Environmental and institutional degradation in the globalized economy: lessons from small-scale fisheries in the Gulf of California

Abstract

External drivers increasingly impact small-scale fisheries worldwide. As globalization accelerates the flow of information, commodities, and capital across geographic space, neoliberal reforms have fueled the development of the international seafood trade. Small-scale fisheries traditionally driven by local forces and market demands are increasingly nested within the broader structures of global markets and international institutions. Building on existing work that integrates social-ecological systems thinking and critical social science theory, we address how globalization has transformed the social fabric of coastal fishing communities and consider the implications for institutional and environmental integrity. Using small-scale fisheries across the Gulf of California as an empirical example, we extend a theory of small-scale fisheries interactions proposed by development scholars to incorporate global market forces, considering how drivers operating at multiple temporal and geographic scales have influenced outcomes in one of the world's most diverse and productive marine ecosystems. We suggest that neoliberal reforms promoting the growth and development of an exportoriented seafood industry have restructured the relationships between small-scale fishermen, coastal communities, and the marine environment. As the benefits of trade liberalization have been captured by local elites, small-scale fishermen have been left increasingly vulnerable to the shocks and uncertainties associated with political, economic, and environmental change. By situating our findings within an emerging body of scholarship documenting parallel dynamics across diverse geographies, we argue that efforts to avoid and/ or mitigate the tragedy of the commons within small-scale fishery systems must address the relationships between global markets, social and economic inequality, and local capacities for self-organization and collective action.

Heterogeneity among clam harvesters in northwest Mexico shapes individual adaptive capacity

“…Alienation of the informal sector (libres and permisionarios libres) via a lack of access to secure fishing rights, formal sanctions, and exclusion from decision-making processes has also led to tension between formal and informal groups. Previous work in Baja California Sur has found that the permitting structure limits fishers' ability to migrate seasonally in response to seasonal shifts in target species (Sievanen 2014), and that market accessibility privileges wealthy actors (Frawley et al 2019b). In Loreto, participatory processes meant to encourage the inclusion of diverse actors in marine resource management have resulted in internal exclusion, whereby the participation of certain actors and groups is limited (Peterson 2011).…”

“…Understanding how individuals make decisions and adapt is key to predicting how they will fare under changing conditions in the future (Coulthard and Britton 2015). Heterogeneity among fishers has consequences both for the sustainability of fished populations and for fishers' individual capacity to adapt to future change (Coulthard and Britton 2015, Frawley et al 2019b). Adaptive capacity is defined as the ability of systems to design or change their structure in response to environmental or socioeconomic variability such that they maintain the ability to cope under new circumstances (Adger et al 2005, Armitage andPlummer 2010).…”

“…The ability to diversify is also increasingly bound by regulatory enclosure (Murray et al 2010). Variation among fishers in terms of social and economic capital, as well as factors such as culture, perception, and individual risk profiles, influence which adaptive strategies they adopt (Frawley et al 2019b). This variation affects each fishers' individual ability to adapt to disturbance and change and may also have consequences for the broader adaptive capacity of the fishery SES (Folke et al 2010).…”

Heterogeneous Perceptions of Social-Ecological Change Among Small-Scale Fishermen in the Central Gulf of California: Implications for Adaptive Response

“…Fisheries productivity is expected to decrease across such latitudes (Sumaila et al, 2011) as critical infrastructure and marine habitat are threatened by predicted ocean warming, sea level rise, and increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events (Pratchett et al, 2011;Woodruff et al, 2013). In addition, these SSF systems are increasingly embedded in global trade networks and international institutions (Crona et al, 2016), and their high resource dependence, restricted market access, and limited governance capacity make them acutely susceptible to political and economic instability (Lauer et al, 2013;Frawley et al, 2019). Across the Gulf of California, global change is transforming SSFs and the social-ecological systems in which they are embedded (Frawley et al, 2019).…”

“…In addition, these SSF systems are increasingly embedded in global trade networks and international institutions (Crona et al, 2016), and their high resource dependence, restricted market access, and limited governance capacity make them acutely susceptible to political and economic instability (Lauer et al, 2013;Frawley et al, 2019). Across the Gulf of California, global change is transforming SSFs and the social-ecological systems in which they are embedded (Frawley et al, 2019). Though the sector has long been a major source of regional economic development (Sala et al, 2004), the ecology and biodiversity of the region have suffered considerable degradation (Carvajal et al, 2004;Saenz-Arroyo et al, 2005).…”