability may need to begin with asking people what they think about their own situation. From the governance perspective, it is also imperative to have comprehensive knowledge about the resource system that people depend on, the complexity and dynamics of the social system, and importantly the existing governing system. This thesis brings together two perspectives, a simplified participatory diagnostic approach and interactive governance to investigate the vulnerability and viability of a coastal, small-scale fishing community in Sisal, Yucatan, Mexico. The study involved in-person surveys using semi-structured questionnaires. These surveys were targeting at captains and crewmembers involved in harvesting, and fishing women participating in post-harvesting activities. The survey respondents were asked to populate the list of vulnerability factors, both at individual and community levels, based on their own situation and experience. They were also asked to provide explanation about how these factors make them vulnerable. The respondents were prompted to consider vulnerability related to natural, social, economic, institutional, and technological dimensions. The preliminary results of the in-person surveys were presented to the focus group discussions, organized to enable the survey participants to further discuss vulnerability issues in Sisal, and to explore potential solutions to address them, as well as possible pathways to enhance viability. Overall, the survey respondents agreed about the natural aspects of vulnerability but diverged in the other four dimensions. The level of agreement was higher between the captains and the crewmembers but lower between the captains and the women participating in post-harvest activities. The vulnerability factors receiving the highest number of mentions by all respondent groups were related to the social dimension. These include a wide range of issues such as lack of respect for regulations, issues pertaining to migration, lack of support from financiers, and lack of support and recognition for women working in post-harvest related activities. The interactive governance analysis of the fisheries in Sisal reveals that the vulnerability of the fish harvesters and the women are related to the high complexity, dynamics, and scale of the natural and the social systems. In addition, weak capacity of the governing system and the poor quality of interactions exacerbate vulnerability. Nevertheless, rich ecosystem, community solidarity, and strong leadership are key factors fostering viable livelihoods for the people of Sisal. Social relationships, proactive attitudes, high capacity and in-depth knowledge are key strengths of the community. These strengths can be built upon to encourage people to organize and participate in decision-making about their future. In conclusion, by studying how people involved in the harvest and post-harvest activities perceive threats to their livelihoods and what they see as possible avenues for strengthening their community, this thesis adds to the general discourse regarding vulnerability and viability of resource-dependent coastal communities. The outcomes of this simplified participatory diagnostic approach, coupled with the understanding of the governance system, provide sound advice for the development of fisheries policies that benefit local communities and their surroundings.

https://research.library.mun.ca/13904/

Click here

This article analyzes how the intensification of neoliberal policies and the use of privatization to govern access to the ocean and its resources are producing the conditions for the dispossession of Indigenous fishing customary rights as well as resistance practices that interrupt neoliberal policies. This article highlights the role of actors beyond the state in producing the specific junctures at which the vocation of the Indigenous peoples in the Tehuantepec Isthmus in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, is changed to become a “center of sustainable development.”

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.01.015

Contrary to common perceptions, the creation of protected areas does not start when they are officially declared but generally follows a long process. For instance, the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) was not “born” when it was formally announced on March 18th 1998, but several decades before that. Through document analysis and key informant interviews, we applied the “step zero” approach to examine what happened prior to the implementation of the GMR. This study reveals that the GMR did not arise from a social and political vacuum; rather, events took place in the distant past, even centuries ago, influenced the reserve’s creation and current status. Its establishment was driven by complex geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental factors from both within and outside Galapagos. Additionally, the process of creating the GMR was convoluted, marked by hidden interests and conflictive political agendas that triggered controversies between users. The making of the GMR was also influenced by the interest in promoting “nature-based” tourism, and the regulations that followed had disadvantaged small-scale fishers. This knowledge about the reserve’s pre-implementation phase enables a broader understanding of the current challenges facing the performance of the GMR and points to possible governance interventions needed to enhance its sustainability.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2017.1345606

This paper examines the effects of neoliberalization on the opportunities and constraints that fishing cooperatives face in Yucatán, Mexico. Cooperatives have the potential to enhance small-scale fishing livelihoods and participate in sustainable resource governance. However, promoting cooperatives’ success entails developing a realistic under standing of the political and economic contexts in which they operate. Drawing on interview and census data, the analysis employs the theory of club goods to examine how the neoliberalization of Mexican fisheries policies in the 1980s and 1990s has affected cooperatives’ ability to provide members with collective benefits, and thus the success and failure of fishing cooperatives in the region. In general, neoliberalization has reduced support to fishing cooperatives and generated greater challenges for their success in Yucatán. The results of this study are likely relevant to many other small-scale fisheries in the South that have undergone similar processes of neoliberalization.

