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Ecological and Socio-Economic Responses to Change in Subsistence Fishing Societies R

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Ecological and Socio-Economic Responses to Change in Subsistence Fishing Societies R Ecological and socio-economic responses to change in subsistence fishing societies R. A. Turner 1, A. Cakacaka 2, N.A.J. Graham 1, N.V.C. Polunin 1, M.S. Pratchett 3, S.M. Stead 1, S.K. Wilson 3 1School of Marine Science & Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. 2Institute of Applied Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. 3ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. Corresponding author: [email protected] Introduction Methods Traditional Fijian fishing grounds ( qoliqoli ) provide a useful case A combination of semi-structured interviews, oral histories, key study of social-ecological systems subject to ecological, economic informant interviews and a household survey were used and social drivers of change from local to global scales. Reduced alongside ecological surveys to investigate drivers of change. goods and services from degraded coral reef ecosystems are expected to have significant socio-economic impacts on isolated Interviews Fishing practices island communities with strong reliance on coral reefs. with fishers Perceptions of ecological change Household Economic activities Socio-economic survey Change in fish consumption changes were investigated at five Ecological Habitat structure and complexity qoliqoli in the Lau surveys Fish community composition Islands (Fig.1), where recent environmental degradation caused by Island Kabara Kabara Totoya Matuku Village Lomati Naikeleyaga Udu Yaroi large-scale climate- Access to qoliqoli Kabara, Kabara, Totoya Matuku induced coral bleaching Tavunasici a Vuaqava a (2000 and 2002) and Population (no. households) 52 (11) 107 (30) 180 (30) 131 (30) local outbreaks of coral- Households surveyed 7 (64%) 22 (73%) 8 (27%) 15 (50%) feeding crown-of-thorns Estimated no. fishers 12-22 32-60 50-75 35-43 No. fishers interviewed 3 9 7 6 starfish (COTS) had Ecological surveys 6 replicates at 3 sites in each qoliqoli: been documented. Qoliqoli Kabara Vuaqava Tavunasici Totoya Matuku Fishing pressure index b 18.3 7.1 6.8 16.1 19.5 Fig.1.Study sites a Uninhabited islands where fishing takes place, b based on persons/km 2 reef front and fish consumption Results Ecological surveys ■ Coral bleaching and COTS outbreaks have Interviews with fishers caused declines in coral cover and habitat ■ Many were unaware of the consequences complexity, influencing coral-dependant fish. of habitat disturbances to the coral reef or ■ Declining fishing pressure and reduced fish fish community (Fig 2). consumption means habitat loss is an ■ Heterogeneous perceptions suggest increasingly important driver of change knowledge was localised and based on relative to fishing pressure. observation and experience. Local, regional & global drivers Household survey Fig. 2. Awareness of effects of ecological change. Respondents unaware of effects of change ■ Local population decline ■ The importance of fishing was low relative (red) aware of effects on coral (purple) and aware of ■ Social priorities e.g. education SOCIAL to other occupations: effects on fish (blue) DRIVERS ■ Importance of earning income Household rank: Importance of fishing Primary occupation Secondary occupation Fishing Livelihoods 6% (3) 17% (9) pressure ■ Fresh fish consumption had declined over the last decade, with greater decline linked to SOCIAL- CORAL REEF FISH ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES higher mean income (Fig 3). INTERAACTIONS ■ Changes in fish consumption and marine resource exploitation were linked to socio- COTS Habitat economic factors (need to derive income and disturbance new income-generating opportunities) rather Fig. 3. Decline in fish consumption (difference between median values of past and future than being attributed to change in the marine DRIVERS consumption estimates) ( bars ) and mean annual Coral bleaching Global Local Global environment. household income ( lines ) ECOLOGICAL Conclusions ■ Habitat impacts resulting from large-scale climate change are expected to have an increasing contribution to change in fish community composition, although the implications for future fisheries yields are uncertain. ■ Socio-economic drivers influencing resource use behaviour and fish consumption mean that at the sites studied, loss of habitat is an increasingly important driver of change relative to fishing pressure. ■ Reduced reliance on marine resources may confer greater flexibility to adapt to future ecological change, but may also result in limited awareness of environmental change, with implications for long term adaptive capacity. ■ These findings highlight the need to identify the dynamics driving change in both marine ecosystems and marine resource use, the scales at which they operate and how they interact. Identifying how societies respond to ecological and socio-economic change is essential to identify opportunities for adaptive management. Acknowledgements: People of the Lau Islands, Lau Provincial Council, Prof. Leon Zann & Prof. Bill Aalbersberg (USP, Fiji), Fijian Fisheries, and the crew of the ‘Mothership’. Research was funded by National Geographic and the Leverhulme Trust. More information: Turner et al. (2007) Declining reliance on marine resources in remote South Pacific societies: ecological versus socio-economic drivers, Coral Reefs 26:997-1008. Wilson et al. (In press) Exploitation and habitat degradation as agents of change within coral reef fish communities, Global Change Biology..
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