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. 2016:44:105-117.
doi: 10.1007/s10745-016-9805-1. Epub 2016 Feb 1.

Drivers of the Distribution of Fisher Effort at Lake Alaotra, Madagascar

Andrea P C Wallace  1 , Julia P G Jones  2 , E J Milner-Gulland  3 , Graham E Wallace  4 , Richard Young  5 , Emily Nicholson  6
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Drivers of the Distribution of Fisher Effort at Lake Alaotra, Madagascar

Andrea P C Wallace et al. Hum Ecol Interdiscip J. 2016.

Abstract

Understanding how fishers make decisions is important for improving management of fisheries. There is debate about the extent to which small-scale fishers follow an ideal free distribution (IFD) - distributing their fishing effort efficiently according to resource availability rather than being influenced by social factors or personal preference. Using detailed data from 1800 fisher catches and from semi-structured interviews with over 700 fishers at Lake Alaotra, the largest inland fishery in Madagascar, we show that fishers generally conform to IFD. However, there were differences in catch: effort relationships between fishers using different gear types as well as other revealing deviations from the predictions of IFD. Fishers report routine as the primary determinant of their choice of fishing location, explaining why they do not quickly respond to changes in catch at a site. Understanding the influences on fishers' spatial behaviour will allow better estimates of costs of fishing policies on resource users, and help predict their likely responses. This can inform management strategies to minimise the negative impacts of interventions, increasing local support for and compliance with rules.

Keywords: Adaptation; Fisher spatial behaviour; IFD; Madagascar; Multi-habitat fishery; Risk.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Lake Alaotra showing management zones within the lake and adjacent marsh, catch interview sites, and the centroids of fishing locations used by local fishers as recorded in the catch interview data
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportions of catch and effort observed at fishing locations in Lake Alaotra over the study period (n = 1757 catch interviews with 515 individual fishers), calculated across all gear types and for each gear type. Catch was measured as total weight caught and effort was measured as total number of hours spent fishing at the location over the period. Solid circles represent fishing locations within restricted areas; open circles represent locations within non-restricted areas (see Table 3 for characteristics of each labelled location). The dotted line represents the 1:1 prediction of IFD
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