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.06.024

Small-scale fisheries contribute about half of global catches whilst employing approximately 90% of the people directly dependent on capture fisheries. Taking into account the importance of this sector in the global economy, and its contribution to nutrition and livelihoods, in 2015 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). This chapter describes the contributions, challenges, and lessons learned from implementing the SSF Guidelines, from the perspective of a marine conservation civil society organization (CSO) that works on providing effective solutions for small-scale fisheries management in Mexico in direct collaboration with stakeholders. Mexico is a developing country, with a small-scale fishing force of over 74,000 registered boats, in which diverse fisheries face many challenges to secure livelihoods whilst simultaneously ensuring sustainability and adapting to changing environmental conditions. The SSF Guidelines represents a landmark document that highlights the importance of the small-scale fisheries sector and provides significant guidance to states and stakeholders for ensuring the long-term sustainability of small-scale fisheries. Finally, the chapter provides insights into and recommendations on how CSOs and other interested stakeholders can foster the implementation of the Guidelines.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_20

There is a worldwide recognition of the challenges that fishing communities face with respect to changing environments, market integration, and different sources of uncertainty. In this context, to be able to implement policies oriented to increase adaptive capacity in fishing communities and improve fisheries governance, it is important to understand the factors underlying fishers’ attitudes, the decisions they make, and the strategies they develop to face uncertain conditions. We present two case studies from the Yucatán coast in Mexico that reveal the complex and challenging realities of marine resource use in fishing communities and highlight why it is necessary to enhance adaptive capacity for good governance in small-scale fisheries. In both cases, we observed risk-averse and risk-prone attitudes in fishers’ operations in response to changing conditions. In one case, cooperative actions were observed in the community, but those arrangements have been changing in response to increasing uncertainty in catches, the participation of newcomers, and unreliable surveillance. We argue that the decrease in resource abundance, lack of social capital, and weak institutions can increase overall uncertainty and prompt diverse responses from fishers to compensate for such conditions. We contend that strengthening the adaptive capacity of people in fishing communities can be promoted through cooperation among community members, scientists, and public institutions as the first step toward improving fisheries governance.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_5

As a signatory of important international fisheries agreements, Mexico should develop and implement proper fisheries management structures to maintain or restore populations in order to maintain sustainable fisheries within its exclusive economic zone. To do so, proper stock assessments of fishery resources based on scientific evidence are required. While this step is not as a legally binding obligation, it is important for understanding the status of fisheries stocks and how Mexican law and regulatory measures should go about accomplishing national and international goals effectively. In this context, small-scale finfish fisheries (SSFF) play a significant role in the Mexican coastal regions in the southern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea (GMCS). Nonetheless, SSFF have received limited attention despite their contribution in terms of commercial landings, contribution to the diet of coastal communities, and as source of income and employment. In this chapter, we summarize the management and regulatory framework associated with the SSFF in the GMCS. We then evaluate the status of these resources based on catch data of SSFF in the GMCS using two approaches. We developed a typology of these fisheries to define categories and then used a traffic light system to show the status of the resources and management tools used in each case. This chapter also discusses the need for an integral approach to assess and manage this type of fishery and recommends adaptations that are required to improve management strategies for these resources.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_11

Today’s small-scale fisheries contribute more than half of the total marine fish catch to the world’s fishing industries, but they are facing overexploitation, increases in demand, overcapitalization, and new challenges imposed by fish markets and climate change. This work examines how the Yucatan region’s fishing industry has organized its resources to face new hurdles and maintain its position in the market. The chapter considers a resource-based view perspective and uses a qualitative-exploratory methodology based on interviews with the Yucatan’s leading fishing entrepreneurs. This methodology allowed the study to describe the nature of the main industry processes and relationships which give place and continuity to the fish trade. The main findings show that the ownership of major fishing capital such as vessels, boats, and processing plants is not enough to ensure access to seafood in every season but rather suggests that what is needed is the development of different levels of relations which are long term and seasonal in nature across different supply chain members (fishers, middlemen, and skippers). Furthermore, firm owners’ ability to organize fishing effort according to the fish available each season and to link with traders and suppliers according to market demand has been a key resource to maintain this industry in the market. Finally, the chapter shows how small-scale fisheries are part of an important supply chain for large processing plants and make a key contribution to their existence and continuity in the market. At the same time, small producers’ participation in the market is limited and controlled by these fishing businesses.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_15

