Fishers as advocates of marine protected areas: a case study from Galicia (NW Spain)

Lucia Perez de Oliveira

Marine Policy, 2013, vol. 41, issue C, 95-102

Abstract: After years of facing problems such as overfishing, illegal fisheries and the consequences of the Prestige oil spill, the fishermen's association (cofradia) of Lira, a small town in the coast of Galicia (NW Spain), has pioneered a co-management initiative in the region by proposing the creation of a marine reserve. The proposal was designed and developed by the fishers in partnership with biologists and social scientists, environmentalists and members of the autonomous government of Galicia in a highly participatory process. The views of different stakeholders on the implementation process for the marine reserve were assessed through a programme of semi-structured interviews. These findings were also used to analyse issues related to the implementation process employing a governance analysis framework. It was observed that the inclusion of fishers in the decision-making and the use of their traditional ecological knowledge in the design of the reserve promoted a better understanding of its benefits and an improved compliance with the fishing regulations. The effectiveness of the marine reserve was very high during the first years but it has been recently undermined due to the reduction of financial state support for enforcement in the light of the current economic recession. Whilst this marine reserve was driven by the stakeholders, the prospects depend on an adequate state enforcement capacity.

Keywords: Cofradia; Co-management; Overfishing; Sustainable fishing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:marpol:v:41:y:2013:i:c:p:95-102

DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.12.024

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