Tropical coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific region are degrading rapidly as ocean temperatures rise and local anthropogenic stressors increase. In this context of rapid change, effective site-based management of coral reef fisheries necessitates flexible environmental governance that is closely attuned to the needs of multiple stakeholders who depend on the fishery for income, food, and cultural identity. As such, many practitioners and scholars call for adaptive co-management of coral reef fisheries where local resource users play a primary role in environmental governance with the support of flexible institutions that operate across organizational scales. This article describes the history andmore »
This content will become publicly available on August 17, 2022
Reef Conservation off the Hook: Can Market Interventions Make Coral Reef Fisheries More Sustainable?
The overexploitation of coral reef fisheries threatens the persistence of reef ecosystems and the livelihoods and food security of millions of people. Market-based initiatives to increase fisheries sustainability have been widely implemented in industrialized commodity fisheries, but the suitability of these initiatives for coral reef fisheries has not been systematically investigated. Here, we present a typology of market-based interventions and coral reef fisheries sectors and identity promising approaches for each fishery archetype. For high value, export-oriented reef fisheries that are highly unsustainable (live reef food fish and dried sea cucumbers), traditional regulatory efforts including trade restrictions will be most effective. For high-value, export-oriented fisheries for highly fecund invertebrates (lobsters and mollusks), certification and ratings efforts, fishery improvement projects, and sustainable purchasing commitments can improve fishing practices and increase fisher market access and revenue. For lower-value fisheries targeting species for domestic or regional consumption, sustainable purchasing commitments among local buyers, consumer awareness campaigns, and local certification and ratings schemes hold promise for shifting attitudes toward sustainability and increasing food security for local communities. Finally, fisher empowerment efforts including direct access to local markets and market information, training on improved post-harvest methods, and formation of fisher associations hold promise for increasing fisher more »
- Award ID(s):
- 1923649
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10314116
- Journal Name:
- Frontiers in Marine Science
- Volume:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 2296-7745
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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