Presentation at Oceans Past IV Conference, November 2012, Fremantle, Western Australia

1. Meryl J Williams
Ocean Past IV
7-9 November 2012
MerylJWilliams@gmail.com

2. Claims and Disclaims: The following PPT was used when I presented a keynote address to the
Oceans Past IV conference (7-9 November, Notre Dame University, Fremantle, Western
Australia). It is my preliminary exploration of ideas, based on personal experience, on reading
the research literature, hearing many different cases around the world and visiting many
different regions. Following this PPT are 2 additional slides containing additional information
discovered, all by lucky coincidence, in the days following after Oceans Past IV -
http://hmapcoml.org/oceanspast/.

3. A look back through the lens of “fisheries management”
using a network analysis approach

4. How to organize the information?
 Searching for solutions to manage the fisheries
commons
• the evolving concept of “fisheries management”
 A network model for case studies
 Three cases
• Northern Australian trepang
• Southern bluefin tuna
• Southeast Asian small pelagic fish
 Conclusions
• Turning “ugly truths” into levers of positive change

5. Fisheries management
Fisheries governance
Fisheries networks (of networks)

6.  Historically to 1950
• capture and/or allocate the benefits, minimize conflict
• find new fisheries to replace old
• stay within environment carrying capacity (more rarely)
 1950-mid 1970s
• Develop new fisheries, modernize
 Mid 1970s-mid 1990s
• capture benefits of UNCLOS
• sustainability of target resources
• minimize environment damage, e.g., to bycatch and habitat
 Mid 1990s-present
• grow exports, value chain under globalization
• ecosystem approach to fisheries
• fair fisheries? rights for small-scale fishers, crew, women?

7. “WESTERN”
• Science, fish stock based
• Biased towards industrial
fishing
• Top-down, seeks tight,
centralist, uniform State
control
 may suit some fish stocks,
fishers but not others
• Aquaculture development
 cautious, science based, env
concerns

8. “WESTERN”
• Fish population dynamicists
• Fisheries managers
• Fisheries economists
• Industry representatives
• MCS professionals
• Environmentalists
• Aquaculture
scientist/advocates

9. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
• Fish population dynamicists
• Fisheries managers
• Fisheries economists
• Industry representatives
• MCS professionals
• Environmentalists
• Aquaculture
scientist/advocates

10. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT FAO GLOSSARY
• Fish population dynamicists Fisheries management
• Fisheries managers The integrated process of
information gathering, analysis,
• Fisheries economists planning, consultation, decision-
• Industry representatives making, allocation of resources
• MCS professionals and formulation and
implementation, with
• Environmentalists enforcement as necessary, of
• Aquaculture regulations or rules which
scientist/advocates govern fisheries activities in
order to ensure the continued
productivity of the resources
and the accomplishment of other
fisheries objectives.

11. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT “NON-WESTERN”
• Science, fish stock based • Socially, not science based
• Biased towards industrial • Small-scale and industrial
fishing fishing
• Top-down, seeks tight, • Bottom-up, dispersed,
centralist, uniform State heterogeneous social rather
control than State control
 may suit some fish stocks,  may suit some fish stocks,
fishers but not others fishers but not others
• Aquaculture development  Implicit belief in tradition
 cautious, science based, env • Aquaculture development
concerns
 laissez-faire, practice based

12. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT “NON-WESTERN”
• Fish population dynamicists • Applied social scientists
and biologists • often re-badged biologists,
• Fisheries managers economists
• Fisheries economists • Development assistance
• Industry representatives experts (recent)
• MCS professionals • Small-scale fishers
organizations
• Environmentalists
• Aquaculture
• Aquaculture
scientist/advocates
scientist/advocates

13. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT FISHERIES GOVERNANCE
• Fish population dynamicists • Applied social scientists
and biologists • often re-badged biologists,
• Fisheries managers economists
• Fisheries economists • Development assistance
• Industry representatives experts (recent)
• MCS professionals • Small-scale fishers
organizations
• Environmentalists
• Aquaculture
• Aquaculture
scientist/advocates
scientist/advocates

14. FAO (1997) FISHERIES GOVERNANCE
The term “governance” covers • Applied social scientists
both: (i) the activity or process of
governing; (ii) those people • often re-badged biologists,
charged with the duty of governing: economists
and (iii) the manner, method and
system by which a particular • Development assistance
society is governed. In fisheries it experts (recent)
is usually understood as the sum
of the legal, social, economic and • Small-scale fishers
political arrangements used to organizations
manage fisheries. It has
international, national and local • Aquaculture
dimensions. It includes legally scientist/advocates
binding rules, such as national
legislation or international treaties
as well as customary social
arrangements.

