Paper short abstract:

This paper examines local responses to marine resource management in the Calamianes isalnds, Philippines. I focus on how such responses were bound up in particular cultural values.

Paper long abstract:

Fishers in the Calamianes Islands, Philippines, have seen declining fish catches and progressive environmental degradation in their fishing grounds since the late 1960s, when commercial fishing first began in the area. Since this period, fishing households have adopted strategies that usually have resulted in increased fishing pressure. Such strategies have included the use of destructive fishing techniques such as dynamite and cyanide; the expansion to new and more remote fishing grounds; the use of new gears and technologies; and the targeting of different species. In this paper, I focus on local responses to various forms of marine resource regulation that were implemented at the time of fieldwork. In particular, I analyse the significance of fishers' values that informed their opposition to such regulations.