©2017 DIVYA KARNAD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LOCATING EFFECTIVE COMMONS AND COMMUNITY IN MAHARASHTRA STATE'S FISHERIES, INDIA By DIVYA KARNAD A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Geography Written under the direction of Kevin St. Martin And Bonnie McCay And approved by _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION LOCATING EFFECTIVE COMMONS AND COMMUNITY IN MAHARASHTRA STATE'S FISHERIES, INDIA By DIVYA KARNAD Dissertation Directors: Kevin St. Martin Bonnie McCay This thesis views commons and resource management through a lens of plurality. Through discussions of plural identities, diverse economies and multiple legal systems, this work seeks to challenge the bounds of commons thinking, pushing past static understandings of people, social networks, the environment and resources. Principles created by Elinor Ostrom and colleagues have largely defined the commons management discourse, but my work follows that of St Martin, McCay and Jentoft in realizing the limits to a systems approach to commons research. The commons institution that I study does not fit Ostrom's criteria, and therefore could be assumed to be a failure, except that I have found evidence of key outcomes of successful commons institutions. These include management based on goals of social equity and ecological sustainability, as well as clear examples of the existence of community. Understanding this so-called 'anomalous' institution as successful requires a re- examination of commons theory. Thus my work uses post structural thinking, ii influenced by Jean-Luc Nancy and JK Gibson-Graham, to develop a more grounded theory approach to understanding commons management. My research is based on the case of marine fisheries across two districts of the state of Maharashtra in India. Mismanagement of Indian fisheries could have ripple effects on global seafood availability because India, along with China, contributes 50% of the world’s seafood exports to Europe and the United States. Several studies have called for greater state intervention in fisheries (e.g Devaraj and Vivekanandan, 1999), although state fisheries legislation is plagued by large gaps in enforcement and lack of compliance (Bavinck and Johnson, 2008; Karnad et al., 2014). My PhD research describes a alternate solution, by finding evidence of continuing fisheries management by non state actors. I examine the emergence of commons through fishing issues and conflicts that prompted village discussions and rule-making. I ask how and why people participate in these associations, and whether there is evidence, in these associations, of the type of ethical relationships that could be called community. I probe people's motivation to participate in these communities despite economic and political pressure to follow individualistic, neoliberal practices. In particular I focus on the creation of 'traditional fishermen', a term that is used by fishermen to signify a particular ethical formation that comes into being through practices unrelated to the technology that they use to fish, and to class or caste. I find that successful commons management can exist in culturally heterogeneous, market-linked, technologically advanced societies, which are typically assumed to operate using the logic of neoliberal economics. I identify processes of territoriality, group and consensus based decision making, social iii dependence and ostracism as some of the key processes that allow commons and community to come into being. The degree of sophistication and independence from state law with which these institutions operate allows them to be thought of as alternate legal systems. This allows decision making within the local context, in the local language with locally effective punishment, such as social ostracism. From the perspective of government authorities, allowing local bodies to deal with conflicts reduces the requirement of authorities' intervention in issues that often cannot be officially heard due to a lack of appropriate state laws. Thus the continued existence of alternate legal systems is seen as a win-win from both perspectives. Finally, I study challenges to commons management in the form of class distinctions within the fishing community. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to: My late grandmothers Ahalya Nadkarni and Krishnabai Karnad v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This PhD would not have been possible without the support of a large community, both in India and the United States. I am deeply indebted to my advisors, Kevin St. Martin and Bonnie McCay, for constantly facilitating my academic growth, even as they gave me the freedom to pursue my interests, whether academic or not. They have spared time to help me meet last minute deadlines, read and provided feedback on numerous drafts, and written many recommendation letters. Through his patience and kindness, Kevin has helped me overcome my initial resistance to social theory and opened my eyes to post structural thought. Bonnie has taught by example, how to navigate various obstacles, whether in academic or personal life, in order to achieve my goals. I couldn't ask for better role models. I would also like to thank Richard Schroeder for his awe-inspiring teaching that helped me make the mental switch from ecologist to geographer. Maarten Bavinck, my external committee member, has provided unending encouragement. From identifying networking opportunities to visiting me in person, while in India, his support, and knowledge of the local issues specific to my field site have greatly enriched my dissertation. Laura Schneider, as a committee member and graduate director, enhanced my PhD journey by reminding me of my ecological roots, and steering me towards opportunities. I would also like to acknowledge the crucial and timely help of Trevor Birkenholtz and Asher Ghertner. My PhD study was generously funded by grants from the Rufford Foundation and Chester Zoo in the UK, and WWF - India. My dissertation writing was funded the vi Rutgers Geography Department's Excellence Fellowship, the Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund/MMMF and Louis Bevier Fellowship for dissertation writing from Rutgers University. The Rutgers University pre-dissertation research grant, South Asian Studies Program Research/Travel Award, and the Rutgers Women in STEM award also facilitated my dissertation research. I also received travel grants from Rutgers University to present my research at several conferences. I wish to thank all these institutions for making my PhD journey possible. Much of this funding would not have been possible without the continuous and unending support of my academic family in India. Ajith Kumar, guide, philosopher turned friend, has and continues to write recommendation letters, share amazing food and drink, and keep up a never ending supply of hilarious and informative stories. Mahesh Rangarajan has helped expand my network, all the while helping me situate myself, academically and personally, in politics and history in the most engaging way imaginable. I also acknowledge the support of Kavita Isvaran, Srinivas V, Sunita Ram and Ravinder Bhalla. The Foundation for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning has provided a platform for my PhD research. They have always kept an open mind and been generous with their office space and equipment, just as they have always given me their time and the freedom to pursue research. A number of people have helped me in the field and I am grateful to Vikrant Jathar, Mayuresh Gangal, Mihir Sule and Ketki Jog for their help with preliminary interviews, transcription and translation. Sujit Sasane, Sachin Vaishampayan, Tanmay Wagh, Ishaan Khot and Shruti Patil helped with various aspects of field work. Gerwyn, Priscilla, and Abigail D'Souza, in Sindhudurg, were the best hosts, providing vii spare rooms for my various field assistants and me, sharing the rare treats that they got to add some variety into our diet, and going out of their way to help with daily tasks. I especially thank all the people of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg who took the time to participate in this research. I also thank the Fisheries Department of Maharashtra and the officers who participated in their study for their patience and time. I am especially grateful to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers for collecting, organizing and making so much fisheries literature available online. My friends have made this PhD journey so much more enjoyable and I especially miss discussions with Kimberley Thomas, Jack Norton and Ariele Baker. While so many people touched my life, in New Brunswick, I feel especially enriched for knowing Debby Scott, Amelia Duffy-Tumasz, Diya Paul, Sangeeta Banerji, Charlene Sharpe, Abidah Setyowati, David Ferring, Ida Ansharyani, Talia Young and Mikaela Provost. I benefitted from discussions with Olaf Jensen and his lab, even if I did not follow through immediately with the ideas that we discussed. I hope to be able to pick up these threads after my PhD. My friends from India helped keep me balanced and in touch with the real world, and for this I am grateful to Sharanya Abraham, Divya Panicker, Kritanjali Balakrishnan, Rashid Raza, Kiran Rahalkar,