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Monday, 17 August 2015

2010 Coastal management challenges from a community perspective: The problem of ‘stealth privatization’ in a Canadian fishery


Marine Policy
Volume 34, Issue 3, May 2010, Pages 598–605

Coastal management challenges from a community perspective: The problem of ‘stealth privatization’ in a Canadian fishery ☆

 

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2009.11.010
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Abstract

Intertidal clam fisheries seem ideal candidates for the devolution of management authority from government to local stakeholders. In St. Mary's Bay, Nova Scotia, a private firm recently applied for a 10-year renewal of a large (1,627 ha) lease for quahog clam aquaculture. This case study examines the challenges of implementing community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in rural fisheries within a broad integrated coastal management (ICM) institutional environment that favours corporate stakeholders. The challenges facing clam harvesters in rural Digby Neck, Nova Scotia arise from poor communication and coordination within government and between government and communities, as well as higher-level policy conflicts. The most important challenge arises from ‘stealth privatization’ of clam beaches. A single firm was granted rights of first refusal to depurate all clams harvested from closed (polluted) beaches in the region, resulting in the de facto privatization of all (polluted and unpolluted) clam beaches. Experiences in other parts of Canada suggest there may be community-based governance approaches that avoid the pitfalls associated with corporate management of clam beaches. New thinking is required about how to moderate the ‘privatization paradigm’ so prevalent within senior levels of government in order to ensure environmental and social sustainability in rural fishing communities.

Keywords

  • Privatization;
  • Intertidal fisheries;
  • Aboriginal rights;
  • Integrated management
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Funding for the Coastal Community-University Research Alliance was made available through a SSHRC grant. The authors of this paper thank the Coastal CURA students and support staff who have contributed to clam project research components, including Melissa Landry, Liz Wilson, Donna G. Curtis, and Courtenay Nickerson. MAR is supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 506 458 7995; fax: +1 506 453 5071.
1
Environment Department, University of York, Heslington, York Y010 5DD, United Kingdom.
Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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