Global climate change will become an additional source of stress on coastal fishing communities. Therefore, adaptation to climate change is becoming a key feature for the development of sustainable livelihoods in these socioecological systems and has become a priority for governments. Analysing and highlighting the factors that influence the adaptive capacity of communities in these contexts have become an urgent matter for governments to overcome foreseeable threats. In this study, a qualitative bottom-up approach was used to explore the conditions affecting the drivers of adaptive capacity of three small-scale artisanal fishing communities dealing with the oil industry and threatened by climate change in Tabasco, Mexico. Information about the adaptive capacity of these communities was obtained through semi-structured interviews and was analysed using a set of proxy indicators: (1) flexibility and diversity, (2) capacity to organize, (3) learning and knowledge, and (4) access to assets. The analysis confirmed that adaptive capacity is highly context-specific but also revealed that multiple ways of adaptation are conditioned by historical social agreements and geographic location, as well as defined by adverse conditions that force individuals to diversify their income sources. Our findings emphasize the need to analyse adaptive capacity on a local scale to better inform policymakers and improve adaptation policies’ design. Reducing the negative impacts of climate change in fishing communities in Tabasco is possible, but social, economic, and cultural changes must first occur on different levels ranging from the government to the communities themselves.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_6

Although, the involvement of artisanal fishing communities in conservation and management is now commonplace, their participation rarely goes beyond providing local and traditional knowledge to visiting scientists and managers. Communities are often excluded from ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and decision-making, even though these measures can have tremendous impacts on their livelihoods. For the past 17 years, we have designed, tested, and implemented a community-based monitoring model in three key marine ecosystems in Mexico: the kelp forests of Pacific Baja California, the rocky reefs of the Gulf of California, and the coral reefs of the Mesoamerican Reef System. This model is intended to engage local fishers in data collection by fulfilling two principal objectives: (1) to achieve science-based conservation and management decisions and (2) to improve livelihoods through access to knowledge and temporary employment. To achieve these goals, over 400 artisanal fishers and community members have participated in a nationwide marine reserve program. Of these, 222 fishers, including 30 women, have been trained to conduct an underwater visual census using SCUBA gear, and, to date, over 12,000 transects have been completed. Independent scientists periodically evaluate the training process and standards, and the data contribute to international monitoring efforts. This successful model is now being adopted by both civil society and government for use in different parts of Mexico and neighbouring countries. Empowering community members to collect scientific data creates responsibility, pride, and a deeper understanding of the ecosystem in which they live and work, providing both social and ecological benefits to the community and marine ecosystem.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_7

The Galapagos Marine Reserve is one of the most recognized marine protected areas in the world, due mainly to its unique natural features. Little is known, however, about its social counterpart. This research aims to explore the Galapagos Marine Reserve governance by following the governability assessment framework, which is based on the interactive governance perspective. We claim that improved governance and incresed governability of this marine protected area, ruled under a co-management mode of governance, cannot be achieved without comprehensive understanding about the Galapagos Marine Reserve’s governing system, the systems that are being governed, and their interactions. Semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders were conducted as part of the study to illuminate the characteristics of the systems and how they interact. The analysis reveals a high degree of variation between the formal and operative structures of the systems, due largely to the complexity, dynamics, and diversity of the systems, and the multiple scales at which they operate. Further, our findings highlight that governing decisions, and thus the overall governance performance, are influenced by certain quality of the systems (e.g., inefficiency, vulnerability, misrepresentation). Along with the understanding of potential complementarity with other governance modes (e.g., hierarchical), the research identifies that the governability of the Galapagos Marine Reserve can be improved by making governance processes more transparent and by better consideration of the social component in the governing system. In that way, the marine reserve sustainability would also be enhanced.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0031-z

The resilience of small-scale shell=fisheries in Latin America is increasingly threatened by climatic and human drivers acting simultaneously at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Co-governance is emerging as a potential solution to enhance the capability of governing systems to respond to the social-ecological impacts of external drivers of change. Although there is an increasing understanding of the factors that determine the success and failures of diverse co-governance arrangements in Latin America, there is still a poor understanding about how this mode of governance responds to different crises, and how these responses are shaped by past experiences and by the features of the governing system and the system-to-be-governed. In this chapter, we evaluate how institutions learn, selforganize and respond to diverse climatic and human drivers in seven co-governance arrangements, and identify the factors that enable or inhibit building institutional adaptability. Our analysis shows that the combined impact of different drivers produced social-ecological impacts on local fishing communities’ wellbeing. In this context, institutions and actors displayed coping and adaptive responses to prevent or mitigate the damage on fishery resources and fishers’ livelihoods. These varied according to the magnitude, extent, periodicity and intensity of press and pulse perturbations, and were shaped by past crises, social-ecological memory and the particular social features of fishing communities in which institutions are embedded. In most cases, after severe crises, small-scale fishers took collaborative actions for re- organizing their cooperatives and their harvesting and trading strategies in order to prevent future crises and enter into more sustainable pathways. In conclusion, the same factors that promote (or preclude) high governability are also those that enable (or inhibit) building institutional adaptability and resilience.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_31

