A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND RESILIENCE ON THE ISLAND OF CHILOE, CHILE by ARIANA PITCHON (Under the Direction of Elois Ann Berlin) ABSTRACT As aquaculture gains prominence as a major economic industry, and as wild- capture fisheries decline, coastal communities on Chiloé Island in southern Chile are facing inevitable social-ecological change. This research provides a cross- sectional, proxy-longitudinal study of indicators of resilience in a coastal community on Chiloé that is undergoing a transformation from small-scale fisheries to wage labor in aquaculture firms. Systematic data collection and analysis revealed that maintaining a high degree of specific resilience indicators is more likely to occur among fishermen who do not become aquaculture employees, and that even higher scores resulted from fishermen who became members of a small-scale, native species aquaculture cooperative. This information can serve as a model for sustainable development strategies and resilience in other coastal communities facing transformations due to changing ecological and economic factors. INDEX WORDS: Resilience, Aquaculture, Fisheries, Common Pool Resources, Chile, Chiloé A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND RESILIENCE ON THE ISLAND OF CHILOE, CHILE by ARIANA PITCHON M.A., Western Washington University, 2001 B.A., Colby College, 1994 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2006 © 2006 Ariana Pitchon All Rights Reserved A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND RESILIENCE ON THE ISLAND OF CHILOE, CHILE by ARIANA PITCHON Major Professor: Elois Ann Berlin Committee: E. Paul Durrenberger O. Brent Berlin Merryl Alber Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Institute for International Education (Fulbright) and the PADI Foundation for providing funding for this research. This research was also seen to completion with the unending support of my committee. Thanks to Margie Floyd for making sure there were no bumps in the road. I want to give special recognition to my mother for supporting this process for so many years. Finally, this project would not have been possible without the generosity of the people of Chiloé and my good friends Pedro, Erica, and Pedrito Cardenás. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 2 Study Area - Chiloé, Chile.................................................................................9 Cultural and Physical Geography of Chile..................................................10 Chiloé ..........................................................................................................12 Culture of Cooperation on Chiloé ...............................................................15 Chilote Social Structure...............................................................................19 Lifestyle on Chiloé ......................................................................................20 Chilote Folklore and Link to the Sea...........................................................22 3 Chilote Fishing.................................................................................................31 4 Common Property Resource Theory Contextualized in the Case of Fisheries and Aquaculture on Chiloé..........................................................................43 Common Property Resource Management and Steps to a Focus on Resilience ..............................................................................................43 Success in Common Property Resource Management................................45 CPR User Groups and Characteristics of Success.......................................46 v CPR Management Regimes.........................................................................48 Adaptive Management ................................................................................50 5 Chile’s Rationale for Aquaculture ...................................................................52 Aquaculture: An Overview .........................................................................52 Aquaculture as a Tool for Rural Development and Social Ecological Resilience ..............................................................................................56 Development ...............................................................................................56 Poverty.........................................................................................................60 Sustainable Development............................................................................61 Rural Development and Community...........................................................64 Community..................................................................................................65 6 The Blue Revolution........................................................................................67 The Revolution That Started it All..............................................................67 The Blue Revolution ...................................................................................68 Socio-Cultural Effect of Aquaculture..........................................................71 The Aquaculture Revolution on Chiloé.......................................................73 Development of Primary Aquaculture Species in Chile ............................77 Salmonids ....................................................................................................78 Algae ...........................................................................................................81 Shellfish.......................................................................................................83 Associated Ecological Issues.......................................................................88 Commercial Aquaculture Regulation in Chile ............................................93 Authorized Areas for the Practice of Aquaculture ......................................96 vi National Policy and the Use of the Coastline..............................................98 Limitations to the Use of Space ..................................................................99 Aquaculture Law and the Environment.....................................................100 Future of Aquaculture in Chile..................................................................102 7 Research Design and Methodology ..............................................................107 Objectives..................................................................................................107 Research Design ........................................................................................108 Methodology .............................................................................................109 Exploratory Phase......................................................................................110 Chained Referral Sampling and Key Informant Selection........................111 Participant Observation .............................................................................112 Questionnaire Adaptation and Development: Selection of Resilience Indicators .............................................................................................114 Job Satisfaction..........................................................................................115 Perceived Well-Being................................................................................116 Environmental Values ...............................................................................117 Archival Research .....................................................................................118 Explanatory Phase .....................................................................................119 Systematic Sampling .................................................................................119 Questionnaire Administration and Interviews...........................................121 Data Analysis ............................................................................................121 8 Discussion......................................................................................................123 Transformation ..........................................................................................123 vii The Traditional Chiloé ..............................................................................126 Results .......................................................................................................130 Chilote Fishermen’s Union Mussel Farms and the Path to Resilience .....135 8 Conclusion: Measures of Resilience Among Coastal Fishing Communities on Chiloé .......................................................................................................140 Research Findings .....................................................................................140