Social Dimensions of Blue Swimmer Crab Fishing, Restocking and Other
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Beyond biology: social dimensions of Blue Swimmer Crab fishing, restocking and other management options Submitted by Sarah Jean Poulton This thesis is presented for the degree of Bachelor of Science Honours School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, of Murdoch University, 2018 Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution Sarah Poulton i Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and extend a huge thank you to my wonderful supervisors Michael Hughes and James Tweedley. I cannot express in words how appreciative I am to both of you, for all your time, continued support and invaluable feedback throughout this last year and a half. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had you both as my supervisors. Coming from a biological science background made it difficult to understand all the social science terminology at the beginning of my Honours degree, so Mike, I thank you for your patience and for continually helping me to better understand this area of science. And to James, thank you for always making time to answer my endless questions, at all hours of the day. Your enthusiasm and passion for this project has been a huge inspiration. Also, to Neil Loneragan, thank you for all your guidance, advice and insights over this past year, I have really appreciated all of your help. This project was supported through funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation of Australia (FRDC 2016/034) on behalf of the Australian Government, Recfishwest and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development through funding from the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund and Murdoch University. Your financial assistance and support is greatly appreciated. Thank you to all my amazing friends who are also part of the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems; Claire Greenwell, Brian Poh, Jason Crisp, Lauren Peck, Angus Lawrie, Thea Linke and Clara Obregón Lafuente for all the laboratory jokes and the countless trips to the tea room. Thank you for teaching me new ways to procrastinate! A special shout out to Clara for accompanying me in the field and helping me format the data from the open question survey. It has been a pleasure to work with you and I wish you all the best throughout the rest of your PhD. I’d also like to thank you for teaching me the importance of a work-life balance, I really appreciated your support and words of encouragement on those days I came to the lab very stressed. To my parents, Susan and Chris Poulton, thank you for your love, support and continued motivation through everything I do. To Emily Hamley, Tegan Edwards and Claire Greenwell, thank you for always lending an ear when I needed it most. Your ii friendship means so much to me and I am so grateful for your continued encouragement over this last year, I’m looking forward to seeing you all more often now that my thesis is done! Lastly, thank you to my wonderful partner Rhuan Beukes. Your love and unwavering support and optimism has kept me strong over these last few months. Thank you for all your prayers, for believing in me even when I did not, and for never failing to make me smile. Nou is dit tyd om te vier, Rhuan! iii Abstract Traditionally, fisheries managers have based regulatory decisions on biological and economic data, while the social dimensions have received less attention. However, information on fishers’ motivations, beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of management regulations can help facilitate support for fisheries management that will ensure the sustainability of the fishery, whilst supporting the future generations of fishers. The first component of this thesis (Chapter 2) details existing knowledge on the social dimension within the recreational and commercial fishery sectors, the importance of their involvement within fishery management programs and the social values that are associated with restocking. It demonstrates that to ensure effective management, fishers need to be involved in the implementation process of management schemes. This will consequently lead to a greater understanding of the approach and in turn, greater compliance. The second component of this thesis (Chapter 3) sought to determine the social dimensions of recreational Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus armatus) fishers using the Peel-Harvey Estuary. Two sequential data collection methods were employed; initial face-to-face interviews and a subsequent online survey to identify the primary motivations of fishers, their perceptions towards management and their beliefs and attitudes towards restocking. The face-to-face interviews were completed until no new responses were recorded which, in this case, occurred after 41 interviews. From the online survey, a total of 236 Peel-Harvey fishers accessed and completed (either partially or fully) the questionnaire. The data indicates that fishers are primarily motivated to ‘catch enough crabs to eat’ and to ‘catch big crabs’, which may be explained by the low skill level required to catch crabs, the low cost of equipment and delicacy of the meat. Fishers thought that the fishery needs to be better managed and support current fishery regulations, e.g. minimum size limits and seasonal closures. While potential regulations, e.g. closed fishing zones and maximum size limits were considered unacceptable, fishers wanted a longer closed season and more enforcement officers and community education. The familiarity of current regulations explains their greater social acceptance and thus, rather than implementing new regulations, stricter control on current measures should be iv enforced if they are to be needed. Fishers believe a restocking program will be beneficial, as it is consistent with their fishers’ preference for a larger abundances and sizes of fish and a greater chance of a catch. The results of this thesis emphasise the importance of communicating with the fishing community when designing and implementing management regimes, and how the willingness of fishers to comply with regulations influences the success of management. Understanding the social dimensions of Blue Swimmer Crab fishers will improve the decision-making abilities of fishery and environmental managers, enabling them to manage both the ‘fish’ and the ‘fisher’ to ensure a biologically and socially sustainable fishery. v Table of contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1. General Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1. Fishing, aquaculture-based enhancement and fisheries management .................... 1 1.2. Social dimensions of fishing .................................................................................. 4 1.3. Portunid Crab fisheries and aquaculture-based enhancement ................................ 5 1.4. Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus pelagicus complex) ............................................. 7 1.5. Aims ....................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2. Understanding the importance of social dimensions in fisheries management, with a focus on restocking .................................................................... 10 2.0. Abstract ................................................................................................................ 10 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 11 2.2. Fishery elements and theory of sense of community ........................................... 13 2.3. Recreational fishing ............................................................................................. 16 2.4. Commercial fishing .............................................................................................. 19 2.5. Value of incorporating social dimensions into fisheries management through co- management ................................................................................................................ 21 2.6. Co-management in recreational and commercial fisheries .................................. 24 2.7. Impacts of management regulations on social dimensions .................................. 25 2.8. Aquaculture-based enhancement (restocking) as a management approach ......... 27 2.9. Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 3. The significance of the social dimensions of Blue Swimmer Crab fishing in the Peel-Harvey Estuary .......................................................................................... 32 3.0. Abstract ................................................................................................................ 32 3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 33 3.2. Materials and methods ......................................................................................... 36 3.2.1. Study area ...................................................................................................... 36 3.2.2. Surveys .........................................................................................................