Tangled lines : Examining Western and Central Pacific Tuna Social-ecological Systems

This thesis responds to the need to re-conceptualise the way in which oceans and the SESs they support are understood and governed. Contrary to traditional fisheries management frameworks, this thesis focusses on developing and testing an integrated transdisciplinary framework to examine SES networks. Western and Central Pacific (WCP) tuna fisheries are faced with complex and interlinked social and ecological challenges including high seas management issues, setting sustainable limits, climate change impacts, human rights violations, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated activities. At odds with this complexity, strong but narrow disciplinary fisheries science-based decisions dominate governance decisions. Effective governance across complex multi-scale systems in the WCP tuna fishery requires a more integrated understanding of social-ecological systems (SES). Transdisciplinary problem solving informed by participatory, SES research, and political ecology has the potential to reveal (and solve) complicated interactions and connections across ocean SES networks. A Social-Ecological-Oceans Systems Framework (SECO) was developed to capture the complexity, breadth and depth of the system and address interactions and connections between separate system components. The overarching research hypothesis for my thesis is that a transdisciplinary approach using political ecology and SES research can be used to assemble diverse theories, knowledges, methods, and analytical techniques. Such an approach can reveal and make sense of complicated interactions and connections across ocean SES networks. The hypothesis is tested using SECO in two place-specific studies; undertaken in Fiji and Solomon Islands, both of which are classified as Small Island Developing States. Place-specific studies are good for exploring interlinkages and complex causality in a ‘real life’ context. I argue that establishing fisheries management systems that are appropriately embedded into SES networks is critical to avoiding unintended outcomes. My research discovers drivers, key interlinkages, and systemic causes of unintended outcomes of tuna fisheries development and governance. Moreover, findings confirm Pacific-led grass-roots multi-scalar governance is key to overcoming systemic barriers and taking hold of opportunities to achieving multiple societal goals. Future research could leverage the SECO contribution within the WCP tuna SES or other ocean SES networks.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Marine Science

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Syddall, Victoria Margaret

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Thrush, Simon
• Fisher, Karen

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/61538

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/61538