Ecosystem trends: evidence for agreement between fishers' perceptions and scientific information

Abstract

Rochet, M-J., Prigent, M., Bertrand, J. A., Carpentier, A., Coppin, F., Delpech, J-P., Fontenelle, G., Foucher, E., Mahé, K., Rostiaux, E., and Trenkel, V. M. 2008. Ecosystem trends: evidence for agreement between fishers' perceptions and scientific information. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1057–1068. The results of a survey on fishers' perceptions of recent changes in the eastern English Channel ecosystem carried out in 2006 were compared with fishery and bottom-trawl survey data. A hypothesis-testing framework was used, testing the null hypothesis that fishers' statements were true, which permitted evaluation of both agreement and disagreement. Overall good agreement between fishers' statements and scientific data was found, and both sources suggested that the fish community in the Channel is undergoing large changes, among which are decreases in some commercially important species; in addition, a number of human pressures impact the ecosystem. Fishers had an accurate perception of changes and their time-frames, but not necessarily of their causes. They had a greater power than survey data to detect recent changes, showing that fishers' perceptions have great potential as early warning signals.

Perceptions of trends in Seychelles artisanal trap fisheries: comparing catch monitoring, underwater visual census and fishers' knowledge

“…Fishers may be able to perceive trends rapidly and at small scales, which, owing to subtle increases in fishing effort or efficiency, or aggregation over large scales, are not detectable by landings data (Neis et al 1999;Rochet et al 2008). Meanwhile, landings data may better detect large-scale trends from background variability by integrating the catches of many different fishers (van Densen 2001).…”

“…Firstly, FK is thought to contain useful information to improve the performance of fisheries management (Jentoft et al 1998;. FK may encompass a finer spatial resolution and be more up to date than formal scientific knowledge (Rochet et al 2008). FK often also provides a longer historical perspective than other data sources (Dulvy & Polunin 2004;Ames 2007;Lavides et al 2009), especially in tropical reef fisheries (Johannes 1998) and has broader scope.…”

Fishers' knowledge identifies environmental changes and fish abundance trends in impounded tropical rivers

“…Researchers working in the fields of applied ecology and resource management have increasingly used LEK to fill gaps in scientific knowledge, to devise new testable scientific hypotheses and to propose participative management measures (Johannes et al 2000, White et al 2005, Brook and McLachlan 2008, Rochet et al 2008, Silvano and Valbo-Jorgensen 2008, Irvine et al 2009). In addition to its application in improving knowledge about specific organisms, the LEK of resource users can also be helpful for evaluating broader environmental changes over temporal scales ranging from years to decades.…”

“…In addition to its application in improving knowledge about specific organisms, the LEK of resource users can also be helpful for evaluating broader environmental changes over temporal scales ranging from years to decades. For example, LEK has been useful for evaluating the temporal patterns of fish abundance and associated ecosystem processes in the North Atlantic (Rochet et al 2008), changes in the vegetation composition and productivity of grazing fields (Fernandez-Gimenez 2000), fish kills linked to the hydrological cycle in a tropical wetland (Calheiros et al 2000), the hydrodynamics of an alpine lake (Laborde et al 2012) and the long-term impacts of changes in climatic conditions and ice cover for Arctic animals (Huntington 2011). However, although the potential of LEK is currently recognized, few studies have compared LEK and biological data from the same region and at the same spatial scale (Aswani and Hamilton 2004, Salomon et al 2007, Jones et al 2008, Rochet et al 2008, Silvano and Begossi 2010, Daw et al 2011, few of these comparative surveys have been conducted in freshwater ecosystems .…”

Preference Modeling to Support Stakeholder Outreach toward the Common Fishery Policy Objectives in the North Mediterranean Sea

“…Industry-science cooperation could ensure more coherent information, enhance credibility, as well as contribute to the progressive implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fishery Management (EAFM). This process entails the integration of stakeholder's local and traditional knowledge on both research-based advice and identification of management directions (e.g., Garcia and Cochrane, 2005;Cochrane et al, 2007;Rochet et al, 2008;Röckmann et al, 2012). The production of the northern Mediterranean (European countries) represents approximately 35% of the production in the basin (FAO, 2016).…”