Equitable participation as a key mechanism towards sustainable fisheries management: a case study of the pargo (Lutjanus purpureus) fishery governance in northern Brazil
Equity, i.e. fair valuation and respect for the entitlements of all concerned, is increasingly recognized as a critical component of sustainable marine fisheries. However, in the Brazilian coastal Amazon, socio-economic disparities and complex governance structures undermine equity, with major implications for resource sustainability. A case in point is the large-scale artisanal and export-oriented pargo (Lutjanus purpureus, Poey, 1866) fishery landing in Bragança (Pará, northern Brazil). This study adopts a political ecology framework to examine how distinct perceptions of key governance actors regarding the fishery and its governance have varying equity implications. Data were collected qualitatively between December 2022 and January 2024 through participant observation during two meetings of the Standing Management Committee (CPG-NN) in 2022 (online) and 2023 (Belém, Brazil) and 18 in-depth interviews with: civil society organizations, government agencies, academia, the fishing industry and fishers. Three competing narratives reveal distinct yet interrelated understandings of scarcity, resource allocation, and benefit distribution. It is argued that different perceptions of resource scarcity operate within tensions between major putative divides related to exclusionary practices that may be particularly amplified in large-scale artisanal fisheries: environmental protection and economic profitability, legal and illegal, and local scarcity and global market. The article argues that equitable participation is a key mechanism to support equity as a normative principle for sustainable marine fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon coast.
Dahlet L. (2025) Equitable participation as a key mechanism towards sustainable fisheries management: a case study of the pargo (Lutjanus purpureus) fishery governance in northern Brazil. 270: 107914. 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107914
@article{Dahlet2025,
Title = {Equitable participation as a key mechanism towards sustainable fisheries management: a case study of the pargo (Lutjanus purpureus) fishery governance in northern Brazil},
Author = {Dahlet, Lol},
Editor = {},
Year = {2025},
Pages = {107914},
Volume = {270},
Doi = {10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107914},
Abstract = {Equity, i.e. fair valuation and respect for the entitlements of all concerned, is increasingly recognized as a critical component of sustainable marine fisheries. However, in the Brazilian coastal Amazon, socio-economic disparities and complex governance structures undermine equity, with major implications for resource sustainability. A case in point is the large-scale artisanal and export-oriented pargo (Lutjanus purpureus, Poey, 1866) fishery landing in Bragança (Pará, northern Brazil). This study adopts a political ecology framework to examine how distinct perceptions of key governance actors regarding the fishery and its governance have varying equity implications. Data were collected qualitatively between December 2022 and January 2024 through participant observation during two meetings of the Standing Management Committee (CPG-NN) in 2022 (online) and 2023 (Belém, Brazil) and 18 in-depth interviews with: civil society organizations, government agencies, academia, the fishing industry and fishers. Three competing narratives reveal distinct yet interrelated understandings of scarcity, resource allocation, and benefit distribution. It is argued that different perceptions of resource scarcity operate within tensions between major putative divides related to exclusionary practices that may be particularly amplified in large-scale artisanal fisheries: environmental protection and economic profitability, legal and illegal, and local scarcity and global market. The article argues that equitable participation is a key mechanism to support equity as a normative principle for sustainable marine fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon coast.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Dahlet, Lol
TI - Equitable participation as a key mechanism towards sustainable fisheries management: a case study of the pargo (Lutjanus purpureus) fishery governance in northern Brazil
PY - 2025
SP - 107914
VL - 270
DO - 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107914
AB - Equity, i.e. fair valuation and respect for the entitlements of all concerned, is increasingly recognized as a critical component of sustainable marine fisheries. However, in the Brazilian coastal Amazon, socio-economic disparities and complex governance structures undermine equity, with major implications for resource sustainability. A case in point is the large-scale artisanal and export-oriented pargo (Lutjanus purpureus, Poey, 1866) fishery landing in Bragança (Pará, northern Brazil). This study adopts a political ecology framework to examine how distinct perceptions of key governance actors regarding the fishery and its governance have varying equity implications. Data were collected qualitatively between December 2022 and January 2024 through participant observation during two meetings of the Standing Management Committee (CPG-NN) in 2022 (online) and 2023 (Belém, Brazil) and 18 in-depth interviews with: civil society organizations, government agencies, academia, the fishing industry and fishers. Three competing narratives reveal distinct yet interrelated understandings of scarcity, resource allocation, and benefit distribution. It is argued that different perceptions of resource scarcity operate within tensions between major putative divides related to exclusionary practices that may be particularly amplified in large-scale artisanal fisheries: environmental protection and economic profitability, legal and illegal, and local scarcity and global market. The article argues that equitable participation is a key mechanism to support equity as a normative principle for sustainable marine fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon coast.
ER -
