Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery

Achieving resource sustainability in complex social-ecological systems requires employing place-based management mechanisms congruent with the underlying temporal, spatial, and functional dynamics of the system in question. However, matching management to system dynamics can prove extremely challeng...

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Main Authors: Kimberly L Ovitz, Teresa R Johnson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services) 2019-04-01
Series:International Journal of the Commons
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/866
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spelling doaj-dd16632d8b6b42a4a232a7a30112db9e2020-11-25T02:23:52ZengUtrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services)International Journal of the Commons1875-02812019-04-0113127630210.18352/ijc.866412Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fisheryKimberly L Ovitz0Teresa R Johnson1University of Maine, School of Marine SciencesUniversity of Maine, School of Marine SciencesAchieving resource sustainability in complex social-ecological systems requires employing place-based management mechanisms congruent with the underlying temporal, spatial, and functional dynamics of the system in question. However, matching management to system dynamics can prove extremely challenging, as has been illustrated in Maine’s sea urchin fishery where fishery managers have struggled to resolve management spatial scale mismatch for over two decades. In Maine, the spatial scale of management far exceeds the relevant spatial dynamics of the urchin resource and leaves fine-scale urchin aggregations in a 'de facto 'open access state. These conditions facilitated the serial overharvest of urchin aggregations and resulted in the substantial loss of viable urchin habitat as overharvested areas transitioned to kelp-dominated ecosystem states that inhibit urchin recruitment. Although fishery actors contemplated adopting a number of fine-scale management alternatives to enhance social-ecological fit in the fishery, to date, no such alternatives have been employed. We adopted an ethnographic research approach and conducted semi-structured key informant interviews, document analysis of archived meeting minutes, and participant observation at co-management meetings and restoration events to explore these dynamics from the fishery’s incipience to the present. Following data analysis, we employed Ostrom’s social-ecological systems framework as a diagnostic tool to identify the factors that have influenced management spatial fit in the urchin fishery. Research findings suggest that a number of interacting variables, including harvesters’ heterogeneity and conflicting mental models of the SES, low levels of trust and social capital, and changes in the resource system following collapse impeded collective action necessary to support fine-scale management. However, changing leadership characteristics and increasing horizontal collaboration between harvesters and scientists have positively influenced governance outcomes in recent years and provide a window of opportunity to transition towards a more adaptive and collaborative governance arrangement conducive to addressing problems of fit in the urchin fishery.https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/866social-ecological systems, sea urchins, scale mismatch, social-ecological fit, fishery management
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Kimberly L Ovitz
Teresa R Johnson
spellingShingle Kimberly L Ovitz
Teresa R Johnson
Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
International Journal of the Commons
social-ecological systems, sea urchins, scale mismatch, social-ecological fit, fishery management
author_facet Kimberly L Ovitz
Teresa R Johnson
author_sort Kimberly L Ovitz
title Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
title_short Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
title_full Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
title_fullStr Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
title_full_unstemmed Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery
title_sort seeking sustainability: employing ostrom's sesf to explore spatial fit in maine’s sea urchin fishery
publisher Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services)
series International Journal of the Commons
issn 1875-0281
publishDate 2019-04-01
description Achieving resource sustainability in complex social-ecological systems requires employing place-based management mechanisms congruent with the underlying temporal, spatial, and functional dynamics of the system in question. However, matching management to system dynamics can prove extremely challenging, as has been illustrated in Maine’s sea urchin fishery where fishery managers have struggled to resolve management spatial scale mismatch for over two decades. In Maine, the spatial scale of management far exceeds the relevant spatial dynamics of the urchin resource and leaves fine-scale urchin aggregations in a 'de facto 'open access state. These conditions facilitated the serial overharvest of urchin aggregations and resulted in the substantial loss of viable urchin habitat as overharvested areas transitioned to kelp-dominated ecosystem states that inhibit urchin recruitment. Although fishery actors contemplated adopting a number of fine-scale management alternatives to enhance social-ecological fit in the fishery, to date, no such alternatives have been employed. We adopted an ethnographic research approach and conducted semi-structured key informant interviews, document analysis of archived meeting minutes, and participant observation at co-management meetings and restoration events to explore these dynamics from the fishery’s incipience to the present. Following data analysis, we employed Ostrom’s social-ecological systems framework as a diagnostic tool to identify the factors that have influenced management spatial fit in the urchin fishery. Research findings suggest that a number of interacting variables, including harvesters’ heterogeneity and conflicting mental models of the SES, low levels of trust and social capital, and changes in the resource system following collapse impeded collective action necessary to support fine-scale management. However, changing leadership characteristics and increasing horizontal collaboration between harvesters and scientists have positively influenced governance outcomes in recent years and provide a window of opportunity to transition towards a more adaptive and collaborative governance arrangement conducive to addressing problems of fit in the urchin fishery.
topic social-ecological systems, sea urchins, scale mismatch, social-ecological fit, fishery management
url https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/866
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