Who owns sturgeon in the Caspian? New theoretical model of social responses towards state conservation policy

Ermolin, Ilya; Svolkinas, Linas

doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1211-x

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Thousands of fingerlings are released annually to the Caspian Sea in Iran, although recent numbers have drastically declined compared with over 20 million fingerlings per year in the late 1990s (Jalali, Hosseini, & Imanpour, ; Pourkazemi, ). In the Russian part of the Caspian Sea, Ermolin and Svolkinas () also observed a variety of fishing gear and vessels used by sturgeon poachers. A strong willingness for practical, widespread collaborative action is urgently required, and if absent conservation efforts in one region can be erased in another region/country, given the scale of IUU fishing occurrence and the long distances that sturgeons can migrate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Analysis of data also highlights how the deficiency or performance of law enforcement by government agencies, including marine conservation guards, can influence the scale of IUU fishing. In this regard, Ermolin and Svolkinas () assessed the responses of illegal fishers in the Northern Caspian Sea, and observed that the behaviour of marine guards enforcing anti‐poaching measures can impact fishers' decisions and responses to conservation policies. On the basis of their interviews with fishers they found that in some regions these guards may violate local social norms, and are perceived as the enemy of fishers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several social, economic, and geopolitical factors may contribute to the occurrence of IUU fishing, however. Short‐term economic profits, failure to adhere to social and ethical considerations, particularly among people or groups of susceptible fishers, and insisting on self‐interest can contribute to the incidence of IUU fishing (Blank & Gavin, ; Ermolin & Svolkinas, ; Mancini et al, ). Other factors such as the likelihood of being deterred whilst committing IUU fishing, the type of penalties, and the performance of government control, monitoring, and conservation systems can also impact the incidence rate of IUU fishing (Diogo, Gil Pereira, & Schmiing, ; Martins et al, ; Walker, Foote, & Sullivan, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, with the application of multiple approaches, a better understanding of the causes and consequences of IUU fishing occurrence could be gained. In this regard, assessing the behaviour of illegal fishers on the Russian coast of the Caspian Sea using field‐ and interview‐based surveys has shown that sturgeon harvest and conservation policies have affected fishers' decisions and responses (Ermolin & Svolkinas, ). Recent reports indicated the existence of an organized criminal network in the Caspian regions, which have an important role in the illegal exploitation and trade of sturgeon caviar because of factors such as scarcity, the high prices paid for caviar, social instability, corruption, and defects in the monitoring and control systems (van Uhm & Siegel, ; Zabyelina, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What are the drivers of the occurrence of illegal fishing and conservation barriers of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea?

Aghilinejhad

Gorgin

Uhm

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Overfishing, exacerbated by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, is a serious threat to the conservation of the Caspian sturgeon populations, exposing them to the brink of extinction. This indicates the importance of investigating the causes and eliminating the consequences of the occurrence of IUU fishing.2. This study aimed to determine the barriers to sturgeon conservation, and to evaluate the importance of variables involved in the occurrence of IUU fishing in the southern Caspian Sea using field-and questionnaire-based surveys of 520 Iranian fishers and 40 fishery experts.3. Modelling the data using the Logit regression model indicated that several social, economic, conservation, and fishery-related variables (including fisheries knowledge, fish price, fishing method, fishing time, catch/vessel ownership, conservation importance, and penalty awareness) significantly contributed to the occurrence of illegal fishing. Fishers with poorer fisheries knowledge who owned fishing vessels were more likely to be involved in IUU fishing. In addition, fishers who were less concerned about sturgeon conservation and who used non-standard fishing gear at night had a higher probability of committing IUU fishing. 4. Exploring the opinions of fishery experts through the analytical hierarchy process also showed that economic, social, fishing, and conservation criteria were respectively attributed the highest weights as the contributing criteria to the occurrence of IUU fishing. 5. Overall, close associations were observed between the range of determinants, with the probability of the occurrence of IUU fishing indicating that illegal fishing is a complex event that should be studied in different dimensions because of the involvement of a combination of drivers. The knowledge obtained here can assist the relevant agencies in preventing this widespread problem, and with the practical rebuilding and more efficient conservation planning of sturgeon stocks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What are the drivers of the occurrence of illegal fishing and conservation barriers of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea?