15.  Fisheries Management
• New modern solutions, based on economic concepts would
deliver profits and sustainability in a virtuous cycle
 e.g., limited entry, strong MCS, TACs/seasonal closures, ITQs
 Fisheries Governance
• Traditional fisheries ‘management’ is the solution
 E.g., sasi laut, pangalima laut, van chai,…
 BUT Foale et al 2011 tenure and taboos in the Pacific, Davies
and Ruddle 2012
• Marine protected areas are a panacea (conservationists)
 Both
• Co-management will create a more inclusive, egalitarian
and sustainable management process

16. • Most current fisheries are mixed
 “western” and “non-western” characters
 mixed types and scales, even in the “west”
 advanced technologies, globalized markets and loose State
management measures
 the mix does not suit many fish stocks or fishers
• Fisheries and aquaculture are embedded in other
social/economic/ecological systems and their histories
• Elinor Ostrom’s coupled socio-ecological systems
 Homo cooperaticus vs Homo economicus
 An approach to finding key variables associated with self-
organization in commons resources

17. when history confronts us with negative lessons?
Dilbert 5 November 2012

18.  Increasing use of network models in fisheries
management analysis
• From sociology, material semiotics, research and
innovation system studies
• More process and less structurally oriented than SES
 Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is popular
 Links people and natural systems
 Translation as the process of forming a network
 Network development and translational stages have historical
overtones
 Increasing use in fisheries studies,
 E.g., scallop culture (Callon 1986), studies on MSC (Bear and Eden
2008), NZ quota systems (Rees 2005), Indian cage culture
(Ramachandran 2009), “cyborgization of the fisheries” (Johnsen et al
2009)

19. Drawing from actor-network theory
Adding a glossary of terms

20.  The Actor-Networks of “management”
• “Actants” – human and non-human factors
 The resource and its characteristics
 Technology
 People (including women), collectives, markets
 Management systems and relations
 Translations
• At critical changes
• Stages with drivers and motivations
 Outcomes

21.  Translations – stages of the change
• 1. Problematisation
 defines the problem and actors who, by defining the problem
and how to deal with it, make themselves indispensible
• 2. Interessement
 during which the primary actor(s) recruit other actors for roles
which recognize the centrality of the primary actor's own role
• 3. Enrolment
 during which roles are defined and actors formally accept
and take on these roles, and
• 4. Mobilisation
 during which primary actors become spokespeople for
passive network actors (agents) and mobilize them to action.

22.  Need = demand for basic needs including
food, employment, income, tax, conflict
resolution, social and moral status
 Greed = wants, market demand, profits,
market control
 Speed = competition, technology
innovation, economic efficiency,
productivity

23.  Need = demand for basic needs including
food, employment, income, tax, conflict
resolution, social and moral status
 Greed = wants, market demand, profits,
market control
 Speed = competition, technology
innovation, economic efficiency,
productivity

24. Northern
Australian trepang fishery
Southern Bluefin Tuna
Southeast Asian small pelagic fish

25. Picture: FAO 2008
Chief source of information
Charles Campbell McKnight 1976
The Voyage to Marege’: Macassan trepangers in northern
Australia.

26. THE ACTOR-NETWORKS OVERVIEW
• Sessile, accessible, multi-species
The resource characteristics
• Lucrative, distant markets
Technology • Dive fishery
• Simple processing
• Distant fishing owners, male crew
 Women stayed at home
People, collectives • Importers (China)
• Local communities
 Including aboriginal men and women
Management systems • Capital owners
• Australian, Dutch colonial, Northern
Territory authorities

27. TRANSLATION - STAGES OVERVIEW
 Pre-Makassan fishing  Little or no exploitation by first
• To mid 1700s Australians
• Few local uses, no external markets
 Makassan and colonial  Major translations
phase • Makassans led early stages
• Later, Australian authorities
• Mid 1700s to 1907 dominated
 Post-Makassan  Low level of Australian fishing to
1945, then little until late 1980s
• Early 1900s to present  Northern Territory fails to gain
• Now only 3 licences, attempting
aquaculture
• Markets resurged with Asian wealth

