Failure to engage the public in issues related to inland fishes and fisheries: strategies for building public and political will to promote meaningful conservation^a

Abstract

Generating awareness of environmental conservation issues among the public is essential if there is an expectation of them to alter their behaviour, facilitate informed decisions and engage governments or regulatory authorities to take action. There are, however, exceedingly few public engagement success stories related to inland fishes and fisheries policy and resource allocation decisions. Inland aquatic resources and their associated fisheries provide employment, recreation, culture and, in developing regions, a considerable proportion of human nutrition and food security. Freshwater fishes are incredibly diverse but are among the most endangered organisms globally. Many threats to inland fisheries are driven largely by externalities to inland fisheries. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the role and plight of inland fishes and fisheries, and the need to generate the public and political will necessary to promote meaningful conservation. With this paper, the extent to which the scientific and environmental management communities have failed to engage the public in issues related to inland fishes and fisheries is characterized. Next, the barriers or factors that serve as the basis for the problem with public engagement are identified. The paper concludes by identifying strategies, including those focused on environmental education initiatives, for building the public and political will necessary to promote meaningful conservation of inland fishes and fisheries in developed and developing countries. Scientists, environmental managers, non-governmental organizations, politicians, regulatory authorities and the media all have important roles to play in overcoming challenges to inland fisheries. Failure to engage the public in freshwater conservation and management issues will impede efforts to stem the loss of freshwater habitats, fisheries and aquatic biodiversity. Thankfully, there are opportunities to learn from success stories related to other environmental issues and initiatives that have been successful in marine fish conservation.

“Buying a Pig in a Poke”: The Problem of Elasmobranch Meat Consumption in Southern Brazil

“…Therefore, certification programs such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and eco-labels, may help the consumers to choose more sustainable seafood products (Jacquet and Pauly 2008;Lamendin et al 2015;Sampson et al 2015;Von der Heyden et al 2010) Ecological information provided through educational campaigns can promote long-term changes in people's awareness, environmental knowledge and attitude development (Cooke et al 2013;Farmer et al 2007; Van der Ploeg et al 2010). On the other hand, the failure to engage the public in conservation and management issues can impede efforts to stem the biodiversity loss (Cooke et al 2013). Therefore, we suggest that ecological information about sharks and rays, their role in ecosystems, and the risks to human health associated with their consumption due to high levels of heavy metals should be included in Brazilian elementary and high school curricula.…”

Assessing the global distribution of river fisheries harvest: a systematic map protocol

“…Consequently, these fisheries are often given low priority in planning and policy discussions relative to other uses of river ecosystem services such as drinking water, agriculture, or energy production [5,8].…”

Public Support for Wetland Restoration: What is the Link With Ecosystem Service Values?

“…In addition, scientists should make use of informal and non-scientific events to exchange ideas about the benefits and costs of ecological restoration with the public (Sayer et al 2014). By actively engaging with local users, scientists and environmental managers can foster support for wetland restoration projects, which is likely to increase the success of wetland restoration and conservation (Cooke et al 2013). …”