Public Officials’ Knowledge of Advances and Gaps for Implementing the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries in Chile (original) (raw)
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Identifying priority areas for improvement in Chilean fisheries
Frontiers in Marine Science
Chile is amidst an unprecedented legal and institutional change since the restoration of democracy at the end of the 80’s, which is expected to affect fisheries governance. A global lead in marine resource landings, Chile implemented significant fisheries management reforms in the past decade. Yet, Chilean fisheries still face sustainability challenges. In this paper we reflect on the results of a survey carried out in 2019-2020 with key informants aimed to identify fisheries policy reform priorities in country. Addressing Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; Developing a priority national research agenda to improve fisheries management in Chile; Addressing the lack of legitimacy of the fisheries law; Developing a new national fisheries policy; and Update the Artisanal Fisheries Registry were identified as priority topics by respondents.
As part of their efforts to improve the national fisheries management system, Chilean fisheries authorities have identified the need to develop a fisheries research program based on state-of-the-art fisheries knowledge and information systems. To meet this challenge, a structural matrix analysis of the existing cognitive system and a literature review was conducted. Knowledge gaps were identified through a comparison of the literature review and a conceptual model. The analysis suggests that research has largely been focused on fisheries biology studies, with little emphasis given to oceanographic factors, while almost no research on economic, social, or governability factors has been conducted. The analysis points to those elements that are needed to establish a research program that addresses priority elements towards the goal of sustainable fisheries in Chile. In spite of the analysis conducted on governance aspects of the existing fisheries management system, the analysis presented here is mainly focused on oceanographic, biological, technological, and economic aspects of the Chilean fisheries system. Thus, there is a need for further analysis of both social and governance aspects of fisheries.
PLOS ONE, 2021
Increasing attention is paid to the interdependence between the ecological and human dimensions to improve the management of natural resources. Understanding how artisanal fishers see and use the common-pool resources in a co-management system may hold the clue to establishing effective coastal fisheries policies or strengthening existing ones. A more comprehensive planning of the system will also have a bearing on how to reduce conflicts and strengthen social networks. We surveyed artisanal fishers and decision-makers to determine their perceptions about the Management and Exploitation Areas of Benthic Resources (known as MEABR) in Chile’s Biobio region. We performed a field study from November 2018 to August 2019, applying a set of questionnaires to determine the ecological and human attributes that contribute to MEABR outcomes, and then constructed composite scores for those attributes according to a multidimensional scaling technique (“Rapfish”). We find that fishers have differ...
2015
This technical paper comprises a series of reviews and case studies, compiled by an interdisciplinary group of experts, from Latin American countries regarding fishers' knowledge (FK) and its application to fisheries management under the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF). This publication responds to the pressing need for theoretical frameworks, practical examples and guidance on what FK encompasses and how this knowledge and experience can be integrated into management of fisheries resources under the EAF. The papers highlight underlying principles for working with FK, good practices and lessons learned in knowledge exchange with fishers, and the role of government and legal frameworks in the context of both marine and inland fisheries.
3. Meeting the Challenge of Applying an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management
Towards Marine Ecosystem-Based Management in the Wider Caribbean, 2011
Originally motivated by ecosystem sustainability concerns, the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has come to integrate all the elements needed for the realisation of sustainable development in fisheries, including those relevant to the ecological, socioeconomic and institutional dimensions. Despite its perceived complexity, pragmatic approaches are developing such as the one adopted by the FAO guidelines (FAO 2003, 2005), and FAO is introducing and facilitating actual implementation in a number of countries and regions. While lack of detailed scientific knowledge is seen by many as the main hindrance to the realisation of EAF, preliminary observations based on the work done through FAO projects indicate that stakeholders regard poor governance and external drivers as the main threats to sustainability. In relation to knowledge needs, two opposite attitudes have emerged to address the broad range of issues and the complexity that EAF entails. One must almost dismiss the usefulness of scientific knowledge for sustainable management and instead focus on the participatory decision-making process to achieve sustainability. This attitude also recognises that scientific knowledge is often not understood and therefore not perceived as legitimate by stakeholders. The other, opposite view regards detailed scientific knowledge as a prerequisite for the EAF to succeed. The FAO's EAF guidelines, consistent with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, encourage the use of the 'best available knowledge' in fisheries management, a phrase that embodies two basic principles of the EAF, i.e. seeking improved knowledge but not postponing important decisions because of lack of complete knowledge. Furthermore, given the high level of uncertainty that characterises many ecosystem issues and the increased number of fisheries management objectives, more attention
Navigating transformations in governance of Chilean marine coastal resources
Proceedings of the …, 2010
Marine ecosystems are in decline. New transformational changes in governance are urgently required to cope with overfishing, pollution, global changes, and other drivers of degradation. Here we explore social, political, and ecological aspects of a transformation in governance of Chile's coastal marine resources, from 1980 to today. Critical elements in the initial preparatory phase of the transformation were (i) recognition of the depletion of resource stocks, (ii) scientific knowledge on the ecology and resilience of targeted species and their role in ecosystem dynamics, and (iii) demonstration-scale experimental trials, building on smaller-scale scientific experiments, which identified new management pathways. The trials improved cooperation among scientists and fishers, integrating knowledge and establishing trust. Political turbulence and resource stock collapse provided a window of opportunity that triggered the transformation, supported by new enabling legislation. Essential elements to navigate this transformation were the ability to network knowledge from the local level to influence the decision-making processes at the national level, and a preexisting social network of fishers that provided political leverage through a national confederation of artisanal fishing collectives. The resultant governance scheme includes a revolutionary national system of marine tenure that allocates user rights and responsibilities to fisher collectives. Although fine tuning is necessary to build resilience of this new regime, this transformation has improved the sustainability of the interconnected social-ecological system. Our analysis of how this transformation unfolded provides insights into how the Chilean system could be further developed and identifies generalized pathways for improved governance of marine resources around the world.
Challenges for Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management
Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 2012
The ecosystem approach is being promoted as the foundation of solutions to the unsustainability of fisheries. However, because the ecosystem approach is broadly inclusive, the science for its implementation is often considered to be overly complex and difficult. When the science needed for an ecosystem approach to fisheries is perceived this way, science products cannot keep pace with fisheries critics, thus encouraging partisan political interference in fisheries management and proliferation of "faith-based solutions. In this paper we argue that one way to effectively counter politicization of fisheries decision-making is to ensure that new ecosystem-based approaches in fisheries are viewed only as an emergent property of innovation in science and policy. We organize our essay using three major themes to focus the discussion: empirical, jurisdictional, and societal challenges. We undertake at least partial answers to the following questions: (1) has conventional fisheries management really failed?;