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Small-scale fisheries and their governance are increasingly affected by natural, social, and political issues that originate outside their immediate control and locality. This chapter explores how researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and fisher organizations can collaborate in the pursuit of empowerment small-scale fisheries vis-à-vis such ‘external’ dynamics, with a focus on maritime boundaries. To do so, we first analyse how transboundary maritime issues complicate the operation and welfare of small-scale fishers and may further their marginalization. Second, we explore how transdisciplinary engagement can be key to better understanding and addressing such transboundary challenges. Taking an action-oriented approach, we analyse the opportunities and pitfalls of transdisciplinary collaboration to empower small-scale fishers through five types of intervention strategies: capacity building (strengthening fisher organizations), institution building (building bridges between disparate actors), discourse (reframing the nature of the problem), law (appealing to national or international courts), and mobilization (mobilizing fishers to confront power). Each type of intervention is illustrated with a case study from various parts of the world. We argue that despite potentially conflicting incentives, interests, and accountabilities, transdisciplinary engagement can be both a meaningful and effective practice to empower small-scale fishers vis-à-vis transboundary challenges.

Many coastal fisheries, including those of South Asia and South Africa, are characterised by high levels of social conflict, environmental deterioration and fragmented governance. The REINCORPFISH research project analyses the conflicts occurring in the fisheries of these two regions and promotes a governance process that recognises the existence of (a) multiple actors, and (b) legal pluralism. More impor-tantly, it strives to further a governance style that does justice to fisher interests and builds from the bottom up. The present chapter provides a conceptual framework for analyzing such processes within the context of interactive governance theory (Kooiman 2003; Kooiman et al. 2005). The starting point is the perspective of collective action that explains why and how individuals and groups, who rely heavily on specific natural resources, develop autonomous institutions for their management. Legal pluralism and political ecology theories provide tools for analyzing the roles and conflicting interests of other institutional actors, such as state agencies, in resource management, and the -positive and negative - interactions between various legal systems. The resulting frame-work is applied to investigate and compare the nature of fishery conflicts across the two regions and identify, from a theoretical perspective, the bottlenecks and chances for effective, participatory governance.

Click on the link to view the prafaceAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2013, 35(3): 359–360

This paper provides an overview of social science research in the marine environment of South Africa for the period 1994–2012. A bibliography based on a review of relevant literature and social science projects funded under the SEAChange programme of the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) was used to identify nine main themes that capture the knowledge generated in the marine social science field. Within these themes, a wide diversity of topics has been explored, covering a wide geographic area. The review suggests that there has been a steady increase in social science research activities and outputs over the past 18 years, with a marked increase in postgraduate dissertations in this field. The SEAChange programme has contributed to enhancing understanding of certain issues and social interactions in the marine environment but this work is limited. Furthermore, there has been limited dissemination of these research results amongst the broader marine science community and incorporation of this information into policy and management decisions has also been limited. However, marine scientists are increasingly recognising the importance of taking a more holistic and integrated approach to management, and are encouraging further social science research, as well as interdisciplinary research across the natural and social sciences. Possible reasons for the lack of communication and coordination amongst natural and social scientists, as well as the limited uptake of research results in policy and management decisions, are discussed and recommendations are proposed.Keywords: coastal development, economics, governance, human dimensions, societyAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2013, 35(3): 385–402

Contemporary biodiversity conservation is ‘wickedly complex’ since it must address the diverse objectives of protecting biodiversity and enhancing social wellbeing. Consequently, more holistic, participatory, and context-specific conservation governance approaches are required. Notwithstanding mixed results, global reviews conclude that Community-Based Conservation (CBC) – which seeks to include local community participation, knowledge and priorities – is often more effective at producing positive social and ecological outcomes than conventional ‘top-down’ approaches that exclude people from decision-making. Whilst South Africa possesses enabling legislation, to date legally recognized community-conserved areas (CCAs) have not been implemented in the coastal zone. Accordingly, this research aimed to better understand this ‘policy-praxis disjuncture’. It proposed greater understanding and potentially success could be gained by viewing CCA implementation and governance as a ‘change process’. Drawing on Commons Theory, Governance Theory, and the Theory of Change approach, a generic framework was developed that explored the factors, conditions and processes that enable the shift to a community-based mode of conservation governance. Thereafter, case study investigations were conducted in two established African coastal CCAs, and one South African ‘case-in-progress’. Findings of these cases, and the perceptions of diverse South African conservation actors, offered insights into tackling the aforementioned policy-praxis disjuncture, and culminated in developing a South African Empirical Community-Based Conservation Theory of Change Pathway. This served to make recommendations for improved planning, implementation and governance of coastal CCAs in the country. However, these recommendations should be useful to other global CBC initiatives facing similar challenges translating ‘people-centred’ conservation policy into practice.

The global rush to develop the ‘blue economy’ risks harming both the marine environment and human wellbeing. Bold policies and actions are urgently needed. We identify five priorities to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable blue economy.