Compliance and Governance in Small-Scale Fisheries
Anastasia's research blends qualitative and quantitative methods in novel ways to understand how fisherfolks collaborate in sustainable use and conservation. In her seminar, she challenges us to think differently about the tools and models we use to measure non-compliance in fisheries. She uncovers insights into the relationship between compliance and governance that are valuable in natural resource systems beyond fisheries.
—Ignacia Rivera, PhD Candidate, Bren School
Email events@bren.ucsb.edu to request access to a recording of this talk.
ABSTRACT
Noncompliance threatens the sustainability of the commons. The rise of bottom-up governance is premised on the assumption that resource users comply more when they are involved in rule-making. However, there is limited evidence linking governance and compliance because the gold standard for measuring compliance as a binary (comply/not comply) maps poorly onto the complexity of formal and informal rules that characterize commons governance. In this talk, I discuss a new methodological tool to diagnose compliance types using a two-dimensional model. We developed and used this tool to examine whether self-governance increases regulatory compliance with marine protected areas, a widespread tool for fisheries management, through the analysis of a survey of fisher attitudes collected by the nonprofit organization, Rare, in seven countries. Using a cluster analysis, we found four compliance ideal-types: committed, supportive, ambivalent, and resistant. Top-down governance was associated with more resistant fishers while bottom-up governance was associated with more committed fishers. Contrary to our expectations, co-management was indistinguishable from top-down governance. Based on the ratios of different compliance types, we suggest several policy levers that could improve governance. This study suggests that more attention should be given to how resources users perceive rules rather than just the behavior of compliance.
BIO
Anastasia Quintana is a professional researcher at UCSB's Marine Science Institute studying the human dimensions of small-scale fisheries management and coastal conservation. Her research explores how and why fisherfolk work together to sustain their fisheries in the face of pressures from international trade, capitalism, climate change, and patchwork regulations. She works side-by-side with fishers, their chosen representatives, and nonprofit organizations that work with communities. Anastasia is a UCSB alumna, with a B.A. from UCSB and a Ph.D. from Duke University. When she is not doing research or teaching, Anastasia is usually salsa dancing or playing beach volleyball.