An overview of commercial fishers’ attitudes towards marine protected areas

Abstract

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are attracting widespread attention worldwide as a tool for fishery management and marine ecosystem conservation. The establishment of MPAs has increased greatly in recent years mostly due to international commitments to the establishment of a global network of MPAs by 2012. MPAs have the potential to strongly affect the fishing industry, and their success depends, at least partly, on fishers' attitudes towards this management measure. However, research on MPAs tends to focus on the ecological and conservation aspects of this management approach and not on its human dimensions. Studies in attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and preferences related to MPA issues have been identified as priority social science topics in need of research. We present a 'rapid review', conducted systematically, of the literature published up to September 2009 and aimed at identifying the most investigated topics related to commercial fishers' attitudes towards MPAs, describing the main findings from these studies, and analysing the implications for management. Most published work focuses on fishers' attitudes towards issues of governance, conservation of biodiversity and the environment, and the impact of MPAs on fishing activity. Despite the recent increase in the literature on the human dimensions of MPAs, the present review reveals that little of this literature originates from empirical studies. Hence, given the forthcoming increase in the implementation of MPAs in the near future, research on fishers' attitudes towards these management measures is critically needed.

Challenging the win-win discourse on conservation and development: analyzing support for marine protected areas

“…Although community support is rarely defined in the MPA literature, often it is implied that it relates to attitudes of the community toward the MPA, which are then often considered to be a predictor of compliance (Fig. 1, arrow a; Pomeroy and Carlos 1997, White and Vogt 2000, Beger et al 2004, Pita et al 2011. In turn, empirical work has elucidated a link between levels of compliance or enforcement and various measures of MPA ecological success (Fig.…”

Stakeholder Perceptions and Preferences for Coral Reef Restoration and Sustainable Resource Management

“…In the Sanctuary, distrust eased over time, and a ten-year comparison study found that attitudes among fishers and other users had become more favorable by 2007 (Shivlani 2008). This agrees with the finding across studies worldwide that older marine protected areas engender more support (Pita 2011). …”

“…These vary greatly by size and by regulation, and fishers often oppose their creation (Salz 2004). Globally, studies of commercial fishers find that they tend to disapprove of no-take zones, and they are more likely to approve of a Marine Protected Area with the purpose of fishery management instead of conservation management, while this view was reversed for scuba divers and researchers (Pita 2011). As a relatively new and rapidly developing conservation strategy, MPAs require further study.…”

Marine protected area and the spatial distribution of the gill net fishery in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

“…This suggests that regulations concerning fishing operations within the MPA may have a limited impact for gill netting at CPZ13, and such regulations will not have conservation effects for the most sought after species. Fishers may be reticent about the negative impacts of marine protected areas in their catch, due to potential restrictions and regulations (Agardy et al, 2003;Pita et al, 2011). In fact, top down interventions to protect threatened species and habitats may intensify clashes between fishers and conservationists (Batista et al, 2014;McGoodwin, 2001).…”