Addressing poaching in marine protected areas through voluntary surveillance and enforcement

Bergseth, Brock J., Gurney, Georgina G., Barnes, Michele L., Arias, Adrian, and Cinner, Joshua E. (2018) Addressing poaching in marine protected areas through voluntary surveillance and enforcement. Nature Sustainability, 1. pp. 421-426.

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Abstract

Poaching renders many of the world's marine protected areas ineffective. Because enforcement capacity is often limited, managers are attempting to bolster compliance by engaging the latent surveillance potential of fishers. However, little is known about how fishers respond when they witness poaching. Here, we surveyed 2,111 fishers living adjacent to 55 marine protected areas in seven countries and found that 48% had previously observed poaching. We found that the most common response was inaction, with the primary reasons being: (1) conflict avoidance; (2) a sense that it was not their responsibility or jurisdiction; and (3) the perception that poaching was a survival strategy. We also quantified how institutional design elements or conditions were related to how fishers responded to poaching, and highlight ways in which fishers can be engaged while mitigating risks. These include emphasizing how poaching personally affects each fisher, promoting stewardship and norms of personal responsibility and poverty alleviation to reduce the need for fishers to poach for survival.

Item ID: 55306
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2398-9629
Copyright Information: © 2018 Springer Nature Limited. All rights reserved
Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC), Pew Charitable Trust (PCT)
Date Deposited: 05 Sep 2018 09:29
FoR Codes: 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410404 Environmental management @ 70%
52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified @ 30%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960507 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments @ 60%
83 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8302 Fisheries - Wild Caught > 830201 Fisheries Recreational @ 20%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970105 Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences @ 20%
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