Aghilinejhad

Gorgin

Uhm

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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show abstract

“…Unfortunately, our knowledge about the impact of environmental and anthropogenic factors on the native biodiversity in the Caspian Sea is largely biased towards few key stressors related to natural water-level fluctuations and human activities, such as fishery and mineral extraction (Malinovskaja et al, 1998;Agah et al, 2007;Zinchenko, 2010, 2011;Khodorevskaya et al, 2014;Yanina, 2014;Latypov, 2015;Mammadov et al, 2016;Poorbagher et al, 2017). Moreover, most previous human impact studies in the Caspian Sea are restricted to coastal areas (Nasrabadi et al, 2011;Aliyeva et al, 2013;Bastami et al, 2014), individual countries (Aliyeva et al, 2013;Dmitrieva et al, 2013;Bastami et al, 2014;Yancheshmeh et al, 2014;Mashroofeh et al, 2015;Varnosfaderany et al, 2015) or selected target species (Bickham et al, 1998;Agah et al, 2007;Dmitrieva et al, 2013;Ermolin and Svolkinas, 2016;Poorbagher et al, 2017). Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of lake-wide spatial differences in combined and individual pressures is lacking and the biological consequences of human impacts are poorly understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential impact of anthropogenic pressures on Caspian Sea ecoregions

Lattuada

Albrecht

Wilke

2019

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Over the past decades, overall ecological conditions in the Caspian Sea have deteriorated. However, a comprehensive understanding of lake-wide spatial differences in anthropogenic pressures is lacking and the biological consequences of human impacts are poorly understood. This paper therefore aims at assessing the individual and combined effects of critical anthropogenic pressures on the Caspian Sea ecoregions. First, cumulative pressure scores were calculated with a cumulative environmental assessment (CEA) analysis. Then, the individual contribution of anthropogenic pressures was quantified. Finally, ecoregion-specific differences were assessed. The analyses show that both cumulative and individual pressure scores are unevenly distributed across the Caspian Sea. The most important individual pressures are invasive species, chemical pollution and poaching. This uneven distribution of pressure scores across Caspian Sea ecoregions creates new challenges for future conservation strategies, as different ecoregions usually require different conservation measures.

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Stakeholder consensus suggests strategies to promote sustainability in an artisanal fishery with high rates of poaching and marine mammal bycatch

et al. 2023

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1. Illegal fishing for high value species in artisanal fisheries drives incidental catch and declines of marine mammals and other large vertebrates of conservation importance around the world. Engaging with stakeholders is essential to understand which strategies will be effective in motivating the development of more sustainable practices, and disengagement from illegal fisheries.2. Here we present the results of a Q study carried out in autumn 2018 with 50 stakeholders from the Caspian Sea coast of Dagestan (Russian Federation), including fishers illegally targeting sturgeon (Acipenseridae) and Caspian seals Pusa caspica, traders and fisheries managers. We assess viewpoints on biodiversity governance; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and conservation.3. Three distinct viewpoint groups emerged from a factor analysis, which we designated as 'Nostalgists', 'Optimists' and 'Pessimists'. Nostalgists were concerned with decline in environmental quality, and emphasised a need for increased centralised involvement of authorities reminiscent of the old Soviet system. Optimists expressed support for a well-regulated legal fisheries sector, while Pessimists were very aware of the negative impact of illegal fisheries and IWT, but felt they could not be controlled.4. Among all groups we found a strong desire for alternative livelihoods (ALs), improved sustainability and agreement on the potential effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) and increased regulation, even if some stakeholders felt they were not achievable goals. 5. We used our results to inform three workshops in which Dagestani fishers and fishery experts discussed potential conservation interventions, and the barriers to their implementation. Six action types were identified including enhanced law enforcement, increased regulation, protected areas, alternative livelihoods,

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Who owns sturgeon in the Caspian? New theoretical model of social responses towards state conservation policy

Cited by 14 publications

References 30 publications

What are the drivers of the occurrence of illegal fishing and conservation barriers of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea?

What are the drivers of the occurrence of illegal fishing and conservation barriers of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea?

Differential impact of anthropogenic pressures on Caspian Sea ecoregions

Stakeholder consensus suggests strategies to promote sustainability in an artisanal fishery with high rates of poaching and marine mammal bycatch

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