Tenure and taboos: origins and implications for fisheries in the Pacific

Foale, Simon, Cohen, Philippa, Januchowski-Hartley, Stephanie, Wenger, Amelia, and Macintyre, Martha (2011) Tenure and taboos: origins and implications for fisheries in the Pacific. Fish and Fisheries, 12 (4). pp. 357-369.

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Abstract

We present demographic, social, historical and ecological data to challenge the generalization that traditional tenure and fishing taboos constitute cultural adaptations that evolved to prevent over-harvesting of subsistence fisheries in the Pacific. In particular, we re-examine the seminal and widely cited arguments of Johannes (Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1978; 9, 349–364), which constructed tenure and taboos primarily as traditional fishery management tools for the entire Pacific region. While it is difficult to disprove Johannes’ logic for some sites, particularly in formerly densely populated parts of Polynesia and Micronesia, our review of data and literature for Melanesia indicate very different origins and functions for these institutions. Our study shows that human population densities in most of the Western Pacific prior to European colonial intrusions were too low to have generated sufficient fishing pressure to drive the evolution of a conservation ethic. Our review for Melanesia shows that customary marine tenure and fishing taboos are primarily designed to manage relationships between social groups, rather than to sustain food security from fisheries. We argue that proper recognition of the cultural role of tenure and taboos is critical to progressing marine resource management in Melanesia.

Item ID: 15609
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1467-2979
Keywords: culture; demography; functionalism; human ecology; Melanesia; traditional management
Funders: ARC
Date Deposited: 31 Oct 2011 12:48
FoR Codes: 16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1601 Anthropology > 160104 Social and Cultural Anthropology @ 40%
05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050210 Pacific Peoples Environmental Knowledge @ 30%
05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050209 Natural Resource Management @ 30%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950599 Understanding Past Societies not elsewhere classified @ 30%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960506 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments @ 40%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society @ 30%
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