Most research on small-scale fisheries governance derives from developing countries, limiting our understanding of small-scale fisheries dynamics within developed nations. This knowledge gap creates disparities between these systems, limiting comparisons of similarities and differences across ranges of socioeconomic development and deriving solutions that can be feasibly applied to small-scale fisheries governance. Our chapter compares small-scale fisheries governance systems in the Hawaiian Islands and Baja California Sur, Mexico, using the interactive governance framework. Historically, collective action and self-governance were important in both regions, yet over time, have eroded due to a variety of factors. The current state of small-scale fisheries in the Hawaiian Islands and Baja California Sur, Mexico is generally characterized by open-access with low governability, but with opportunities to hybridize customary and centralized management systems through co-management. This chapter will provide insight into why this has occurred by drawing on similarities across small-scale fisheries in developed and developing country contexts, in addition to highlighting divergences occurring along the trajectory from high governability, self-governance of fisheries resources to low governability and open-access tragedies.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_11

We present an institutional ethnography and historical case study of the Vigía Chico fishing cooperative, located in the community of Punta Allen within the Biosphere Reserve of Sian Ka’an, México. The top producer of spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in the state of Quintana Roo for over 30 years, this cooperative has been claimed as an example of a sustainable artisanal fishery. To better understand and assess this success story, we performed an in-depth study of multiple factors to analyze their influence on the cooperative’s success. The indicators selected were level and form of social organization, resilience to socio-environmental perturbations, changes in fishing gear, and the fishing concession as avenue to cementing institutional success. We conducted ethnographic fieldwork over five months, complemented by an in-depth analysis of the cooperative assembly’s minutes. We found that the knowledge the cooperative acquired of the functioning of Mexican public policies was a factor in their success. Cooperative leaders were able to translate that knowledge in ways that benefitted the cooperative, enabling them to build a set of policy-responsive operational rules that could be effectively applied to artisanal fisheries more broadly. The isolated conditions of the area and the presence of natural perturbations such as hurricanes forced the community to increase their willingness to cooperate, and improved their capacity to respond as a group to perturbations. These successes in turn demonstrated the value of cooperative approaches to achieve individual and collective livelihood goals, within and beyond fishing. Such approaches have been further enhanced by the incorporation of academic knowledge and scientific techniques. We conclude that Punta Allen is a successful example of a community that has managed to creatively engage public policy instruments and translate them into effective local practices, enabling organizational persistence despite repeated changes in policies governing fisheries in Mexico.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0026-9

Like in many countries around the world, concerns about resource degradation due to high fishing intensity and use of illegal fishing gears have led to the creation of several protected areas in Mexico. Also as in other cases, these conservation efforts have not been very successful, especially in areas where boundaries are unclear; resource uses overlap, and enforcement weak. Under these circumstances, conflicts between users are likely to escalate, making the fisheries system and the protected areas ungovernable. As posited by interactive governance theory, how stakeholders interact depends partly on the inherent characteristics of the social system, including images that they have of each other, and of the governing system. Stakeholder interactions are also reflections of their willingness to cooperate with each other, which in turn affects the overall resource governability. We illustrate the importance of stakeholder cooperation for governability using a case study of two neighboring small-scale fishing communities, San Felipe and Dzilam de Bravo, on the Yucatan coast of Mexico. While sharing fishing grounds and two nested protected areas, fishers from these two communities had different images about what the protected areas were for, who benefited from them, and how they should be governed. The communities also differed in livelihood options, the level of internal organization, and in the mode of governance. Based on our findings obtained through participatory research, we discuss how to foster cooperation between small- scale fishers and promote co-governance in order to enhance resource governability in the area.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_25

Working with small-scale fishers throughout Quintana Roo, the non-governmental organization, Comunidad y Biodiversidad A.C. is leading the development of a network of marine reserves designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries in the region. Fishermen have been trained to SCUBA dive and monitor marine reserve resources, including fish and corals. They have taken part in bathymetric mapping and business management training. This brief article explains the process of stakeholder engagement, training and research, and how it is leading to the declaration and co-management of the network of reserves. This model can be replicated to promote community stewardship in other small-scale fisheries.

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

Working with small-scale fishers throughout the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, the non- governmental organization Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C. (COBI) is leading the development of a network of marine reserves designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries and marine resources in the region. Recognizing the value of protecting spawning aggregation sites from fishing, this study was designed to map and characterize spawning locations throughout the region. Based on fisher expert knowledge and a geomorphological model, we predicted the location of two, previously undocumented spawning aggregation sites. We verified the accuracy of our predictions by documenting spawning aggregation sites in both locations. Sites were characterized and mapped in collaboration with trained local fishermen using low-cost bathymetric mapping techniques, and underwater visual observations and video. This study provides increased evidence that multi-species reef fish spawning aggregation sites occur predictably at reef promontories.

