Documenting baseline value chains of Palau's nearshore and offshore fisheries prior to implementing a large-scale marine protected area

Dacks, Rachel; Lewis, Staci A.; James, Philip; Marino, Lincy Lee; Oleson, Kirsten L.L.

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103754

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In fact, after only a couple of months since the implementation of the PNMS, supply shortages and subsequent price increases of offshore fish are already leading to increased reef-fish demand from grocery stores and restaurants 22 . This is noteworthy since reef fishes are the chief source of protein for the local population 21 and support healthy coral reefsthe main attraction drawing tourists to Palau 23,24 .…”

Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…PNMS restrictions on industrial fishing are highly likely to significantly reduce offshore fish landings for its domestic market, which, prior to the PNMS, was dominated by foreign, industrial fleets. Such fish include tuna, wahoo, and mahi mahi, which are the main ingredients of tourists' meals in Palau 21 . Any shortage in offshore fish supply is expected to drive up offshore fish-based meal prices, which, in turn, may encourage tourists to increase their reef-fish consumption, intensifying pressure on local reefs.…”

Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conservation policies informed by food system feedbacks can avoid unintended consequences

Lewis¹,

Fezzi²,

Dacks³

et al. 2020

Nat Food

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Understanding the feedbacks between food systems and conservation policies can help avoid unintended environmental consequences. Using a survey-based choice experiment and economic modeling, we quantify the potential impact of tourists' responses to a shift in offshore fish supply after the designation of a large-scale marine protected area in Palau. We find that this conservation policy may increase offshore fish prices and tourists' consumption of reef fish, thereby further endangering local reef ecosystems. However, if tourists are offered a sustainable offshore choice, their demand for fish could be kept at current levels, and environmental impacts from increased reef fish consumption would be avoided.

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Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Mainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation policies informed by food system feedbacks can avoid unintended consequences

Lewis¹,

Fezzi²,

Dacks³

et al. 2020

Nat Food

Self Cite

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“…Similarly, an example from Palau, where the government banned 80% of fishing from foreign vessels in their off-shore waters caused effort to transition to near-shore waters, increasing the pressure on reef fish species (Dacks, Lewis, James, Marino, & Oleson, 2020).…”

Section: Strengthening Green Loops In Other Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An export ban, if implemented, should be preceded and accompanied by detailed monitoring of fisheries data to uncover if similar dynamics to Seychelles could be at play in Jamaica. Similarly, an example from Palau, where the government banned 80% of fishing from foreign vessels in their off‐shore waters caused effort to transition to near‐shore waters, increasing the pressure on reef fish species (Dacks, Lewis, James, Marino, & Oleson, 2020).…”

Section: Reinstating Missing Feedbacks In a Local Red‐trap Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For a green loop through export bans to work, a thorough, species‐specific comparison of seafood imports and exports needs to be established to be able to gauge the full benefit of an export ban (Robinson & Graham, 2020). In addition, the local and international demand for species‐specific seafood needs to be thoroughly understood so that the government can anticipate potential knock‐on effects (Dacks et al., 2020).…”

Section: Reinstating Missing Feedbacks In a Local Red‐trap Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Red and green loops help uncover missing feedbacks in a coral reef social–ecological system

et al. 2020

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Social–ecological systems (SES) exhibit complex cause‐and‐effect relationships. Capturing, interpreting, and responding to signals that indicate changes in ecosystems is key for sustainable management in SES. Breaks in this signal–response chain, when feedbacks are missing, will allow change to continue until a point when abrupt ecological surprises may occur. In these situations, societies and local ecosystems can often become uncoupled. In this paper, we demonstrate how the red loop–green loop (RL–GL) concept can be used to uncover missing feedbacks and to better understand past social–ecological dynamics. Reinstating these feedbacks in order to recouple the SES may ultimately create more sustainable systems on local scales. The RL–GL concept can uncover missing feedbacks through the characterization of SES dynamics along a spectrum of human resource dependence. Drawing on diverse qualitative and quantitative data sources, we classify SES dynamics throughout the history of Jamaican coral reefs along the RL–GL spectrum. We uncover missing feedbacks in red‐loop and red‐trap scenarios from around the year 600 until now. The Jamaican coral reef SES dynamics have moved between all four dynamic states described in the RL–GL concept: green loop, green trap, red loop and red trap. We then propose mechanisms to guide the current unsustainable red traps back to more sustainable green loops, involving mechanisms of seafood trade and ecological monitoring. By gradually moving away from seafood exports, Jamaica may be able to return to green‐loop dynamics between the local society and their locally sourced seafood. We discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of this proposed intervention and give indications of why an export ban may insure against future missing feedbacks and could prolong the sustainability of the Jamaican coral reef ecosystem. Our approach demonstrates how the RL–GL approach can uncover missing feedbacks in a coral reef SES, a way the concept has not been used before. We advocate for how the RL–GL concept in a feedback setting can be used to synthesize various types of data and to gain an understanding of past, present and future sustainability that can be applied in diverse social–ecological settings. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Sustainable Fishery Systems

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Documenting baseline value chains of Palau's nearshore and offshore fisheries prior to implementing a large-scale marine protected area

Cited by 17 publications

References 39 publications

Conservation policies informed by food system feedbacks can avoid unintended consequences

Conservation policies informed by food system feedbacks can avoid unintended consequences

Red and green loops help uncover missing feedbacks in a coral reef social–ecological system

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