28. TRANSLATION MAKASSAN PHASE (LATE)
 Makassan’s had established 1. Problematisation
• S. Aust sub-collector of customs
markets, technology on arrival in Northern Territory launched bid
• Developed worker, for power and assets on basis of
controlling trepang fishery
community relations with 2. Interessement
aboriginal people • Enlisted colonial support for law,
ship, officers to tax industry
 From 1870s, (South) 3. Enrolment
Australian authorities • protection of aborigines, cattle
established regulations to tax station interests co-opted by
Australians; Makassans co-opted
catch and imported goods Dutch consul to negotiate
4. Mobilisation
• By 1907, declining stocks • Both Australian and Makassan
and heavy taxes ended sides engage in policing, tax
fishery collecting/amerliorating behaviour

29. OUTCOMES MAKASSAN PHASE
 Networks of the Makassan
northern Australia trepang
fishery fell apart
• Markets, labour, technology,
etc were not replicable by
white or original Australians
• Resource was depleted
• Chinese market languished
for decades under wars and
poor economies
Smoking a ‘Macassan” pipe, NT.  Other fisheries took over to
Source: McKnight, 1976 supply what markets remained

30.  FromNorthern Territory Fishery Status
Report 2004, p. 98
By 1907, the South Australian government had ceased
issuing licences to Macassans, possibly due to the
emergence of a local industry.

31. GOALS OF ACTORS MAKASSAN PHASE
 Need  Makassans:
• markets to meet but had depleted
 Greed closer resources
 Speed • technology, skills, know-how
• profitable thru efficient labour,
 Sustainability technology
 Australian colonial authorities
• saw resource as theirs and wanted
recompense until they could harvest it
themselves
• means to impose rules
 First Australians
• subsistence, tools, cultural artifacts
 Markets (China)
• wanted goods but sources fungible

32. MANGNGELLAI DAENG PRAUS, RAFFLES BAY 1839,
MARO, 1969 L. LE BRETON

33. MADAMAN, 2 PRAUS AND MUSLIM CEREMONY,
TREPANG BOILERS MAKASSAR 1914

34. POBASSOO, WM WESTALL, ALFRED SEARCY, LATE
1803 1800S

35. Pole and line fishing of SBT juveniles in the
hey-day of the Australian fishery.
Photo Kevin McLoughlin, BRS,
AUSTRALIAN FISHERIES RESOURCES (1993) p. 365

36. THE ACTOR-NETWORKS OVERVIEW
• Single stock, mobile, long lived
• V. high value, Japan chief market
The resource characteristics
• Stock at <5% of virgin biomass
Technology • Longline, pole and line
• Cage grow-out of juveniles
• Multi-national fleets, owners,
People, collectives crew
• Importers control price, market
• Women marginal, invisible in
communities, factories, markets
Management systems
• Capital owners pressure gov’ts

37. TRANSLATION - STAGES OVERVIEW
 Japanese fishing starts south of Java
 Pre-international management  Australia starts fishing inshore juvs
• From 1930 to about 1980  Global catch peaks in 1960s (81k t)
 Japan, Australia and NZ trilaterals
 Trilateral management • Industry actors are major influence
 Other countries became active
• 1979 to 1994  Stock assessments difficult, disputed
 CCSBT tough to negotiate
 Convention on the  Stock fails to recover; CITES attempt
 Serious catch under-reporting
Conservation of SBT  Culture efforts in train
 Current quota 10 k t
• 1994 to present

38. TRILATERAL & CCSBT
TRANSLATION PHASES
 Trilateral parties hold 1. Problematisation
• Stock assessment scientists
greatest influence, led by prepare the management ground
Japan 2. Interessement
• But new players have • Government managers looked to
power to further undermine scientists to shore up national
positions, find solutions; fishing
stock industry fought for advantages
 Eventually, CCSBT rules 3. Enrolment
found not to have been • Government, science and industry
positions entrenched
respected by the parties 4. Mobilisation
• Main actors survived into next stage
despite new entrants (conservation,
new countries)

39. OUTCOMES CCSBT PHASE
 The battles continue, all
parties hope for signs of
recovery, or at least an
increase in their quota …
SBT distribution. FAO