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

Fisherman, Cooperative José María Azcorra, Punta Herrero, Sian Ka´an Biosphere Reserve, Quintana Roo, Mexico. “The decision to create the fish refuge was a decision made by all the cooperative members. The fishers thoroughly analyzed the proposal before making the decision, looking for the best option to improve the fishery and contribute to healthy reefs, full of fish. It is something new for the Cooperative but we know that we can contribute to a sustainable fishery, improve the quality of production and sales and at the same time improve the economic situation of the Cooperatives and its members.”

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

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

This chapter seeks to explore the governance challenges associated with lobster diving on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. Driven by external market pressure, commercial lobster diving has become a dangerous activity for Miskito men due to the inadequate equipment used by indigenous divers, the precarious working conditions under which they operate, and the environmental effects that this fishery has on the resource base. Against the backdrop of relatively recent and progressive domestic legislation promising to prohibit lobster fishing through diving, current policy debates are delaying meaningful actions to protect Miskito divers and the livelihoods of coastal communities that depend on multiple target fisheries. The chapter contends that the governance and viability of the lobster fishery would be better served through a combined strategy of law enforcement mechanisms, human rights protections, responsible labor-capital practices, and the careful consideration of alternative livelihoods for fishing communities.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_17

This contribution seeks to provide an overview of policy actions taken by the government of Nicaragua in relation to critical aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (FAO 2012) as well as the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) (FAO 2015), which are concerned with the governance of Indigenous peoples’ customary tenure systems, including the rights to aquatic resources. The chapter devotes attention to the relationship between provisions to land and aquatic rights, assesses the impact of recent programs of land titling on Indigenous collective property rights and access to fisheries, and identifies gaps in the process of implementation in the Rama-Kriol territory. It also explores the implications for the human rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples emerging from the prospective construction of an Interoceanic Canal, a large-scale infrastructure project vigorously endorsed by the Nicaraguan government. This chapter suggests that, in this context, the SSF Guidelines alone hold little practical value in shifting the balance towards protecting the rights of Indigenous fisheries. Therefore, the implementation of the Guidelines should consider their potential synergies in tandem with other instruments in national and international law.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_10

Lobster fisheries in the Wider Caribbean region offer an interesting case for governance analysis. From the onset, these fisheries have been exclusively developed for the export market and have generated considerable foreign exchange and extensive livelihood opportunities. While the development of the fishery in the region took place in a similar period (between the 1950s and 1960s) with a similar end market (mainly trade to the US), and the lobster species harvested is identical throughout the region, the governance modes employed in different countries can be quite diverse. This results in differences in exploitation of the resource, value chain of the fishery and well-being of the fisheries. However, these factors will also in turn influence governance and governability. This chapter will analyze the implications of different governing modes in three countries, Belize, Jamaica and Nicaragua, on small-scale lobster fisheries. Specifically, it looks at the commonalties and variances in the governance system and system to be governed of lobster fisheries in the three countries, as well as the developments that underlie these differences and similarities. The chapter shows that the diversity in fisheries call for particularistic governing systems, and also that their diversity is actually the result of different governing modes. The governance mode and diversity of system-to-be-governed are linked by interactive relationships, and understanding the bi-directional interactions between them is crucial in order to improve governability and the wellbeing of fishers and by extension the wider society. Governability assessment of the three fisheries shows that the co-governance governance mode of Belize, resulting in a fair system-to-be-governed and governing system is most appropriate.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_12

Small-scale fisheries in Chile, Colombia, and Peru contribute directly to the livelihoods of more than 400,000 fisherfolk. Direct interviews were conducted, and focus groups with fishers, their families, and official authorities in selected fishing communities in these countries were organized. Along with a survey conducted to estimate the contribution of small-scale fisheries to family protein consumption and income, the results showed wide differences among fishing communities. While in the Colombian Pacific the average family income derived from small-scale fishing activities is around $200 USD per month, less than the official minimum wage in Colombia, in Southern Chile small-scale fisheries-derived family income averages $728 USD per month, more than three times the official national minimum wage. A common major concern among most fishing families is the lack of social healthcare protection. As far as family consumption of protein is concerned, the results of the study show that family fish consumption depends on capture volume, cash disposal, and access to sources of protein other than fish. However, by far the major source of protein of the families involved in small-scale fisheries is fish, regardless of family purchasing power and the availability of other sources of protein. Fish consumption in small-scale fisheries-dependent families ranged between 20–291 Kg/person/year in Colombia, 104–156 Kg/person/year in Chile, and 39–218 Kg/person/year in Peru, each of which are higher than official nationally reported averages. Moreover, when capture volumes decrease or during seasonal closures, families prefer to buy fish locally or in neighboring communities rather than consume beef, chicken, or pork, regardless of price.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_14

