The use of optimal foraging theory to assess the fishing strategies of Pacific Island artisanal fishers: A methodological review
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440038 , vital:73730
- Description: Artisanal fisheries play a major role in the social, cultural, and economic life of most Pacific Islanders, particularly in rural communities where people are highly dependent on marine resources for subsistence and commercial purposes. Yet, marine resources are being threatened by pressure from exploding human populations and the increasing commercialisation of the subsistence fishery—circumstances which are now forcing researchers to find novel ways to examine issues of coastal management and marine resource conservation. Among the most recent approaches to coastal management has been to study marine ecological processes in conjunction with those of the contiguous shoreline and upland habitats, or what has been termed Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). From the standpoint of maritime anthropology, any comprehensive study of the integration of marine and terrestrial biotic components requires the parallel consideration of human activities, including existing property regimes, resource access and distribution rules, and resource exploitation strategies. Although numerous studies have concentrated on the social aspects of Pacific Island artisanal fisheries (eg Johannes, 1981; Hviding, 1996; Lieber, 1994), few have dealt explicitly with the micro-ecology of daily humanmarine interactions (see Aswani, 1997; Bird and Bird, 1997). Such neglect has hampered attempts to fully integrate studies of environmental coastal processes with those of human activities. In this paper, I examine the utility of optimal foraging theory and its methodology, as applied to the study of Pacific Island artisanal fishers. The inclusion of foraging theory can contribute to building a clearer anthropological model to describe the relationship between human foraging and fishery management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440038 , vital:73730
- Description: Artisanal fisheries play a major role in the social, cultural, and economic life of most Pacific Islanders, particularly in rural communities where people are highly dependent on marine resources for subsistence and commercial purposes. Yet, marine resources are being threatened by pressure from exploding human populations and the increasing commercialisation of the subsistence fishery—circumstances which are now forcing researchers to find novel ways to examine issues of coastal management and marine resource conservation. Among the most recent approaches to coastal management has been to study marine ecological processes in conjunction with those of the contiguous shoreline and upland habitats, or what has been termed Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). From the standpoint of maritime anthropology, any comprehensive study of the integration of marine and terrestrial biotic components requires the parallel consideration of human activities, including existing property regimes, resource access and distribution rules, and resource exploitation strategies. Although numerous studies have concentrated on the social aspects of Pacific Island artisanal fisheries (eg Johannes, 1981; Hviding, 1996; Lieber, 1994), few have dealt explicitly with the micro-ecology of daily humanmarine interactions (see Aswani, 1997; Bird and Bird, 1997). Such neglect has hampered attempts to fully integrate studies of environmental coastal processes with those of human activities. In this paper, I examine the utility of optimal foraging theory and its methodology, as applied to the study of Pacific Island artisanal fishers. The inclusion of foraging theory can contribute to building a clearer anthropological model to describe the relationship between human foraging and fishery management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
What’s in a name? An analysis of the West Nggela (Solomon Islands) fish taxonomy
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440074 , vital:73733
- Description: Accurate knowledge about the behaviour, biology and ecology of organisms comprising marine fisheries is a vital prerequisite for their management. Before beginning any study on local knowledge of marine fauna, a working knowledge of their local names must be obtained. Moreover, a great deal of local knowledge can often emerge in the very process of obtaining names (Ruddle, 1994). A detailed treatment of the local naming system of West Nggela marine fauna is given in this paper.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440074 , vital:73733
- Description: Accurate knowledge about the behaviour, biology and ecology of organisms comprising marine fisheries is a vital prerequisite for their management. Before beginning any study on local knowledge of marine fauna, a working knowledge of their local names must be obtained. Moreover, a great deal of local knowledge can often emerge in the very process of obtaining names (Ruddle, 1994). A detailed treatment of the local naming system of West Nggela marine fauna is given in this paper.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
Troubled waters in south-western New Georgia, Solomon Islands: Is codification of the commons a viable avenue for resource use regularisation
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1997
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440061 , vital:73732
- Description: In recent decades there has been a growing interest in indigenous sea tenure institutions and their possible role in establishing a framework for sustainable resource use and conservation. Yet the feasibility of these institutions to cope with social and economic changes have been seldom explored. In this paper a case study is presented where internal deregularisation of the ‘commons’ is the result of existing socio-cultural principles combined with outside influences. Two territorial models are compared to elucidate emerging internal instabilities of sea tenure institutions and possible ways to correct existing problems. The codification of the commons is suggested here as a possible measure to strengthen indigenous common property regimes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 1997
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/440061 , vital:73732
- Description: In recent decades there has been a growing interest in indigenous sea tenure institutions and their possible role in establishing a framework for sustainable resource use and conservation. Yet the feasibility of these institutions to cope with social and economic changes have been seldom explored. In this paper a case study is presented where internal deregularisation of the ‘commons’ is the result of existing socio-cultural principles combined with outside influences. Two territorial models are compared to elucidate emerging internal instabilities of sea tenure institutions and possible ways to correct existing problems. The codification of the commons is suggested here as a possible measure to strengthen indigenous common property regimes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
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