A bottom-up understanding of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Lake Victoria

Luomba, J; Chuenpagdee, R; Song, AM

A bottom-up understanding of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Lake Victoria

Luomba, J Chuenpagdee, R Song, AM

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Publisher:: MDPI AG
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sustainability (Switzerland), 2016, 8, (10), pp. 1062-1062
Issue Date:: 2016-10-21

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Luomba, J
dc.contributor.author	Chuenpagdee, R
dc.contributor.author	Song, AM
dc.date.accessioned	2020-06-24T00:39:14Z
dc.date.available	2020-06-24T00:39:14Z
dc.date.issued	2016-10-21
dc.identifier.citation	Sustainability (Switzerland), 2016, 8, (10), pp. 1062-1062
dc.identifier.issn	2071-1050
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/141650
dc.description.abstract	© 2016 by the authors. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major concern in fisheries management around the world. Several measures have been taken to address the problem. In Lake Victoria, the alleviation of IUU fishing is implemented through the Regional Plan of Action (RPOA-IUU), which restricts use of certain fishing gear, as well as prohibits fishing in closed areas and during closed seasons. Despite the long-term efforts to monitor and control what goes on in the fisheries, IUU fishing has persisted in Lake Victoria. Inspired by interactive governance theory, this paper argues that the persistence of IUU fishing could be due to different images that stakeholders have about the situation, rather than the lack of management competency. Through structured interviews with 150 fisheries stakeholders on Ijinga Island in the southeastern part of Lake Victoria, Tanzania, using paired comparison questionnaires, the study elicits stakeholders' perspective about the severity of different locally-pertinent fishing-related activities. The results show that while fisheries stakeholder groups agree on their judgments about certain fishing gears, some differences are also apparent. For instance, fisheries managers and scientists do not always agree with fishing people about what activities cause the most damage to fisheries resources and ecosystem. Further, they tend to consider some IUU fishing-related activities less damaging than some non-IUU fishing. Such disparity creates governability challenges, pointing to the need to revisit relevant regulatory measures and to make them consistent with the knowledge and judgments of all stakeholders. Based on these findings, we discuss governing interventions that may contribute to addressing IUU fishing in Lake Victoria and elsewhere.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	MDPI AG
dc.relation.ispartof	Sustainability (Switzerland)
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/su8101062
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	12 Built Environment and Design
dc.title	A bottom-up understanding of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Lake Victoria
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	8
utslib.for	12 Built Environment and Design
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Social and Political Sciences Program
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2020-06-24T00:39:10Z
pubs.issue	10
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	8
utslib.citation.issue	10

Abstract:

© 2016 by the authors. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major concern in fisheries management around the world. Several measures have been taken to address the problem. In Lake Victoria, the alleviation of IUU fishing is implemented through the Regional Plan of Action (RPOA-IUU), which restricts use of certain fishing gear, as well as prohibits fishing in closed areas and during closed seasons. Despite the long-term efforts to monitor and control what goes on in the fisheries, IUU fishing has persisted in Lake Victoria. Inspired by interactive governance theory, this paper argues that the persistence of IUU fishing could be due to different images that stakeholders have about the situation, rather than the lack of management competency. Through structured interviews with 150 fisheries stakeholders on Ijinga Island in the southeastern part of Lake Victoria, Tanzania, using paired comparison questionnaires, the study elicits stakeholders' perspective about the severity of different locally-pertinent fishing-related activities. The results show that while fisheries stakeholder groups agree on their judgments about certain fishing gears, some differences are also apparent. For instance, fisheries managers and scientists do not always agree with fishing people about what activities cause the most damage to fisheries resources and ecosystem. Further, they tend to consider some IUU fishing-related activities less damaging than some non-IUU fishing. Such disparity creates governability challenges, pointing to the need to revisit relevant regulatory measures and to make them consistent with the knowledge and judgments of all stakeholders. Based on these findings, we discuss governing interventions that may contribute to addressing IUU fishing in Lake Victoria and elsewhere.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/141650