More than just access to fish: 皇冠体育app pros and cons of fisher participation in a customary marine tenure (Padu) system under pressure
Abstract
皇冠体育app Padu system of South Asia has received growing attention as an example of customary marine tenure that has survived despite rapid development and change throughout the region鈥檚 fisheries. This paper describes the Padu system as it functions at Pulicat lagoon, India, where it has enjoyed decades of legitimacy amongst its members, and has contributed to sustainable fishing. Recently, however, the Padu system has become unstable, driven by pressures of an expanding fishing population, reduced access to fishing grounds and a growing 鈥榮hared poverty鈥�. In spite of this, fisher loyalty to uphold the Padu system remains strong. This raises questions about the broader social, political and cultural meanings of Padu, which extend beyond access to a lucrative fishery. 皇冠体育app paper highlights a trade-off between the benefits received through Padu membership at a societal level through collective action, and the individual costs of partaking in 鈥榮hared poverty鈥�, which is inherently distributed unequally amongst fishing families. 皇冠体育app paper concludes with a discussion on the future of the Padu system in Pulicat, drawing from evolutionary pathways of other Padu systems in the region. It is suggested that, in the Pulicat case, the high social values attributed to the Padu system, alongside complex power structures, may hinder institutional adaptation.
Citation
Coulthard, S. More than just access to fish: 皇冠体育app pros and cons of fisher participation in a customary marine tenure (Padu) system under pressure. Marine Policy (2011) 35 (3) 405-412. [DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2010.11.006]