Small-scale coastal fisheries, especially for small stocks of relatively sedentary species, are increasingly seen as candidates for still-novel governance arrangements such as adaptive co-management. Yet, co-management initiatives often expose deficiencies in capacity, communication, trust and other factors said to favor success. How then to govern fisheries with highly variable social-ecological systems? How is governability affected by low capacity and arbitrary governing interactions? How can interactive governance address these challenges? Fisheries governance in the Eastern Caribbean is hampered by limited capacity in community and state fisheries organizations, low levels of leadership, inadequate information exchange and low political priority compared to other economic sectors. Little guidance is available to assess pre-conditions and chances of successful adaptive co- management. Using sea urchin fisheries at five sites in Barbados and Saint Lucia as cases, this chapter investigates formal and informal processes and conditions for establishing, implementing and sustaining adaptive co-management. It assesses the potential for approaching co-governance grounded in understanding social- ecological fisheries systems. This informs fisheries governance by exploring opportunities and constraints through a governability lens.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_30

Ecosystem-based management is an approach that recognizes fisheries as complex socio- ecological systems. However, conventional fisheries management approaches still tend to rely on biologically-driven models to guide top-down decision-making which neglect the complexity of values and priorities that drive primary stakeholder actions. A consequence of these approaches is limited inclusion of stakeholder views in prioritization of a full range of management objectives, and an inability to evaluate performance of these objectives in pursuit of an ecosystem approach to management. In support of a more integrated and stakeholder-supported management approach, we test an application of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) as a possible tool to better incorporate multiple objective considerations into management planning and to provide a more holistic assessment of fishery health. With a focus on flyingfish fishery stakeholders in Barbados, Tobago and St. Lucia, the method develops a management framework that incorporates stakeholder feedback on the relative importance of a set of management criteria. The result of this process yields a set of management priorities for the regional flyingfish fishery that have been ranked through a simple card-sorting activity. We present a set of management priorities for the flyingfish fishery which are weighted in order of importance, by stakeholders. Such outputs can enrich and strengthen successful and transparent co-management planning, and, if the analysis is supported by appropriate baseline data, it can provide a dynamic framework for monitoring management performance across a range of social, economic, and ecological fishery objectives. Findings support the use of this approach for integrating multiple objectives into fisheries management planning, and as a framework for a more balanced consideration of multiple fisheries management objectives in analysis and decision-making.

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

Obtaining reliable socioeconomic information on small-scale fisheries for use in decision-making at multiple levels of governance remains a challenge for conventional approaches to data gathering, analysis, and interpretation on a global scale. Fisheries information is most often derived from biophysical data rather than human or socioeconomic sources. Even where socioeconomic data are used, the complexity of small-scale fisheries as adaptive social-ecological systems (SES) presents further challenges to aligning information, interventions, and objectives. This chapter presents the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management (SocMon) methodology for assessing the social-ecological dynamics of small-scale fisheries. It uses case studies from the Caribbean region, where SocMon has been applied for over 10 years, and from Brazil, which recently implemented the methodology. The cases examine how three features of SocMon—comprehensive socioeconomic data gathering linked to biophysical parameters, participatory methods that include stakeholders in data collecting and management, and integrated information and knowledge mobilization for decision-making— contribute to better understanding of small-scale fisheries dynamics. The cases outline challenges to implementing SocMon from a fisheries adaptive co-management perspective. The SocMon participatory methodology for monitoring socioeconomic dimensions and dynamics was found suitable for informing adaptive co-management and developing adaptive capacity in small-scale fisheries.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_12

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.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35627

Understanding biological and physical parameters of coastal ecosystems is vital for adaptive management. However, the socio-economic contexts of coastal management also impact success and failure. Monitoring socio-economic variables helps to guide approaches to successfully manage human interactions with natural resources at and around coastal sites. Socio-economic Monitoring for Coastal Managers (SocMon) is a global program that provides a practical and flexible standardized methodology for collecting and learning from social and economic monitoring data for coastal management. Socio-economic information from SocMon can improve decision-making on community needs for livelihoods, food security and equitable use of resources. Although SocMon was not designed for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), many of the monitoring variables are spatial. We describe methods for incorporating GIS into SocMon to develop ‘SocMon Spatial’ as an enhanced application for coastal, marine and fisheries management.

