A review of the past, the present, and the future of fishers' knowledge research: a challenge to established fisheries science

Abstract

Fishers' knowledge research is an approach to fisheries research that has a relatively long history, yet has generally failed to become integrated into the fisheries science mainstream alongside approaches that rely primarily on the knowledge of professional scientists. Its continued position on the margins of fisheries science has not however stopped fishers' knowledge researchers from publishing an expanding literature, which they often use to advocate for the greater consideration of fishers' knowledge by fisheries scientists and managers. They believe that the unique and often highly qualitative knowledge of fishers could inform better decision-making, resulting in improved socio-ecological outcomes for fisheries. This review first outlines the scope of the fishers' knowledge literature, before outlining five waves of fishers' knowledge research that have developed over the last century. For each wave, the nature of the fishers' knowledge documented during it is noted, as is the research and dissemination approach taken by its practitioners. The impact of that wave on mainstream fisheries science is then assessed. Overall, it is found that only one wave of fishers' knowledge research is beginning to have consistent success integrating with mainstream fisheries science, a wave that omits the research of many of the unique elements of fishers' knowledge. Other waves have died out, or are in danger of dying out, either because they have failed to be noticed by mainstream fisheries scientists or because mainstream fisheries scientists have not welcomed their outputs. It is summarized that fishers' knowledge research will only continue as a productive activity if mainstream fisheries scientists begin to open their discipline to other knowledge cultures and if fishers' knowledge researchers facilitate this action by disseminating their research so that it is more accessible to these scientists.

Managed out of existence: over-regulation of Indigenous subsistence fishing of the Yukon River

“…While global fisheries management systems have made an effort to include Indigenous Fishers Knowledge, studies across the globe show there is a lack of incorporation of the fishers' voice into management and policy regimes, and as this trend has increased fishers' knowledge has declined over the past decade (Hind 2014). Fishing, as a subsistence activity, has a vital ''trial and error'' component which creates evolving Indigenous knowledge systems capable of ''cultural adaptations and the ability to utilize resources often associated with or affected by seasonal variation and changing ecological conditions'' (Theriault et al 2008;Nuttall et al 2005, 67).…”

“…When Alaska Natives are successful in accessing the space provided for raising their voices, they face an additional barrier: perceptions of legitimacy and acceptance within policy and management regimes (Pinkerton 1994;Pinkerton and John 2008;Johannes et al 2000;Berkes and Henley 1997;Danielsen et al 2014;Hind 2014;Howitt 2001). Part of gaining legitimacy and acceptance is in the presentation of knowledge.…”

“…McGoodwin (2006) argues that ''…fish-ers' knowledge that has been self-generated, without significant prompting by external forces, will also be much more amenable for incorporation into contemporary fishers science and management than will knowledge that has been generated mostly as a reaction or resistance to externally imposed management authority'' (182). In other words, a western world view demands fishers' knowledge meet key requirements in order to gain acceptance in higher levels of management (McGoodwin 2006;Pinkerton 1994;Hind 2014). Indigenous fishers and communities must prove they are invested in the success of a resource, and then their TEK is scrutinized by state and federal governments (Sepez 2002;Wenzel 2004).…”

Knowledge production at boundaries : an inquiry into collaborations to make management plans for European fisheries

“…Accordingly, descriptions in the scientific literature of various forms of knowledge typically identify scientific knowledge as a distinct category, whereas labels such as local, lay, traditional, and informal are used to describe and categorize other non-scientific forms of knowledge (Raymond et al, 2010;Nursey-Bray et al, 2014). In the context of fishery science and management, this "other" category encompasses the terms fishers' ecological knowledge and the broader fishers' knowledge (Soto, 2006;Bjørkan, 2011;Hind, 2015). Fishers' knowledge that can be used in an open and participatory knowledge system includes information about temporal and spatial fish abundance, location of spawning grounds, seabed characteristics, use and efficiency of gear types, and fishing-fleet behaviour.…”

“…In addition to illustrating challenges related to the integration of knowledge between scientific and non-scientific knowledge domains, the NSSS example also serves to illustrate that collaborative efforts between scientists and fishers often emphasize collection of data by fishers for use by biologists; see the review by Hind (2015). Recent developments, however, including interdisciplinary research projects such as GAP2 (see below) and conferences addressing how fisheries dependent information (FDI) can enrich science and management, signal an ambition to broaden such collaborations (Graham et al, 2011;Dorner et al, 2015;Stephenson et al, 2016).…”