Maarten Bavinck

University of Amsterdam | UVA · Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies

This paper enquires into the travels of low‐cost varieties of marine fish in the context of Ghana, distinguishing flows that move toward coastal cities versus those destined for distant, inland cities. It derives data from field research on the Ghanaian small fish food system through surveys, FGDs and interviews conducted in Accra and Tamale. It is...

This paper proposes to establish Maximum Sustainable Employment (MSE) as a new guiding light, or beacon, for wild fisheries governance. This new social beacon complements the directives provided by the prevailing beacons: Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and Maximum Economic Yield (MEY). The argument is that context matters: in countries where pover...

Ocean sustainability initiatives – in research, policy, management and development – will be more effective in delivering comprehensive benefits when they proactively engage with, invest in and use social knowledge. We synthesize five intervention areas for social engagement and collaboration with marine social scientists, and in doing so we appeal...

Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition have been on the rise in recent years, due to disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing climate shocks and conflicts. Decades of steady progress to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition were often attributed to increased food production and intensification of few food staple crops and livestock...

Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition have been on the rise in recent years, due to disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing climate shocks and conflicts. Decades of steady progress to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition were often attributed to increased food production and intensification of few food staple crops and livestock...

Urban sites gather poverty in particular locations and often require bulk food system approaches for addressing prevalent food security and nutrition needs. The food systems that service them are, however, characterized by perishability and large irregularities in supply. Seafood is currently recognized as contributing in a major way to food securi...

Seasonal migration protects fishers from monsoon winds, enabling wellbeing, food security, income generation, and livelihoods of men and women alike. Limited research exists on the perceptions of migrant fishers from a Blue Justice perspective. The present chapter addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing qualitative research data from two migrant...

Conventional ‘people-free’ conservation often fails to deliver both social and ecological outcomes. Community-based conservation (CBC) – which is underpinned by local community participation, knowledge and priorities – offers a viable alternative in certain contexts. We explore the applicability of established ‘commons’ design principles, and facto...

The COVID-19 epidemic provides yet another reason to prioritize inclusive development. Current response strategies of the global community and countries expose a low level of solidarity with poorer nations and poorer people in all nations. Against this background, this paper addresses the question: What are the development challenges that the COVID...

While much is known about fish production patterns and consumption at an aggregate level, there is little understanding of consumption behavior among low-income households in city regions. Given that fish is an important and possibly cheap source of nutrition for millions of poor people, this paper attempts to understand patterns of fish consumptio...

This article synthesizes and compares environmental governance theories. For each theory we outline its main tenets, claims, origin, and supporting literature. We then group the theories into focused versus combinatory frameworks for comparison. The analysis resonates with many types of ecosystems; however, to make it more tangible, we focus on coa...

Contemporary conservation must address social well‐being while still protecting biodiversity. Accordingly, the objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity's recent Zero Draft Post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework is to sustainably meet the needs of people while reducing biodiversity loss. However, frequent “failures” in achieving this soc...

Privatization of the ocean, in the sense of defining more exclusive property rights, is taking place in increasingly diverse ways. Because of more intensive and diversified use patterns and increasing sustainability challenges, it is likely that this process will continue into the future. We argue that the nature of privatization varies from one oc...

Through a historical lens, this paper illustrates the differing economic, legal, institutional, social and cultural relationships people of varying cultures have with the ocean. Focusing on the institutions that affect access and rights, this paper addresses concerns about the appropriation of marine resources and displacement of indigenous vision...

This paper considers the contribution of legal pluralism scholarship to the field of socio-technical transition studies. Making use of a case study on the changeover to ring seine fishing in India, it pays particular attention to the implications of legal pluralism – or the co-existence of multiple legal systems in a societal field – for the stabil...

Small-scale fisheries play a major role in Europe, employing large numbers of people, shaping the socio-economic life of coastal communities, and providing fresh, high-quality seafood to local, regional, national and international markets. This chapter synthesises findings from the 25 country chapters in this volume, bringing together key lessons r...

Small-scale fisheries in Europe have historically rarely received the attention they deserve. Fishery scholars and policy makers worldwide have until recently paid scant attention to the diversity of the fisheries sector, or to the existence of small-scale fleets and their fishing communities. For far too long, small-scale fishing activity has been...

This brief manifesto signed by 173 Netherlands-based scholars working on issues around development aims to summarize what we know to be critical and successful policy strategies for moving forward during and after the crisis. We propose five key policy proposals for a post-COVID-19 development model, all of which can be implemented immediately and...

Dit beknopte manifest, ondertekend door 170 in Nederland werkende academici die zich bezig houden met internationale ontwikkelingsvraagstukken, presenteert, op basis van bestaand onderzoek en kennis, een vijftal voorstellen voor Nederland na Corona: 1) Vervanging van het huidige ontwikkelingsmodel gericht op generieke groei van het BNP, door een mo...

