Changing Lives and Livelihoods: Culture, Capitalism and Contestation over Marine Resources in Island Melanesia Jeff Kinch 31st March 2020 A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Archaeology and Anthropology Research School of Humanities and the Arts College of Arts and Social Sciences Australian National University Declaration Except where other information sources have been cited, this thesis represents original research undertaken by me for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology at the Australian National University. I testify that the material herein has not been previously submitted in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Jeff Kinch Supervisory Panel Prof Nicolas Peterson Principal Supervisor Assoc Prof Simon Foale Co-Supervisor Dr Robin Hide Co-Supervisor Abstract This thesis is both a contemporary and a longitudinal ethnographic case study of Brooker Islanders. Brooker Islanders are a sea-faring people that inhabit a large marine territory in the West Calvados Chain of the Louisiade Archipelago in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. In the late 19th Century, Brooker Islanders began to be incorporated into an emerging global economy through the production of various marine resources that were desired by mainly Australian capitalist interests. The most notable of these commodified marine resources was beche-de-mer. Beche-de-mer is the processed form of several sea cucumber species. The importance of the sea cucumber fishery for Brooker Islanders waned when World War I started. Following the rise of an increasingly affluent China in the early 1990s, the sea cucumber fishery and beche-de-mer trade once again became an important source of cash income for Brooker Islanders. With an increasing dependency on cash and a subsequent decline in sea cucumber stocks, a number of conflicts emerged across the Louisiade Archipelago due to competition to access areas that still held sea cucumbers stocks. In October 2009, the National Fisheries Authority imposed a moratorium on the sea cucumber fishery and beche-de-mer trade. This moratorium remained in place until April 2017. This moratorium caused major impacts on Brooker Islander livelihoods. Brooker Islanders have limited alternative income opportunities available and also have to contend with regular environmental shocks such as cyclones and El Nino associated droughts. An increasing population and projected impacts of climate change make for a very uncertain future for Brooker Islanders. This thesis is based on anthropological fieldwork, historical research and continued contact with Brooker Islanders that now spans a 22-year period from 1998 to the present. Using a historical political ecology approach, I argue that the incorporation of Brooker Islanders into the global economy and the unevenness of development has produced profound changes in their livelihoods, local marine tenureship arrangements and social relations with their island neighbours. This thesis provides a case study of the role that capitalism plays in changing livelihoods and institutions over time when market opportunities arise and consumer dependencies become essential to maintaining livelihoods. The contestation over commodified marine resources is also viewed in the context of changing political and legal domains. Issues of governability for the sustainability of sea cucumber stocks are also explored. Contents i Acknowledgements vii Government Support ix Ethical Clearance ix Classifications ix Publications x Orthography xi Transcription xi Nomenclature xi Currency Exchange Rates xii Maps xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Political Ecology: A Framework for Analysis 3 Changing Lives and Livelihoods 9 Expressing Resilience 14 Securing Rights 15 Governance Opportunities 18 Knowing the Massim 20 Conducting Fieldwork 21 Conclusion 27 Chapter 2: Environment and Ecology 33 Climatic Conditions 33 Island Morphology 36 Marine and Island Biodiversity 38 Weathering Extremes 42 A Changing World 44 Conclusion 45 Chapter 3: The Emergence of Commoditisation: 1800s-1975 48 European Exploration 50 The Era of Whaling 52 Traders and New Marine Commodities 53 Labour Recruitment 56 Gold Mining 57 The Arrival of Missionaries 59 The Rise of Plantations 62 i War in the Louisiade Archipelago 62 A Millenarian Movement 64 Formalising a Nation 65 The Co-operative Push 67 Conclusion 68 Chapter 4: Development in the Marine Realm: 1975-2019 70 Fisheries Development in the Louisiade Archipelago 71 Louisiade Fisheries 71 Milne Bay Fishing Authority 72 Coral Sea Fisheries 73 Other Interests 74 Local Companies 74 Outside Intrusions and Illegal Harvests 75 Ceremonial to Commercial 75 Foreign Fishing Vessels 76 Vietnamese Blue Boats 77 Tourism Adventures 78 Conclusion 