40. GOALS OF ACTORS CCSBT PHASE
 Australians
 Need • had rights to resource in EEZ
 Greed • technology, know-how, profitable
 Speed industry to protect
 Japanese
 Sustainability • saw resource as historical right
• innovated to lower costs
• dominates market, makes the rules
 Other countries
• jostle to gain catch share
 CCSBT
• peaceful allocations, sustainability
 Markets
• Want SBT and sources not fungible
 Scientists, conservationists
• Still trying

41. TUNA MAKES THE TOWN A COMPLEX INDUSTRY
2012 Tunarama Ambassador Entrants
(formerly Miss Tunarama)

42. TUNA MAKES THE TOWN A COMPLEX INDUSTRY
A Man
2012 Tunarama Ambassador Entrants
(formerly Miss Tunarama)

43. TSUKIJI AUCTION OF PORT
ACAP LINCOLN FATTENED TUNA

44. TSUKIJI AUCTION OF PORT
ACAP LINCOLN FATTENED TUNA
A Woman

45. PROCESSING AFTER THE
AUCTION SUSHI BAR

46. Malacca Strait, C Class purse seiner, Pulau Pangkor, Perak State,
Malaysia

47. THE ACTOR-NETWORKS OVERVIEW
The resource characteristics • Strong local markets
• Multi-species, multi-gear fishery
• Stock status poorly known
Technology
• Mainly industrial at different scales
• Simple processing
People, collectives
• Embedded in local communities
• Many foreign crew, large employer
• Women in services, processing,
Management systems markets
• National regulatory systems
• Sporadic enforcement, except
cross-border transgressions

48. TRANSLATION - STAGES OVERVIEW
 Pre-industrial fishing  Myriad of methods
• From early 1900s to 1970s,  Lift-net systems gradually
depending on area replaced with mechanised,
especially purse seines
 Industrial colonial
• Early 1900s to post WWII  Japan and colonial powers
supported mechanisation
 Modern
• Starting 1950 to 1970s,  Increasing intensification
depending on country, to and mechanisation
present

49. TRANSLATION, OUTCOMES MODERN PHASE
 Population and economic
growth drive demand
 Industry functions with little
government interference
• Except in acute events
• Despite legislation
 Science has soft voice
• Stock status poorly known
 Major overcapacity
• Political, racial risks of
reducing capacity are high
• Aquaculture preferred
means to fill fish gap

50. GOALS OF ACTORS MODERN PHASE
 Need  Catching sector
• Ready market for affordable fish
 Greed
• Technology continually upgrading
 Speed • Fishing owners large players
 Sustainability  Processing, marketing
• From villages to supermarkets
• Price pressures in supply chain?
 Government
• Reluctant to reduce capacity
• Interest in high value fish,
aquaculture
 Society
• Women in processing, marketing
sector, in family business roles
• New conservation, civil movements

51. NEW PURSE SEINER, P. MIGRANTS SORTING IKAN
PANGKOR BILIS, LANGKAWI

52. KEREPOK LEKOR THIS WEEK’S SPECIALS
SELLERS, TERENGGANU AT TESCO MALAYSIA

53. Don’t ignore the “ugly truths” but
turn need, greed and speed into useful levers

54.  The actor-network approach
• Resonated with perceptions and analyses
• Provides useful framework
 Need, greed and speed accounted for most of
the past translations
• Sustainability has been a more minor human goal
 To influence fisheries management
• certainty, or science or education won’t save the world
• Can’t ignore the “ugly truths” of need, greed and
speed – they have to also provide the positive levers
for change to sustainability

55.  Need = demand for basic needs including
food, employment, income, tax, conflict
resolution, social and moral status
 Greed = wants, market demand, profits,
market control
 Speed = competition, technology
innovation, economic efficiency,
productivity

56. “The Needy and the Greedy” by Handy Jager 1989
http://www.stors.tas.gov.au/au-7-0074-00022
Thanks to Tony Harrison and his excellent work on Australian, especially Tasmanian, fisheries history for
preserving this personal account. The first sentence in this account is as follows:
Firstly let me state I consider there are two kinds of fishermen - "the needy" and "the greedy" and I can assure
you there are no shortage of either in the industry.

57. A wonderful picture of Torres Strait Island women
processing trepang can be seen in:
W. Saville Kent. 1893. The Great Barrier Reef of
Australia: It’s Products and Potentialities.
http://archive.org/details/greatbarrierreef00kent