Effects of trust on IUU fishing: management implications

The Pantanal is among the world’s largest wetlands and a conservation priority region. Most of the Pantanal is in Brazil, which protects the wetland’s natural resources with a wide-ranging set of rules and regulations. The... [ view full abstract ]

The Pantanal is among the world’s largest wetlands and a conservation priority region. Most of the Pantanal is in Brazil, which protects the wetland’s natural resources with a wide-ranging set of rules and regulations. The Pantanal’s intractable mosaic of rivers and forests, seasonal inundation, and lack of infrastructure make enforcing rules difficult. Voluntary compliance with natural resource management rules is therefore critical in the region; such compliance theoretically depends on perceived legitimacy of rules and those in charge of creating and enforcing them, but related attitudes have not been explored in the Pantanal. Efforts to improve management and secure conservation within the region require an improved understanding of rates and reasons underlying noncompliance. The goal of this research was to establish baseline insights about noncompliance in the Pantanal and better understand how to improve management in the region. We looked both at noncompliance in general and specific violations of fishing rules by professional fishermen. We first conducted exploratory key-informant interviews (N=9) in July and August, 2015, with objectives to ground truth theory and characterize noncompliance in the region and the factors contributing to its prevalence. Then we administered a face-to-face questionnaire (N=41) in March–September, 2016, with objectives to (1) determine the rate of noncompliance with size limits for the pacu, and (2) describe the attitudes influencing noncompliance. Most participants self-reported that they violated the rule (85.4%). Trust in biologists who help define the size limits significantly influenced perceived legitimacy and frequency of violations. Half of the participants distrusted biologists to set the rules, even though a majority (87.8%) had never talked to biologists, who actively conduct research in the region, but often do not interact with locals. This research indicates that among our study participants, trust in biologists is relevant to the Pantanal’s noncompliance rates and sets a baseline upon which future compliance assessments may build. In order to improve management success in the Pantanal and areas like it, these data suggest that efforts may need to focus on interpersonal interactions with local stakeholders to build trust and legitimacy to promote voluntary compliance.