Maritime studies : MAST最新文献

This article proposes the case of Kenyan coastal fisheries as a potentially crucial reservoir of food-related benefits for the marginalised and those living in poverty, but where a food-centred lens or approach is seldom mainstreamed in local and national governance. Borrowing insights from post-structuralist marine social sciences, this article presents an ethnographic account of grassroots practices in-the-making such as handling, sorting, and allocating fish once caught, and how these practices lead to local categorisations and classifications of fish. This sort of evidence and knowledge around local categorisations and classifications of fish spotlights the importance of considering the post-harvest sector (as opposed to the activity of fishing alone), that is, how the use of catch determines access through micro relations of power and agency. Through the analysis of two different locations of Watamu and Shimoni in terms of the fisheries economy and overall development, the analysis of these categories and classifications highlights the necessity to account for a fairer access and distribution rather than solely production (of fish) that is overly market-oriented.

Joining others who call attention to the ways in which the ocean, its spaces, and its resources are being commodified, enclosed, and extracted in ways that benefit some at the expense of others, this paper offers a synthesis and review, echoing and extending the cautions being posited around ocean privatisation discourses and their tendencies toward simplistic conceptualisations and presentist thinking that all too often limit critical analysis. Therefore, this paper synthesises and analyses existing literature on the institutions and processes through which the 'privatisation' of the ocean has been, and is being, implemented, leading to two important points. First, it is showed how privatisation processes are often more complex than the word suggests. Privatisation is anything but 'private'. The enclosure, appropriation, and rationalisation of space, resources, knowledge, and governance in the marine domain are occurring in institutional matrices where private actors operate in an array of relationships with the state (in its many, multiple guises), as well as non-governmental, and inter-governmental actors. Secondly, when viewing privatisation with a sensitivity to the array of institutions and actors involved, it is vital to recognise that what passes for a more recent capitalist tendency in the ocean realm rather continues long-standing, historical trajectories of violent extraction (which are equally complex in configuration). Expanding on these critiques, this paper turns to longstanding traditions that offer ways of thinking beyond privatisation and that engage the ocean not as a space of enclosure and extraction but as a space of relationality and livelihoods.

This article examines the complexities of marine carbon observations by exploring how non-humans and humans, including: scientists, floats, and geopolitics, (de-)stabilize these processes. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Brazil and Germany, the study uses Karen Barad's (2007) concept of agential realism to understand how these diverse actors are mutually co-producing knowledge on marine carbon. Instead of viewing entities as separate, intra-action emphasizes their co-constitution. Through theme-based coding, the analysis identifies both stabilizing and destabilizing forces in marine carbon observations. Stabilizing forces include the dedication of scientists, two-way communication between floats and humans, and the global accessibility of data on marine carbon observations. In contrast, destabilizing forces involve climate change's impact on data collection and quality, funding shortages, and national borders. The research highlights how geopolitical and scientific practices are deeply dynamic and often overlooked in discussions of marine carbon observations. By following non-humans and humans and incorporating diverse perspectives from the sea and land, the study provides new insights into the (un-)becoming of marine carbon observations, emphasizing the importance of the more-than-human in shaping knowledge production practices. This work underscores the value of thinking with Science and Technology Studies and new materialism about marine environments.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) polices in the Asia-Pacific region are impacting Vietnamese blue boats. We examine several aspects of IUU policy, including the effects of hardening marine borders in the Southeast Asian region and the increased surveillance of Vietnamese blue boats, to understand how such policies impact blue boat owners, captains, and workers. We find that under increased surveillance, fishers face greater precarity as they become subject to the legal and political actions of multiple states. When blue boats are caught outside Vietnamese waters, boat owners, captains, and workers face significant, albeit differentiated, livelihood challenges. We argue that policies designed to stop IUU or unsustainable fishing should also proactively address working conditions on blue boats; if not, policies may unwittingly cause problems for those directly involved in the industry, with hired workers facing particular hardships. For these reasons, Vietnam's IUU yellow card can also be seen as an opportunity for fisheries labor reforms.

Following pro-market policies, the Peruvian state has aimed to regulate profitable fisheries and aquaculture activities in order to increase their production. However, informal and illegal activities not only persist but are also interlinked with formal practices and frameworks, creating intertwined realities in fostering processes of institutional hybridization. This article analyses the (re)production of informal and illegal activities by explaining the formation of hybrid institutional entanglements in the Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) fishery in Pisco and the Peruvian bay scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) aquaculture industry in Sechura. It argues that state policies to promote industrial fisheries and entrepreneurial aquaculture for the global market coupled with limited interest in supporting small-scale fisheries and aquaculture activities have resulted in processes of institutional hybridization. Within these processes, social actors resist and accommodate formal regulatory frameworks to suit their respective needs, while intertwining formal and informal practices and institutional arrangements, based on their political leverage or ability to produce hybrid institutional entanglements in a context where regulation is limited and state authority is negotiated. Under these forms of hybrid governance, the article shows that interactions between state and non-state actors do not lead to collaborations for solving problems but to the persistence of sustainability problems.

Assessments of fish consumption are based primarily on data from household surveys that do not capture information on the intra-household distribution of the size or species of fish consumed. Such studies can yield partial or misleading information about the adequacy of aquatic food consumption. We address this gap by focusing on individual-level fish consumption within the household, using data from a survey conducted in a rural part of the Ayeyarwady Region in Myanmar-an area with high levels of fish consumption. We disaggregate fish consumption by the gender of household members and by the quantity, species, and size of fish eaten, estimating quantities of fish consumed using models for reference, to identify gendered patterns of fish consumption at the intrahousehold level. We find higher average levels of fish consumption than reported in previous consumption surveys in Myanmar. Moreover, small fish are consumed more frequently than larger-sized fish. The popularity of small fish species highlights the continued reliance of survey respondents on wild fish stocks, despite all surveyed households also practicing small-scale aquaculture. The average consumption of fresh fish reported by women was 36% lower than that reported by men. Men were more likely to eat large fish species, but women ate more small fish, which may contain higher levels of micronutrients vital for addressing nutrient deficiencies.

