Ecological reasoning and understanding social conflict in small-scale salmon hatcheries in Wales

Over the last several decades, stocking of salmonids by private groups for conservation purposes has become a contentious issue in Europe. Despite the shared interest of all actor groups in wildlife conservation, these... [ view full abstract ]

Over the last several decades, stocking of salmonids by private groups for conservation purposes has become a contentious issue in Europe. Despite the shared interest of all actor groups in wildlife conservation, these conflicts have long-lasting, disruptive effects on the cooperative relationships between of actors working to protect freshwater biodiversity. Using the termination of Welsh stocking projects in 2014, we analyze the causes and drivers of stocking conflict over time, and suggest avenues for conflict resolution. We perform a critical discourse analysis of interview data, online print media, social media, and policy documents and examine how stocking projects were shaped by two major discourse coalitions promoting either a pro- or an anti-hatchery argument. We found that conflict between the discourse coalitions was formulated around ecological reasoning about the outcomes of salmon stocking, opposing views on economic efficacy in conservation projects, challenges to governance systems, and personal conflicts between stakeholders. The analysis suggested that the discourse favoring habitat improvement dominates the discourse that preferred stocking or a combination of methods and that this change occurred in parallel with changing power dynamics between fishery stakeholders, driven by European policies and changes in the national government structures. The decision to end salmon stocking institutionalized this dominant discourse and led to undesired social side effects such as a secondary conflicts and alienation of some stakeholder groups. We conclude that salmon governance in this case exhibits many characteristics of a wicked management problem and recommend a management approach that takes into consideration multiple management goals.