From Reef to Table: Social and Ecological Factors Affecting Coral Reef Fisheries, Artisanal Seafood Supply Chains, and Seafood Security

Abstract

Ocean and coastal ecosystems provide critical fisheries, coastal protection, and cultural benefits to communities worldwide, but these services are diminishing due to local and global threats. In response, place-based strategies involve communities and resource users in management have proliferated. Here, we present a transferable community-based approach to assess the social and ecological factors affecting resource sustainability and food security in a small-scale, coral reef fishery. Our results show that this small-scale fishery provides large-scale benefits to communities, including 7,353 ± 1547 kg yr-1 (mean ± SE) of seafood per year, equating to >30,000 meals with an economic value of $78,432. The vast majority of the catch is used for subsistence, contributing to community food security: 58% is kept, 33.5% is given away, and 8.5% is sold. Our spatial analysis assesses the geographic distribution of community beneficiaries from the fishery (the “food shed” for the fishery), and we document that 20% of seafood procured from the fishery is used for sociocultural events that are important for social cohesion. This approach provides a method for assessing social, economic, and cultural values provided by small-scale food systems, as well as important contributions to food security, with significant implications for conservation and management. This interdisciplinary effort aims to demonstrate a transferable participatory research approach useful for resource-dependent communities as they cope with socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental change.

Factors Affecting Sustainability of alternatives livelihood in coastal community of Nembrala East Nusa Tenggara: An Application of MICMAC Method

“…These results are in line with findings from Campbell et al (2013) who found the importance of socio-economic and institutional coherence as key factors in smallscale fisheries management. In similar fashion, the results of this study are also supported by findings from Kittinger et al (2015) who emphasize the importance of social and ecological factors for sustainable fisheries.…”

Multiple Factors Affect Socioeconomics and Wellbeing of Artisanal Sea Cucumber Fishers

“…Nonetheless, small-scale fishers share major concerns about regulatory constraints on fishing, marginal incomes, and a lack of alternative livelihood sources [1, 75, 76]. Ruiz [28] found that fishing is satisfying as an occupation, yet fishers can be disgruntled about the level of earnings, the condition of marine resources and the performance of management institutions.…”

Comparison of Reef Fish Survey Data Gathered by Open and Closed Circuit SCUBA Divers Reveals Differences in Areas With Higher Fishing Pressure

“…In Hawaii, the great majority of fishing for coral reef fishes is non-commercial [34–36], typically for subsistence, recreation and/or sharing with wider social networks [35]. Expanded estimates of non-commercial fishery catch and effort expansions are generated by the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), but those are only available at statewide level (i.e.…”