Browsing by Author "Gammage, Louise C"

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    A case study from the southern Cape linefishery 1: The difficulty of fishing in a changing world
    (2017) Gammage, Louise C; Mather, Charles
    Variability on multiple temporal and spatial scales exposes fishers and fishing communities to multiple stressors. The impact and interplay of these stressors need to be considered to improve our understanding of social-ecological linkages if sustainable livelihoods are to be promoted. To this end, participant-led research was conducted in the small-scale traditional commercial linefishery of the southern Cape (South Africa) between Witsand and Mossel Bay. Knowledge and perceptions regarding stressors responsible for changes in the social-ecological system, which ultimately affect the fishers’ ability to fish successfully, were recorded using semi-formal interviews and focus groups with 50 participants. The results presented not only offer valuable insights into the day-to-day experiences of these fishers, but also expose knowledge gaps that exist in micro-scale interactions influencing the fishery system. An analysis of various stressors is presented, which includes the impacts of and responses to climate variability; challenges presented by fisheries policies and regulatory frameworks; social and economic considerations; inadequate infrastructure; and general political considerations. The development of a more comprehensive understanding of stressors that affect the social-ecological system at various scales provides valuable insights into a fishery system that is currently not well described, and provides the basis for analyses into vulnerability and resilience.
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    A case study from the southern Cape linefishery 2: Considering one’s options when the fish leave
    (2017) Gammage, Louise C; Mather, Charles
    Fishers in the small-scale, commercial linefishery in the southern Cape, South Africa, are exposed to variability and change in the marine social-ecological system of which they are a part. Faced with multi-scalar changes within this complex system, fishers employ a wide range of strategies in reaction to change. As part of a broader study of stressors that bring about change in these systems, this contribution examines the fishers’ responses to these changes and is based on a participant-led, semi-structured interview process of skippers/boat owners, crew, processors and spouses/partners, in six communities in the southern Cape region, and has been supplemented with appropriate secondary data. The results are discussed using a resilience framework. The data were initially considered thematically by stressor, but results identified that a place-based analysis was equally important. Three major groupings were identified: (1) fishers who adapt and show clear business-orientation, (2) fishers who cope, and (3) fishers who react and are thus caught in a poverty trap. In addition to place-specific history, local feedback loops and indirect effects need to be better accounted for to understand these responses to change at various scales. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the basis of scenario planning in the region.