Institutions and collective action in a Costa Rican small-scale fisheries cooperative: the case of CoopeTárcoles R.L

Abstract

CoopeTarcoles R.L is a cooperative on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica that has obtained better conditions for its members in the context of small-scale sustainable fisheries for over thirty years. Documents from the cooperative and interviews with diverse stakeholders provided information on the catalytic factors that have made CoopeTarcoles R.L advance towards small-scale fisheries sustainability. A political framework provided by the State concerned with social welfare, the adaptation of the organizational cooperative model to local needs and a community-based governance model for fishery management have been crucial in this regard. Information gathered shows that this collective enterprise has been able to create alternative and gender balanced sources of employment, lead environmental and ecosystem improvement and obtain better prices for fishery products across its three decades of existence. The cooperative, being a local, collective and inclusive initiative, has turned into an engine for community sustainable development, recognizing the value of small-scale fishers' identity and its importance for the well being of the area. Several factors combined to be crucial for the long-term vision of the fishers in the cooperative and their successful path towards sustainable development. This study highlights the initial support of the government for the creation of a collective organization with adequate infrastructure, the structural changes that led to responsible fishing being promoted by the recognition of a Marine Responsible Fishing Area, and the more equitable relationships supported 15 years ago by another cooperative (CoopeSoliDar R.L.) dealing with human rights and marine conservation.

Do responsible fishing areas work? Comparing collective action challenges in three small-scale fisheries in Costa Rica

“…In addition, there is a clear necessity to promote more inclusive decisionmaking processes for fisheries governance that can empower local communities to develop and enforce responsible fishing areas that align with their own interests and goals, as these mechanisms have worked in cases such as Paquera-Tambor, or notably in Tárcoles AMPR (Rivera et al 2017). It is also necessary to consider strategies that link together networks of AMPR to govern mobile species because they may not always be confined within a spatial area.…”

“…However, few studies to our knowledge have examined the successes and challenges of the AMPRs empirically (i.e. Fargier et al 2014;García Lozano and Heinen 2016a;Rivera et al 2017;Sabau 2017), all of which examined the same community of Tárcoles, only one of seven AMPRs in the Gulf of Nicoya. Thus, this study provides a much-needed empirical examination of the challenges facing the practical implementation of the AMPR model, and perhaps the FAO SSF guidelines more broadly, in three different AMPRs.…”

Rural Financial Inclusion: Prospects and Challenges of Collective Action in Extending Financial Services among Rural Smallholders Farmers in Tanzania

“…Collective action is to action taken jointly by a group of people whose target is to boost their status and achieve a common objective (see e.g. Langergraber et al, 2017;Rivera et al, 2017;Offe and Wiesenthal, 1980). Based on the number of members from SACCOS, AMCOS or FAs in a particular location, it indicates that many people in the study areas believe in collective action.…”

When a Shark Is More Than a Shark: A Sociopolitical Problem-Solving Approach to Fisher-Shark Interactions

“…Martin and Hall-Arber, 2008;Carruthers and Neis, 2011). To improve outcomes, fisheries solutions might deliberately consider fisher identities, cultures, and physical and financial risks (Faasen and Watts, 2007;Coulthard et al, 2011;Rivera et al, 2017).…”