2 Values Drive Fish Conservation
The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land. . . . In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it.
—Leopold 1949
Learning Objectives
- Describe multiple value orientations of people.
- Apply the notions of values, rules, and knowledge as aspects of decision-making contexts that enable or constrain adaptation.
- Apply appropriate approaches for fish conservation and management that match values and knowledge in a particular place.
- Adopt and justify use of existing seafood certification initiatives.
2.1 Introduction
Values, the importance or usefulness of something, are important influences on how people will behave regarding uses of fish. Imagine that your favorite fish is a wild Cutthroat Trout. If so, it is likely that you value spending time in the wild places. Contrast that with a resident of a small Pacific Island where fish may be the only source of protein. This island resident values fish for providing essential nutrition. Whether you are inclined to engage in activities to protect nature depends on your experiences, values, and beliefs about natural environments.
The theory of emotional affinity explains that a person’s ties to nature depend on the importance of spending time in nature, sharing positive experiences and feelings in nature (Kals et al. 1999). Another theory, the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, postulates a causal relationship from values to beliefs, norms, or attitudes (Figure 2.1; Stern 2000). These complementary theories may be used to explain behaviors that involve nature (Fulton et al. 1996; Jacobs et al. 2012). People derive value from their relationship to fish or fishing, and these values are important to their well-being. In creating conservation plans it is critically important to consider the individual’s internal value orientations, which are stable and central to their beliefs. It is also important that multiple value orientations are included so that many types of fishing are considered in management plans.
Conservation and management plans that are successful at achieving their measurable objectives over long periods of time require passionate leadership, persistence, partnerships, trust, and strategic optimism. While the first two characteristics are possessed by individuals, the other characteristics require participatory engagement to overcome uncertainty and other obstacles. It takes persistence, because finding ways to develop trusting partnerships and to compare values as different as personal well-being, cultural importance, and financial gains in policy formulation is complex. Social acceptance of management actions is a key element of contemporary management. Trust only develops through repeated collaborative interactions between parties aimed to avoid conflict and facilitate management (Stern and