Culturally significant fisheries: keystones for management of freshwater social-ecological systems

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Indigenous peoples of North America, Australia, and New Zealand have a long tradition of harvesting freshwater animals. Over generations of reliance and subsistence harvesting, Indigenous peoples have acquired a profound understanding of these freshwater animals and ecosystems that have become embedded within their cultural identity. We have identified trans-Pacific parallels in the cultural significance of several freshwater animal groups, such as eels, other finfish, bivalves, and crayfish, to Indigenous peoples and their understanding and respect for the freshwater ecosystems on which their community survival depends. In recognizing such cultural connections, we found that non-Indigenous peoples can appreciate the deep significance of freshwater animals to Indigenous peoples and integrate Indigenous stewardship and Indigenous ecological knowledge into effective comanagement strategies for sustainable freshwater fisheries, such as Indigenous rangers, research partnerships, and Indigenous Protected Areas. Given that many of these culturally significant freshwater species also play key ecological roles in freshwater ecosystems, their recognition and prioritization in management and monitoring approaches should help sustain the health and well-being of both the social and ecological components of freshwater ecosystems.

Looking beyond fishing: Conservation of keystone freshwater species to support a diversity of socio‐economic values

“…Community engagement during the design and development of conservation and management approaches has tended to focus on issues and views from stakeholders who derive extractive (harvest) or non‐extractive (tourism) economic value from the species (Hesselink, Goldstein, van Kempen, Garnett, & Dela, ; MEA, ; Todd et al, ; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), ). An emerging body of literature has uncovered how aquatic species support complex cultural relationships and non‐economic values across different sectors of society, fitting the definition of a CKS (Cristancho & Vining, ; Garibaldi & Turner, ; Noble et al, ), the present study showed that E. armatus is an important part of the cultural identity of stakeholders across the MDB, who view the species as a social–ecological keystone. Aboriginal Traditional Owners consider E. armatus to be a CKS by supporting subsistence harvests, ceremonies, totemic beliefs (e.g.…”

“…Harvesting a threatened species is often a complex issue because these species often support cultural connections for First Nations Peoples. Aboriginal People are often adversely affected by top‐down government policies that fail to understand the importance of traditional access to a biological resource (Noble et al, ; Schnierer & Egan, ; Smyth, Isherwood, & Schnierer, ). For instance, Aboriginal communities still rely on E. armatus as an important subsistence and cultural food source in parts of New South Wales, where populations are still found in moderate numbers (S. Schnierer, pers.…”

“…Species conservation is a complex issue that requires active human involvement, support, and voluntary compliance with management interventions to be effective both economically and ecologically (Beierle & Cayford, ; Berkes, ; Paavola & Hubacek, ). A major source of complexity arises from the spectrum of societal importance placed upon species, which can include economic value for fishing or tourism, the provision of cultural foods and practices, fostering enjoyment of a natural aesthetic, and supporting a sense of place and identity (Caro, ; MEA, ; Noble et al, ). By understanding and supporting the wider spectrum of socio‐economic values around a species, there are ways to develop inclusive conservation approaches that generate intrinsic support and compliance from a diversity of stakeholders (Bowen‐Jones & Entwistle, ; Waylen, Fischer, Mcgowan, Thirgood, & Milner‐Gulland, ).…”

“…In response, relevant government jurisdictions have listed E. armatus as threatened, but have adopted varying approaches that range from full protection (in Australian Capital Territory and South Australia) to restricted recreational harvests (in New South Wales and Victoria). Although such regional declines in this freshwater crayfish may have had considerable social (Noble et al, ) and ecological implications for the affected regions, an understanding of these social impacts remains limited to fishing‐related aspects (Todd et al, ).…”

Symbolic species as a cultural ecosystem service in the European Alps: insights and open issues

“…Hence, there is little evidence that symbolic values depend on the presence of the species in our case. Nevertheless, we argue that it is important to safeguard symbolic species and related cultural values to manage successfully social-ecological systems on the long-term (Noble et al 2016). Symbolic species are emotionally significant to many Alpine residents, but they may be vulnerable to global change and their extinction may affect their symbolic meaning.…”