“LOBSTERS ARE LIKE GOLD”: PERCEPTIONS OF RESOURCE ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT IN A MEXICAN COMMON PROPERTY FISHERY By AVA LASSETER A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Ava Lasseter This thesis is dedicated to the lobster divers of Los Flamencos. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Dr. Peter Collings, my chair, whose door was always open. I also thank my committee member, Dr. Anthony Oliver-Smith, for making me rethink some of my assumptions in new ways. I am grateful for their guidance and support. I also want to thank Dr. Mark Brenner for suggesting the research site and assisting me with initial contacts and Dr. Allan Burns for encouraging me to work in the Yucatan. Edward W. Tennant helped me greatly with his talent for map making. I cannot offer thanks enough to the whole community of Los Flamencos, who gave of their time and patience with my constant questioning. I thank the fishermen who taught me how to dive for lobsters and the cooperative staff that explained the history and inner workings of the cooperative and fishery. The regular treat of lobster ceviche to snack on during the long afternoons of weighing lobster tails made the research seem more like a fiesta than work. Most of all, I thank my host family for making me feel cared for and at home. Maybe I can eat just one more panucho. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................x 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem..............................................................................................4 Research Objectives......................................................................................................5 Methodology.................................................................................................................6 Research Site ................................................................................................................8 Plan of Thesis .............................................................................................................13 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................16 Artisanal Fisheries ......................................................................................................17 Common Property Theory ..........................................................................................18 Open Access Marine Resources .................................................................................20 Fisheries Management................................................................................................21 Top-down Management.......................................................................................21 Bottom-up (Local Management) .........................................................................23 Co-management...................................................................................................25 Knowledge..................................................................................................................26 Luxury Export Commodities and Small-Scale Producers..........................................29 Political Ecology.........................................................................................................31 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................33 3 RESEARCH SETTING AND ETHNOGRAPHY .....................................................34 The Community..........................................................................................................34 An Outline of Fishing Economies in the Yucatan......................................................39 Capital and Technology.......................................................................................40 Use of GPS ..........................................................................................................44 A Detailed Look at Lobstering in Los Flamencos......................................................45 Diving Safety..............................................................................................................52 v Management Issues.....................................................................................................54 Cooperative Formation and Government Involvement.......................................54 A Brief Comparison of Federal Lobster Regulations: Mexico and Florida ........57 “Undersized” Lobsters.........................................................................................60 Impacts of Harvesting Undersize Lobsters..........................................................62 The Local Fishing Cooperative ..................................................................................64 Lobstering outside the Cooperative.....................................................................67 Regional Level: Fish Exporter.............................................................................69 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................71 4 ECOLOGY .................................................................................................................73 Local Ecosystem: The Gulf of Mexico.......................................................................73 Pollution......................................................................................................................76 Lobster Ecology..........................................................................................................80 Lobster Harvesting in the Gulf ...................................................................................84 Harvesting Strategies...........................................................................................84 Harvesting in Los Flamencos ..............................................................................86 Population of the Resource.........................................................................................88 5 PERCEPTIONS OF AN OPEN ACCESS RESOURCE............................................90 Introduction.................................................................................................................90 Perceptions of Resource .............................................................................................91 Research Methods.......................................................................................................92 Data Analysis..............................................................................................................93 Perceptions and Knowledge ................................................................................93 Abundance, Stability and the Future ...................................................................94 Rights to Access ..................................................................................................97 Breaking the Rules: Why fishermen take undersize lobsters ..............................99 Capital Investment for Diving...........................................................................101 New Technology: GPS......................................................................................102 Local Knowledge...............................................................................................104 Perceptions of the Cooperative..........................................................................108 Summary............................................................................................................110 Cooperative’s Harvest Data......................................................................................110 Etic analysis: Contradictions and obstacles to cooperation......................................113 6 MANAGEMENT .....................................................................................................117 Luxury Export Commodities ....................................................................................118 Nontraditional Export Commodities.................................................................118 Nontraditional Export Commodities .................................................................121 Luxury Export Commodities .............................................................................123 Exploitation of a Luxury Export Commodity...........................................................125 Management .............................................................................................................128 Economizing and Rational Behavior.................................................................131 vi Why is Management Deemed Necessary? ........................................................134 Local Management ............................................................................................138