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

A critical component of any fishery is its economic viability, and understanding the underlying socioeconomic factors that affect fishing activity and profitability allows for more informed management. Nevertheless, data on small-scale fisheries in the Caribbean are limited, potentially inhibiting informed and appropriately scaled policy implementation. In an attempt to better understand the economics of reef-associated fisheries across the Caribbean, interviews were conducted with over 182 commercial reef fishers in three types of communities (heavily dependent on reef fishing, on reef tourism and on both) in each of three contrasting countries (St. Kitts and Nevis, Honduras and Barbados). For each of the nine study sites, estimated annual net revenues from reef-associated fishing ranged from US PPP$0.03–0.95 million. Reef fishing was most profitable in St. Kitts and Nevis, where fishers have access to productive lobster and conch fishing grounds and an export market. In the Bay Islands (Honduras), most reef-related revenues were derived from snapper and grouper fisheries (for export), whereas in Barbados, where these high-value species (conch, lobster, snapper and grouper) are rare, revenues were comparably low. The reef fishery also represented an important social safety net across all communities, providing employment and a potentially critical source of protein to many low-income persons. These results demonstrate the current socioeconomic benefits of reef-associated fishing to coastal communities as well as the diversity of economic values among Caribbean sites. This site diversity highlights the need for fisheries policy and management to be guided by site-specific information rather than generalized assumptions about the industry.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_13

Small-scale fishing livelihoods dependent on Caribbean coral reefs face an uncertain future with global climate change and mounting anthropogenic pressures threatening ecosystem integrity and resilience. In the context of future threats to coral reefs, improved governance is critical to enhance the efficacy of coral reef management. Recent research places increasing emphasis on identifying governance arrangements that enable participation and engagement, with the improved ‘social fit’ of institutions expected to engender stewardship among fishers. However, few studies have examined the perspectives of resource users in relation to a wide range of articulated principles for good governance processes. This study contributes to an improved understanding of how fisher perceptions relate to diverse governance arrangements in the Wider Caribbean Region. We quantify perceptions among 498 reef-dependent fishers in relation to principles of ‘good governance’ in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries: Barbados, Belize, Honduras, and St. Kitts and Nevis. We describe perceptions relating to two underlying governance themes – institutional acceptance (reflecting principles of legitimacy, transparency, fairness, and connectivity) and engagement in reef governance (reflecting principles of accountability and inclusiveness). In addition, we identify socio-demographic factors associated with each set of perceptions and explore the implications for future governance of small-scale Caribbean reef fisheries. The findings suggest that an understanding of heterogeneous perceptions within small-scale fisheries can inform more targeted interventions to improve the fit of governance arrangements for different groups. Governance may be more effective if perceptions are used to identify areas in which to pursue greater engagement of resource users in stewardship.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76078-0_20

Livelihoods that depend on Caribbean coral reef fisheries face an uncertain future as global climate change threatens the integrity of these important ecosystems. Fishers’ perceptions of past change in the environment can affect their current decision-making and behaviour. This in turn can influence the effectiveness of management measures and policies intended to conserve resources and ensure sustainable fisheries. Interviews were conducted with commercial and recreational fishers in 12 communities across four Caribbean countries (Barbados, Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis, and Belize) to identify perceptions of past change in reef-related resources and anticipated future responses to hypothetical changes in catch. The results identify diverse perceptions and anticipated responses to change both within and between communities. These are discussed in relation to the sustainability of coral reef fisheries and implications for effective management of natural resources are considered.

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

Ecosystem-based management is an approach that recognizes fisheries as complex socio- ecological systems. However, conventional fisheries management approaches still tend to rely on biologically-driven models to guide top-down decision-making which neglect the complexity of values and priorities that drive primary stakeholder actions. A consequence of these approaches is limited inclusion of stakeholder views in prioritization of a full range of management objectives, and an inability to evaluate performance of these objectives in pursuit of an ecosystem approach to management. In support of a more integrated and stakeholder-supported management approach, we test an application of multi-criteria analysis (MCA) as a possible tool to better incorporate multiple objective considerations into management planning and to provide a more holistic assessment of fishery health. With a focus on flyingfish fishery stakeholders in Barbados, Tobago and St. Lucia, the method develops a management framework that incorporates stakeholder feedback on the relative importance of a set of management criteria. The result of this process yields a set of management priorities for the regional flyingfish fishery that have been ranked through a simple card-sorting activity. We present a set of management priorities for the flyingfish fishery which are weighted in order of importance, by stakeholders. Such outputs can enrich and strengthen successful and transparent co-management planning, and, if the analysis is supported by appropriate baseline data, it can provide a dynamic framework for monitoring management performance across a range of social, economic, and ecological fishery objectives. Findings support the use of this approach for integrating multiple objectives into fisheries management planning, and as a framework for a more balanced consideration of multiple fisheries management objectives in analysis and decision-making.