This book offers a comprehensive account of the status and dynamics of people participating in the small-scale fisheries (SSF) of Europe. It covers the situation of SSF in 25 coastal countries, thereby providing a portrait of almost every coastal country on the continent and analyzing the recent evolution of the sector. Small-scale fisheries are ar...

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) introduce a human rights framework for fisheries management and development, suggesting an inclusive approach that embraces a range of rights, regimes and interests. These reflect diverse systems of law, values and norms, straddling both customary and statutory...

Small-scale fisheries and their governance are increasingly affected by natural, social, and political issues that originate outside their immediate control and locality. This chapter explores how researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and fisher organizations can collaborate in the pursuit of empowerment small-scale fisheries vis-à-vi...

This Special Feature re-examines the relationship between natural resources and processes of conflict and cooperation as they occur in the Global South. Here we introduce key issues and reflect on learning from recent research. While covering a range of resources, contributions share an emphasis on middle-range theory in terms of moving from empiri...

This paper investigates the interface between scholarship on seafood supply chains and the fields of legal pluralism and governance studies. This particular interface has largely been explored with regard to global supply chains, and it is to broadening this perspective that the paper is devoted. Five case studies from South Asia—ranging from low-p...

We analyze the efforts of an international consortium of academics and activists to understand and address a transnational fisheries conflict in South Asia. The so-called REINCORPFISH project (2010–2016) focused on an asymmetrical conflict between trawler fishers from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who frequently transgress into Sri Lankan waters a...

Many social scientists in the field of fisheries display a strong concern for the social engineering of environmental sustainability, but also a tendency to identify with the concerns of government. This paper posits that social scientists have their own responsibility in the fisheries field, and that this responsibility includes more attention to...

This paper builds on lessons learned from case studies of organization-building and collective action as a means of eradicating poverty in small-scale fisheries. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, endorsed by FAO Member States in 2014, recognize that addre...

Legal pluralism is a prominent feature in the fisheries of Nagapattinam and Karaikal Districts, India, and it is with the role of customary village councils (ur panchayat) that this chapter is concerned. Ur panchayats still constitute a major force in protecting and facilitating the wellbeing of small-scale fishers in this region. The chapter consi...

The industrialization of fisheries and the growth of a capitalist sector within fisheries have received considerable scholarly attention. For the most part, scholars have emphasized how capitalism has led to privatization of the commons, forced small-scale resource users into wage labor, and marginalized the sector. This analysis does not, however,...

Despite non-recognition by state authorities, informal councils (Tamil: ur panchayats) are known to comprehensively govern the fishing villages of the Coromandel Coast, Tamil Nadu, India. These councils take charge of an amalgam of village affairs, including the management of fisheries in adjacent sea territories, the resolution of disputes, and in...

While there is considerable literature on coastal adaptation, there is less scholarly attention for how social capital, interactive governance, and ecosystem-based approaches can be combined to promote inclusive development. Hence, this paper examines contemporary efforts to protect coasts in Demak, northern Java, Indonesia, which are threatened by...

The article “Responsible Fisheries: Kerala Fish Workers Open New Path in Co-governance” (EPW, 29 August 2015) argued that the “Kochi Initiative” in Kerala—a collaboration between fi shers and government scientists—was a major breakthrough in fi sheries governance. We suggest that these authors cheered too soon. Through evidence from coastal Tamil N...

Marine fisheries are of vital importance to food security for the poor in many parts of the world. In this paper we argue that these contributions are increasingly undermined by three powerful narratives. The first narrative is that of ‘blue growth’, which frames oceans as a frontier of economic growth but is insensitive to the question who will ac...

"Coastal grab" refers to the contested appropriation of coastal (shore and inshore) space and resources by outside interests. This paper explores the phenomenon of coastal grabbing and the effects of such appropriation on community-based conservation of local resources and environment. The approach combines social-ecological systems analysis with s...

This chapter proposes that fisheries cooperatives can play an important role in furthering the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) in Sri Lanka. These organizations have a long history of supporting the fisheries sector, both in northern and southern Sri Lanka, with strong contr...

Spatial boundaries have become an indispensable part of regimes and tools for regulating fisheries, with examples including marine protected areas, regional fisheries management organizations and Exclusive Economic Zones. Yet, it is also widely acknowledged that boundaries are a social construct, which may be resisted by both fishers and fish ecolo...

Cape Town is currently experiencing a range of coastal pressures consistent with a warming climate. Notably this includes evidence of a receding coastline in certain areas and shifting wind regimes. Coupled with an increasing demand for coastal development, the City of Cape Town as the administrative authority is presented with an unfolding scenari...