80 Chapter 5: Making and Earning a Living 82 Clans and Access to Resources 83 Primary Production Activities 89 Mobility across Marine Territories 92 Exploiting the Marine Environment 94 Connectivity and Inter-Island Trade 104 Island Commercial Enterprises 107 Government Services 107 Conclusion 109 Chapter 6: Contestation over Marine Resources 111 Local Tenureship Arrangements in the Massim 111 The Rise of Exclusivity in the Southern Massim 116 Disputes and Declining Stocks: Brooker and Ware Islands 120 Conclusion 128 ii Chapter 7: Impacts of the Moratorium 131 Reaction to the Moratorium 132 Income Alternatives 136 The Re-opening 137 Conclusion 139 Chapter 8: Sustainability and Governability 141 Government Management Arrangements 142 Sea cucumber Stocks in the Louisiade Archipelago 145 Local Notions of Sustainability 145 Conservation Efforts 148 International Management Arrangements 155 Governability of the Sea cucumber Fishery and the Beche-de-mer Trade 157 Conclusion 167 Chapter 9: Conclusion 170 References 177 Government Reports: Pre-Independence 219 Government Reports and Correspondence: Post-Independence 220 Newspaper Articles 224 Legislative Documents and Policies 225 International Instruments and Guidelines 226 iii Appendices 227 Appendix A: Household Questionnaire. 228 Appendix B: Results of marine biodiversity surveys in Brooker Island’s marine territory. 236 Appendix C: Fish species identified by Brooker Islanders. 237 Appendix D: Shellfish identified by Brooker Islanders. 248 Appendix E: Crustaceans and other marine resources identified by Brooker Islanders. 252 Appendix F: Bird species identified by Brooker Islanders. 253 Appendix G: Other animals identified by Brooker Islanders. 255 Appendix H: Vegetation types identified by Brooker Islanders. 257 Appendix I: Historical timeline for the Louisiade Archipelago. 261 Appendix J: Beche-de-mer exports (t) from British New Guinea: 1889-1990. 266 Appendix K: Water craft on Brooker Island in 1999. 267 Appendix L: Beche-de-mer exports (kg) by Species from Milne Bay Province: 1994-2018. 269 Appendix M: Beche-de-mer exports (mt) from Papua New Guinea: 1960-2018. 271 Appendix N: Beche-de-mer buying prices for the Milne Bay Province: 1981-2018. 272 Appendix O: Catch-per-unit-effort by species by trip type for Brooker Islanders: 1999. 276 Appendix P: Catch-per-unit efforts for sea cucumber species in Melanesia. 280 Appendix Q: Catch-per-unit efforts for various fishing methods in Melanesia. 281 Appendix R: Timeline of the dispute between Brooker and Ware Islands. 282 Appendix S: Ware Island claimants’ stories for mediation purposes. 284 Appendix T: Brooker Islanders’ stories for mediation purposes. 286 Appendix U: Brooker Island myths used for mediation purposes. 288 Appendix V: Regulations of the 2001, 2016 and 2018 National Beche-de-mer Fishery Management Plans. 291 Appendix W: Size Limits for marine resources in Papua New Guinea. 294 iv Maps Map 1: Milne Bay Province showing major islands and island groups. xiii Map 2: Louisiade Archipelago showing major islands and island groups. xiv Map 3: Brooker Island and surrounding islands and island groups. xv Map 4: Brooker Island detailing main village areas and immediate neighbouring islands. xvi Map 5: Long-Kossman Reef detailing disputed area between Brooker and Ware Islands. xvii Figures Figure 1: Diagrammatic cross-section showing morphological and ecological zones as recognised by Brooker Islanders. 41 Figure 2: Co-management partnerships. 162 Figure 3: Hierarchy of participation in co-management arrangements. 163 Tables Table 1: Brooker Island Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. 13 Table 2: Milne Bay Fishing Authority Fish Collection by kg for Outstations: 1984 to 1990. 73 Table 3: Brooker Island Population: 1944 to 2019. 84 Table 4: Clan Names and Associated Totems. 87 Table 5: Brooker Island Clan and sub-Clan ownership of Islands. 89 Table 6: Items traded from Brooker Island in 1999. 106 Table 7: Opening and Closure Dates, and Total Allowable Catch in the Milne Bay Province. 132 Table 8: Types of Legal Pluralism. 158 Table 9: Properties of the system-to-be-governed. 160 Table 10: Actors in the Governing System. 161 v Plates Plate 1: Brooker Island looking west towards Panapatpat and Panasial Islands. xviii Plate 2: Life on the Islands (Jubilee Sam is sitting to my right). 23 Plate 3: Community Hall and Library on Brooker Island destroyed by Cyclone Ita. 43 Plate 4: ‘First arrival of white men amongst the islands of the Louisiade Archipelago’. 51 Plate 5: Preparations for a mortuary feast on Brooker Island. 88 Plate 6: Brooker Islanders and new fibreglass dinghies with outboard motors at Enivala Island. 93 Plate 7: Traditional fishing net on Brooker Island. 95 Plate 8: Brooker Islanders loading green sea turtles