This article builds on rich empirical data following our unexpected discovery of a local practice to circumvent a stressful and counterproductive work environment due to distrust at the Port of Tema in Ghana. Using theoretical work on networks, trust, and humor, as well as extensive ethnographic fieldwork, we found that the humorous atmosphere at the regularly held physical berthing meetings fosters a sense of community, which enables competing professions, private companies, and public institutions to manage their mutual distrust. In an environment where trust among competitors is unrealistic, we argue that the objective of the performance of humor and transparency at the physical berthing meetings is the management of distrust rather than the creation of trust. The meetings have, gradually, grown to serve as a pragmatic local stakeholder adaptation to the challenges posed by universally perceived politicized, opaque, and corrupt business practices at the Port of Tema and beyond. In conclusion, we posit that our empirical findings allow us to identify the potential of and gaps in theories about trust and humor in understanding the dynamics of coping strategies among competitors in business settings that are characterized by unethical practices.

Across the Global South, commercial development and technological innovations are transforming fish food systems in ways that significantly impact the livelihoods of small-scale producers and the food security of the poor. A crucial but understudied aspect of such transformations is the social relations in which fish food systems are embedded. Food system transformations change power relations and rework gendered economic roles and divisions of labour in ways that often marginalise women and other vulnerable groups. In this paper, we draw on feminist studies of gender and technology and feminist commodity chain analysis to investigate the impact of technological transformation on social relations in the ring seine fishery of Kerala, India. Kerala's ring seine fishery specifically targets small pelagics like sardine, mackerel, and anchovies, which have been identified as important to the food security and nutrition of the poor. Since the mid-1980s, when the ring seine was first introduced to enable small-scale fishers to compete with mechanised trawlers, these fishing units have expanded both in terms of numbers and in size, largely as a result of locally-driven technological innovation and adaptation. Though traditional arrangements of labour deployment and wage sharing have remained, rising competition and differentiation between fishermen have ensued. At the same time, changes in processing, distribution, and trade have reworked women's economic roles and position in the fishery, and questions about long-term profitability and sustainability have necessitated interventions in governance at various levels. Tracing the trajectory of technological innovation and changing social relations through the value chain, we assessed the gendered implications of fish food system transformations for livelihoods. We found that the increase in dimensions of the new gear increased both investments and operational costs of the fishing units rendering several of them uneconomical. Time-tested social norms have also changed as competition increased, which is much more pronounced between the smaller and larger fishing vessels. The traditional wage sharing pattern still remains ensuring income security for fishermen who cannot find work as crew on these fishing vessels. Women, however, have been most affected by the changes as they no longer are able to access the fish resource as earlier for engaging in post-harvest activities, such as marketing and fish drying.

The blue economy concept has drawn global attention to the maritime economy, recognising expanding maritime industries such as shipping as crucial drivers of economic growth. In recent decades, seaports have correspondingly witnessed significant expansion, allowing them to play a substantial role in achieving blue growth. This study examines the challenges faced by small-scale fishing actors in gaining access to fishing livelihoods in coastal fishing communities close to Ghanaian ports. Drawing on political ecology, the study demonstrates how securitisation in port areas and dispossession has resulted in unstable fishing livelihoods in port communities. The study shows that the growth-oriented goals of port expansions and port security measures have restricted fishing communities' access to coastal fishing spaces and caused congestion in the canoe bays of Ghana's fishing harbours. In addition, the urbanisation around the ports has impacted fishers' ability to meet the rising cost of living in fishing communities with fishing incomes. Furthermore, the study discusses how the new Jamestown fishing harbour complex project has displaced small-scale fishing actors and become a site of contestation between a coastal fishing community and local government authorities. In conclusion, as coastal fishing actors lose their only source of livelihood, resistance may escalate into different forms of maritime conflicts in the blue economy. The study recommends addressing the marginalisation and exclusion of traditional coastal fishing livelihoods to ensure a more equitable blue economy.

Climate change, globalization, and increasing industrial and urban activities threaten the sustainability and viability of small-scale fisheries. How those affected can collectively mobilize their actions, share knowledge, and build their local adaptive capacity will shape how best they respond to these changes. This paper examines the changes experienced by small-scale fishing actors, social and governance complexities, and the sustainability challenges within the fisheries system in Limbe, Cameroon. Drawing on the fish-as-food framework, we discuss how ineffective fishery management in light of a confluence of global threats has resulted in changes to fish harvesters' activities, causing shortages in fish supply and disruptions in the fish value chain. The paper uses focus group discussions with fish harvesters and fishmongers to present three key findings. First, we show that changes in the fisheries from increased fishing activities and ineffective fishery management have disrupted fish harvesting and supply, impacting the social and economic well-being of small-scale fishing actors and their communities. Second, there are complexities in the fisheries value chain due to shortages in fish supply, creating conflicts between fisheries actors whose activities are not regulated by any specific set of rules or policies. Third, despite the importance of small-scale fisheries in Limbe, management has been abandoned by fishing actors who are not well-equipped with the appropriate capacity to design and enforce effective fishery management procedures and protections against illegal fishing activities. Empirical findings from this understudied fishery make scholarly contributions to the literature on the fish-as-food framework and demonstrate the need to support small-scale actors' fishing activities and the sustainability of the fisheries system in Limbe.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40152-023-00296-3.