This paper demonstrates the variety of institutional arrangements affecting small-scale fishing in southern Sri Lanka, highlighting legal pluralism and focusing particularly on its consequences for livelihoods and resource conservation. Evidence derives from two landing centres in Hambantota District, and is grouped according to three institutional...

Northern Sri Lanka has gone through a long period of civil war that has had significant impacts on the fishing economy. This paper presents ethnographic material from a longitudinal (1977-2013) study on fisheries regulation from a village in the Jaffna region. Starting from the observation that fisher law, which is based on old perceptions of terri...

This article provides an overview of the special section devoted to the legacy of Franz von Benda-Beckmann in the field of legal pluralism. It describes the Motivation for the special section and introduces the various contributions. It finally identifies some common threads, emphasizing that von Benda-Beckmann's most significant contribution has b...

If 70 per cent of the global population will reside in metropolitan regions by 2050, this poses new governance challenges related to urban-rural interfaces and linkages. It calls for governance that stretches across scales and beyond urban boundaries, taking into account both problems and opportunities of urbanization. This chapter reviews the lite...

As fisheries generally take place in a common pool resource in which exclusion is by definition difficult, they are a unique entry point to investigating the inclusive development concept. This article discusses the debates and interactions between owners of mechanized fishing boats in Chennai, India, over entry into their ocean fisheries. For the...

Indian trawl fishers in the Palk Bay regularly engage in cross-border fishing to the detriment of Sri Lankan artisanal fishers whose nets are irreparably damaged. Increasing tension between Indian trawl fishers from the state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan artisanal fishers from the Northern Province has resulted in the Sri Lankan government patrolli...

Major efforts to improve the governability of coastal and marine regions, in Europe and the world, are currently under way, with regionalization as a new entry point. This article reconsiders the potential contribution of pre-modern fisher organizations to these processes. Pre-modern organizations have deep historical roots, and anthropologists hav...

The tsunami that struck the coasts of India on 26 December 2004 resulted in the large-scale destruction of fisher habitations. The post-tsunami rehabilitation effort in Tamil Nadu was directed towards relocating fisher settlements in the interior. This paper discusses the outcomes of a study on the social effects of relocation in a sample of nine c...

A key challenge of governance architecture is dealing with legal pluralism, defined as multiple systems of rules that apply to the same situation (or jurisdiction). However, while there is considerable literature that diagnoses the existence of pluralism, there is very little that explores how pluralist norms and rules arise and can be dealt with....

There is incoherence in governance rules for aquatic resources at multiple levels of governance. Legal pluralism tries to make sense of such incoherence, highlighting the tensions between concurrent rule systems and identifying their impacts. This review paper synthesizes the contributions to this special issue and examines the value of the legal p...

This chapter explores the relationship between small-scale fisheries and resource conservation from a governance perspective. It outlines the significance of small-scale fisheries, particularly in developing countries and highlights the serious lack of data, resulting in narratives inherited from industrial fisheries often with very poor relevance...

Many coastal fisheries, including those of South Asia and South Africa, are characterized by high levels of social conflict, environmental deterioration and fragmented governance. The REINCORPFISH research project analyses the conflicts occurring in the fisheries of these two regions and promotes a governance process that recognizes the existence o...

This article argues that in the period since 1900 marine capture fisheries are more profitably characterised by a quest for wealth than by enduring poverty. Making use of country data from India, it maintains that the blue revolution that took place in the South not only retained a steadily growing fishing population, but also provided opportunitie...

A key challenge of governance architecture is dealing with legal pluralism, defined as multiple systems of rules that apply to the same situation (or jurisdiction). However, while there is considerable literature that diagnoses the existence of pluralism, there is very little that explores how pluralist norms and rules arise and can be dealt with....

This article presents findings on the current state of fisheries governance in South Asia from the perspective of legal pluralism. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in six coastal districts of India and Sri Lanka and focuses on resource health and allocation. We suggest that interactions between state and non-state systems vary, and include ind...

This article examines how the politics of scale affect a process of dialogue led by civil society actors over fishing conflicts taking place at the local level in South Asia. The location is the Palk Bay and the fishers are Tamils from India and Sri Lanka. An agreement over fishing rights reached between these fishers in August 2010 remains largely...

As governance occurs through interaction between governors and the governed, an investigation of the conditions that facilitate 'better' interaction, and improve governability, is worthwhile. We argue on the basis of the interactive governance approach that one such condition is a proper match between the system-to-be-governed and the governing sys...

This chapter investigates the variations in governability that occur in fisheries systems. It builds upon the notion that diversity, complexity, dynamics, and scale affect the performance of societal systems profoundly, and that these effects emerge at the level of their three components. Variations in the governability of systems-to-be-governed ar...