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

The literature on commons has established the validity and significance of Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for collective action. Can these principles be used to guide policies and initiatives towards adaptive co-management? We analyze this idea by using two case studies, Piriápolis (Uruguay) and Paraty (Brazil). Both cases are small-scale fisheries, and both have been experiencing a social-ecological crisis in a context of prevailing top-down government management. However, there are signs that government policies are moving towards participatory governance. The objective of this article is to identify opportunities and barriers to adaptive co-management of small-scale fisheries in Uruguay and Brazil using Ostrom’s design principles for guidance. Both case studies partially meet seven of the eleven design principles (as amended by Cox and colleagues), but do not fulfill four. The analysis of the fisheries using Ostrom’s principles sheds light on the opportunities and barriers to adaptive co-management in three categories: resource system, resource users, and governance system. Barriers include long-standing conflicts between small-scale fishers and government agencies, and between small and large-scale fisheries sectors. Nevertheless, recent initiatives involving participatory approaches to research and management show potential to improve compliance with several principles. Two weaknesses of using Ostrom’s principles for the analysis of the cases were a lack of attention to social learning and the exclusion of external drivers.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-015-0032-y

The resilience of small-scale shellfisheries in Latin America is increasingly threatened by climatic and human drivers acting simultaneously at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Co-governance is emerging as a potential solution to enhance the capability of governing systems to respond to the social-ecological impacts of external drivers of change. Although there is an increasing understanding of the factors that determine the success and failures of diverse co-governance arrangements in Latin America, there is still a poor understanding about how this mode of governance responds to different crises, and how these responses are shaped by past experiences and by the features of the governing system and the system-to-be-governed. In this chapter, we evaluate how institutions learn, selforganize and respond to diverse climatic and human drivers in seven co-governance arrangements, and identify the factors that enable or inhibit building institutional adaptability. Our analysis shows that the combined impact of different drivers produced social-ecological impacts on local fishing communities’ wellbeing. In this context, institutions and actors displayed coping and adaptive responses to prevent or mitigate the damage on fishery resources and fishers’ livelihoods. These varied according to the magnitude, extent, periodicity and intensity of press and pulse perturbations, and were shaped by past crises, social-ecological memory and the particular social features of fishing communities in which institutions are embedded. In most cases, after severe crises, small-scale fishers took collaborative actions for re- organizing their cooperatives and their harvesting and trading strategies in order to prevent future crises and enter into more sustainable pathways. In conclusion, the same factors that promote (or preclude) high governability are also those that enable (or inhibit) building institutional adaptability and resilience.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17034-3_31

Empowering participatory research in which scientists, community members, and other stakeholders, are co-researchers in addressing local environmental concerns is an invaluable approach, although not without challenges. This chapter is based on a multi- stakeholder participatory research initiative in Piriápolis (coastal Uruguay), involving artisanal fishers, university scientists, a fisheries manager and NGO representatives. The two main problems addressed collectively were the sea lion impact on the artisanal fishery, and the market competition from imported pangasius. Based on the evaluation performed throughout the first year of this participatory research initiative, the main process features (e.g., involvement of all stakeholder groups in every research stage), outcomes (e.g., social learning) and challenges (e.g., low fisher participation) are presented. These, along with the advantages and disadvantages of participatory research (as recognized by fishers and scientists), are discussed in light of the trend of promoting participatory approaches to research and management. The contributions of multi-stakeholder participatory research to enhance stewardship are also addressed.

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

Approaches that promote some kind of community participation have been increasingly used for addressing socio-environmental problems. One of these approaches is participatory research (PR), a research strategy in which diverse stakeholders work collaboratively around an issue of common interest. The group formed to carry out the research participates horizontally in every stage, from choosing the research question to the dis­semination of the results. The application of this approach in university education represents a challenge from various perspectives: it redefines the role of the specialist; it questions the traditional views of science and its method; and it promotes the reflection, not only about these topics but about the research/action binomial. After characterizing the participatory research approach, the objective of this paper is to describe three experiences of university education related to a participatory research in the artisanal fishery of Piriápolis (Uruguay). Based on them we discuss the potentials and challenges of the inclusion of this approach in university education in Uruguay. The PR in Piriápolis was initiated in 2011 aiming at addressing local problems of the artisanal fishery among different stakeholders: artisanal fishers, university researchers, government agency in charge of fisheries management, and NGOs. This PR was initiated during a doctoral research, encompassed an undergraduate research, and served as a platform for an undergraduate course in sciences. From these experiences we argue that PR represents a transdisciplinary approach that strengthens, methodologically and conceptually, university initiatives for integral education with emphasis on inter or transdisciplinarity and knowledge dialogue. Additio­nally, PR can be compatible with undergraduate and graduate theses, and can be linked to diverse educational platforms.

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v32i0.35603