BACKGROUND This study characterized the botanical knowledge of artisanal fishers of the Lami community, Porto Alegre, southern Brazil based on answers to the following question: Is the local botanical knowledge of the artisanal fishers of the rural-urban district of Lami still active, even since the district's insertion into the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre? METHODS This region, which ...

The Western Rock Lobster Fishery, which is located on the lower west coast of Western Australia, is the largest rock lobster fishery in any county. It supports about 550 lobster fishing boats and has an average annual catch of 11,000 tonnes valued at about $AUD250 million. The sustainability of the fishery is maintained by limiting total allowable effort (TAE), managed through an individually t...

This paper presents a novel approach to the estimation of a general class of dynamic nonlinear system models. The main contribution is the use of a tool from mathematical statistics, known as Fishers' identity, to establish how so-called particle smoothing methods may be employed to compute gradients of maximum-likelihood and associated prediction error cost criteria.

Recreational fisheries management has traditionally been more concerned with quantifiable, catch-centric goals than angler-centric perceptions. However, the attitudes of fishers affect their behavior, which can alter the effort they make towards conservation actions, and ultimately, the outcome for exploited or threatened species. We conducted a quantitative human dimensions study into the driv...

Here, I explore the system-level consequences of learning and adaptation among fish and fishers. The fundamental idea is that the cost of acquiring the knowledge needed to resolve uncertainty is the principal driver of social and spatial organization. This cost limits agents’ actions and leads them to prefer relatively persistent associations with familiar agents and places. When all agents act...

Amidst overexploited fisheries and further climate related declines projected in tropical fisheries, marine dependent small-scale fishers in Southeast Asia face an uncertain future. Yet, small-scale fishers are seldom explicitly considered in regional fisheries management and their contribution to national fish supply tends to be greatly under-estimated compared to industrial fisheries. Lack of...

Social-ecological systems are often highly complex, making effective governance a considerable challenge. In large, heterogeneous systems, hierarchical institutional regimes may be efficient, but effective management outcomes are dependent on stakeholder support. This support is shaped by perceptions of legitimacy, which risks being undermined where resource users are not engaged in decision-ma...