279
M. Bavinck et al. (eds.), Governability of Fisheries and Aquaculture:
Theory and Applications, MARE Publication Series 7, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-6107-0_15,
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract Illegal fi shing is a problem widely observed in fi sheries around the world
and Lake Malawi is no exception. The long alleviation attempts of the central government of Malawi based on the strategy of enforcement and sanctions have proved
largely ineffective leading to the persistence of this governability challenge. An
alternate perspective is sought in this chapter by emphasizing people’s fundamental
notions such as values, images and principles. In order to better understand what
they look like and how they may differ amongst stakeholders, the damage schedule
was employed. The results display a signi fi cant disparity in what governors and
resource users regard as a value priority, with the former group judging conservation to be a top concern, while the latter strongly favors the advancement of economic wellbeing. This fi nding demonstrates socio-economic diversity in people’s
underlying views about the fi shery, which provides partial but important insights
towards the alleviation of illegal fi shing in Lake Malawi. Such diversity poses a
certain limit to the governability of this fi sheries system, and must be made aware
and genuinely acted upon by all those involved in governance.
Keywords Governability • Diversity • Values-images-principles • Illegal fi shing •
Lake Malawi • Damage schedules
Introduction
Illegal fi shing and non-compliance of regulations pose serious problems for fi sheries
around the world. They are governance issues that have wide implications at all
fi shery scales, from an inland artisanal fi shery in a developing country to a large
A. Song (*) • R. Chuenpagdee
Department of Geography , Memorial University of Newfoundland ,
St. John’s , NL , Canada
e-mail: amsong@mun.ca ; ratanac@mun.ca
Chapter 15
The Damage Schedule Approach
Andrew Song and Ratana Chuenpagdee
M. Bavinck et al. (eds.), Governability of Fisheries and Aquaculture:
Theory and Applications, MARE Publication Series 7, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-6107-0_15,
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract Illegal fi shing is a problem widely observed in fi sheries around the world
and Lake Malawi is no exception. The long alleviation attempts of the central government of Malawi based on the strategy of enforcement and sanctions have proved
largely ineffective leading to the persistence of this governability challenge. An
alternate perspective is sought in this chapter by emphasizing people’s fundamental
notions such as values, images and principles. In order to better understand what
they look like and how they may differ amongst stakeholders, the damage schedule
was employed. The results display a signi fi cant disparity in what governors and
resource users regard as a value priority, with the former group judging conservation to be a top concern, while the latter strongly favors the advancement of economic wellbeing. This fi nding demonstrates socio-economic diversity in people’s
underlying views about the fi shery, which provides partial but important insights
towards the alleviation of illegal fi shing in Lake Malawi. Such diversity poses a
certain limit to the governability of this fi sheries system, and must be made aware
and genuinely acted upon by all those involved in governance.
Keywords Governability • Diversity • Values-images-principles • Illegal fi shing •
Lake Malawi • Damage schedules
Introduction
Illegal fi shing and non-compliance of regulations pose serious problems for fi sheries
around the world. They are governance issues that have wide implications at all
fi shery scales, from an inland artisanal fi shery in a developing country to a large
A. Song (*) • R. Chuenpagdee
Department of Geography , Memorial University of Newfoundland ,
St. John’s , NL , Canada
e-mail: amsong@mun.ca ; ratanac@mun.ca
Chapter 15
The Damage Schedule Approach
Andrew Song and Ratana Chuenpagdee