Micro-level explanations for emergent patterns of self-governance arrangements in small-scale fisheries-A modeling approach.

Lindkvist, Emilie

Basurto, Xavier

Schlüter, Maja

2019-06-01T15:19:07Z

2019-06-01T15:19:07Z

2017-01

2019-06-01T15:19:05Z

Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in developing countries are expected to play a significant role in poverty alleviation and enhancing food security in the decades to come. To realize this expectation, a better understanding of their informal self-governance arrangements is critical for developing policies that can improve fishers' livelihoods and lead to sustainable ecosystem stewardship. The goal of this paper is to develop a more nuanced understanding of micro-level factors-such as fishers' characteristics and behavior-to explain observed differences in self-governance arrangements in Northwest Mexico. We focus on two ubiquitous forms of self-governance: hierarchical non-cooperative arrangements between fishers and fishbuyers, such as patron-client relationships (PCs), versus more cooperative arrangements amongst fishers, such as fishing cooperatives (co-ops). We developed an agent-based model of an archetypical SSF that captures key hypotheses from in-depth fieldwork in Northwest Mexico of fishers' day-to-day fishing and trading. Results from our model indicate that high diversity in fishers' reliability, and low initial trust between co-op members, makes co-ops' establishment difficult. PCs cope better with this kind of diversity because, in contrast to co-ops, they have more flexibility in choosing whom to work with. However, once co-ops establish, they cope better with seasonal variability in fish abundance and provide long-term security for the fishers. We argue that existing levels of trust and diversity among fishers matter for different self-governance arrangements to establish and persist, and should therefore be taken into account when developing better, targeted policies for improved SSFs governance.

PONE-D-16-12262

1932-6203

1932-6203

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18611

eng

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

PloS one

10.1371/journal.pone.0175532

Animals

Fishes

Models, Economic

Cooperative Behavior

Conservation of Natural Resources

Fisheries

Food Supply

Mexico

Micro-level explanations for emergent patterns of self-governance arrangements in small-scale fisheries-A modeling approach.

Journal article

Basurto, Xavier|0000-0002-5321-3654

e0175532

4

Nicholas School of the Environment

Duke

Marine Science and Conservation

Published

12