This chapter presents the conceptual foundations of governability and interactive governance upon which it is based. Interactive governance is a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the governing roles of state, market and civil society. Interactions between these realms are argued to be an important factor in the success or failure of whatever...

The chapter explains the origin and conception of the book, provides the rationale for its contents and describes its goals. It also includes a brief description of each chapter, how the chapters are linked and presented to illustrate the complex and wicked reality of the fisheries and aquaculture governance, and the utility of applying a systemati...

Following in the footsteps of the book Fish for Life – Interactive Governance for Fisheries (Kooiman et al., 2005), and the interdisciplinary approach it presents, this volume illustrates the contribution of interactive governance theory to understanding core fisheries and aquaculture challenges. These challenges are invariably linked to broader co...

The job satisfaction of capture fishers is of more than sectoral interest. On a practical level the relevance is as follows: capture fishing is known to contribute in a major way to the degradation of the world’s oceans (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 2005), and could possibly be relieved if fishers are induced to move out of fishing (Pauly et al....

Shrimp trawling represents an important fishing métier in South India, generating high levels of employment and economic value. It is also a contested métier, ostensibly contributing to environmental degradation and social inequality. This paper investigates the job satisfaction of crew members (captains and workers) on board the shrimp trawlers of...

This article draws comparative lessons from seven job satisfaction studies on marine capture fishing that were recently carried out in nine countries and three geographical regions-Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The seven studies made use of an identical job satisfaction assessment tool and present information on a selection of métiers mainly in...

Controversies related to Indian trawlers crossing into Sri Lankan waters of the Palk Bay have repeatedly been the subject of newspaper headlines in both India and Sri Lanka since 1990. The first aim of this paper is to provide grass-roots insights into the post-war status of the north Sri Lankan fishing population and how their recent recovery has...

The industrialization of the world’s capture fisheries, also known as the blue revolution, took place in two phases. The first phase of fisheries development took place in Europe and North America in the first half of the 20th century. Post-colonial governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America instigated the second phase after WWII. This chapter i...

Among the many models proposed to address vulnerability and poverty in fisheries, this chapter takes a social capital approach. It focuses particularly on the role of cooperatives in providing small-scale fishers with linking social capital. The latter allows for the transfer of resources from other societal levels, such as government. The chapter...

This chapter explores two concurrent processes in the fisheries of Tamil Nadu, India, over the past century: technological modernization and demographic growth. The first process is closely connected to the Blue Revolution instigated by the Government of India after Independence, as well as to the globalization of markets. It has resulted in substa...

Abstract Before one can begin to create a better future for small-scale fisheries and those who depend on them, one would first need to imagine it. What scenarios are likely and which are preferable to others? One would also need to think about how to get from where small-scale fisheries are now, to where we want them to be. What governance initiat...

Aquatic resources contribute to economic growth, food security, and the livelihoods of millions of fishers around the world. This is evidenced by the industrialization of capture fisheries in the twentieth century, which has generated enormous wealth. Rather than supporting a policy aimed at maximizing economic efficiency though, this chapter argue...

Marine conservation is often criticized for a mono-disciplinary approach, which delivers fragmented solutions to complex problems with differing interpretations of success. As a means of reflecting on the breadth and range of scientific research on the management of the marine environment, this paper develops an analytical framework to gauge the fo...

The number of MPAs has increased sharply, from just 118 in 1970 to well over 6,300 today. This growth in numbers has also been accompanied by a voluminous growth in the academic literature on the theme, with writers employing ecologic, economic and governance lenses (or a combination thereof) to both support the case for MPA creation, and to evalua...

This article examines one MPA--the Gulf of Mannar National Park and Biosphere Reserve--located in southern India, and four types of social conflict that have surrounded its establishment. Taking the strength of wellbeing aspirations as point of departure, we focus on two themes: the implications of MPA embeddedness in wider societal systems, and th...

This paper addresses two issues pertaining to legal pluralism in capture fisheries, particularly with regard to the South. First there is the problem of analysis. If legal pluralism is a common phenomenon, how is it to be discerned and understood? Secondly, there is the matter of institutional design: given the pervasiveness of legal pluralism, whi...

The full title of this project is „Building Capacity for Sustainable Governance in South Asian Fisher-ies: Poverty, Wellbeing and Deliberative Policy Networks’ which has been shortened to ‘Building Sustainable Governance’ (BSG). It is a pilot project funded by the ESPA programme managed by the UK NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) and it r...

To the surprise of both governments and NGOs, village-level caste organisations – or panchayats - played a significant role in the post-tsunami relief effort to fisher-men in Tamil Nadu, India. This paper discusses the pro-active role of caste pancha-yats in relief from the perspective of social resilience, a factor that is frequently ar-gued to be...