Coastal Communities in Transition Kristen Ounanian University of Rhode Island, [email protected]
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University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Dissertations 2016 In Place of Fishing: Coastal Communities in Transition Kristen Ounanian University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss Terms of Use All rights reserved under copyright. Recommended Citation Ounanian, Kristen, "In Place of Fishing: Coastal Communities in Transition" (2016). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 440. http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/440 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IN PLACE OF FISHING: COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION BY KRISTEN OUNANIAN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN MARINE AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2016 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION OF KRISTEN OUNANIAN APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Seth Macinko David Bidwell Jesper Raakjær Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2016 ABSTRACT Although fisheries management decisions impact people and places, multiple drivers of change are at play in coastal communities. Moreover, the interactions among those drivers, whether they build upon or offset one another, are where the action lies. While interested in the changes brought about by the imposition of transferable catch shares, this research takes a holistic approach to studying coastal communities. This study focuses on instances of transition from a greater presence of the fishing industry to new configurations of fisheries, maritime sectors, and tourism. Situated in places in the midst of such change, the work clarifies what fisheries dependence represents and its various iterations. Through three case studies in Northern Jutland, Denmark and three analogous cases in New England, United States this research explores how various coastal communities navigate change. I detail the experiences of place-based communities in these two regions with special attention to those historically linked to fishing, but whose orientations have been changing over the past few decades. Based on 54 interviews with 63 persons and field observations while in these two regions, the research takes an inductive approach, open to the themes and discourses brought forth by research participants in relation to fisheries and change in their communities and related societies. The qualitative analysis of interview transcripts and field notes illuminated varying relationships that place-based communities have to fishing and the varied opportunities and challenges facing coastal communities. One of the key findings of this research is the demonstration of existential fisheries dependence, whereby the presence of fishing sustains certain coastal communities that have few or no alternatives, keeping them on the map, so to speak. Physical geography and built infrastructure heavily influence this designation and reveal important considerations for management changes regarding fisheries access. In cases where communities and ports have diversified to other activities, often connections to fisheries remain because of the development of service ports. Moreover, the uncertainty in regard to the future level of engagement of fisheries has implications for waterfront land use planning and community identity. Development of new industries and the process of diversification may also span longer timelines, affecting certain segments of the community more severely than others. In addition, the transition to tourism dependence holds a somewhat precarious future for coastal communities in temperate areas. In some cases, heritage and community identity remain strongly connected to the surviving fishing industry, but the diminished presence of fishing also translates to feelings of loss and can challenge communities that hope to retain a year-round population when the tourists head home. Consequently, how a society manages fisheries impacts coastal communities ranging in size and opportunities outside of fisheries. Moreover, the cultural and social importance of fisheries demonstrates a key facet of fisheries dependence. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Part of the success of this work rests on making, cultivating, and maintaining connections to people. There are many persons who have contributed to this work by introducing me to community members, providing a place to stay, making both the University of Rhode Island and Aalborg University feel like my academic homes, and lending a sympathetic ear and voice of encouragement. First, I must thank my two primary advisors on this project, Dr. Seth Macinko and Dr. Jesper Raakjær. Seth, thank you for pushing me to challenge dominant paradigms in fisheries management and for thought-provoking conversations on social science research and marine affairs. Jesper, thank you for your mentorship prior to and during my PhD, for your advocacy, and for enabling this project to go forward with your network of contacts throughout Northern Jutland. I would also like to thank members of my University of Rhode Island committee, Drs. David Bidwell, Carlos Garcia-Quijano, and Caroline Gottschalk Druschke. I have appreciated your insights and getting to know each of you through this process. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert Thompson, Chair of the Department of Marine Affairs, for his support and assistance achieving this dual doctoral degree. In addition, I would like to thank Tom Hospod in URI’s International Office for working with the graduate school to sort out this unique academic arrangement. Additionally, my research was supported by Nordsøen Forskerpark, Initiativfonden for Hirtshals og Omegn, Det Obelske Familiefond, and Region Nordjylland through AAU Matchmaking. iv I benefitted from the aid of Louise Bruun Ploughmand and Marjun Eysturoy for transcriptions of the interviews in Danish. I would also like to acknowledge the mapping and design skills of Anna Antonova and Peter Stempel, who contributed to some of the visual aids in this work. I have also benefitted from the assistance and support from Lise Suhr Mogensen at Aalborg University and Judith Palmer and Denise Foley at the University of Rhode Island over my tenure as a PhD student. Thank you to Hirtshals Fiskeriforening, Hirtshals Turistforening, Nordsøen Forskerpark, Hirthsals Handelsstandsforening, and Hirtshals Havn for their help organizing a community forum in Hirtshals and to various members of these organizations for contributing to this research. I thank Thomas Højrup and Kirsten (Pipsen) Monrad Hansen for their generous hospitality and introductions. On the American side, I would like to thank my family members, Dick and Sue Seed, and Marine Affairs graduate, Daniel Maggio, for introductions in Provincetown. The Cutler case study would not have been possible without the help of dear family friend, Gillyin Gatto, and the background knowledge of Natalie Springuel and Christopher Bartlett at Maine Sea Grant. Thank you to my family for their encouragement and support during this endeavor and all others. Thank you specifically to my dad and Jane for providing a place to stay while doing my fieldwork on the Cape. Thank you to other supportive members of the Ounanian family: Allison, Onnie, Emily, and my grandparents, Harding and Marge. Additionally, my appreciation and gratitude for my mom abounds. v I have made great friends while hopping between the United States and Denmark. I would like to acknowledge my wonderful colleagues and friends at IFM past and present, some of whom I have known since my arrival in Aalborg in 2009. Thank you especially to Alyne Delaney for insights into field methodology and comments on Chapter VII. Furthermore, I appreciate the encouragement, academic sparing, translation help, and laughter from my AAU friends: Troels, Rikke, Paulina, Helen, Anna C., Kristian, Karl, Anja, Kristen, Morten, Dorte, and many others who have been part of the department. At URI, thank you to Shannon, Catie, Leigh, Nicole, and Ellen, who got me through that first year and continue to support me. Later in my tenure at URI, I greatly benefitted from the friendship and support of Anna and Alanna. Finally, I would like to state my complete gratitude for all those who spoke with me in Hirtshals, Løkken, Thorupstrand, New Bedford, Provincetown, and Cutler as part of this research. Our conversations meant a great deal to me and they will continue to inform my work in the future. Thank you. Mange tak. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x CHAPTER I 1 INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER II 12 NAKED METHODOLOGY: BARING IT ALL FOR A REALISTIC ACCOUNT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 12 CHAPTER III 60 LITERATURE REVIEW 60 CHAPTER IV 95 CASE CONTEXT 95 CHAPTER V 143 NEW ENTRANTS: WHERE ARE THEY? 143 CHAPTER VI 225 WIDENING THE NET 225 vii CHAPTER VII 274 NOT A “MUSEUM TOWN”: TOURISM, FISHING, AND AUTHENTICITY 274 CHAPTER VIII 313 CONCLUSION 313 BIBLIOGRAPHY 332 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE Table 1. Population Information for Six Case Studies. .................................................... 19 Table 2. Interviews Conducted by Case Community ...................................................... 27 Table 3. Permitted vessels with Principal Port listed as New Bedford, Provincetown, or Cutler .............................................................................................................................