ABSTRACT
Traditional ecological knowledge begins at the level of local and empirical knowledge of species and the environment. Bob Johannes writes about the data-less management of tropical nearshore fisheries, using some combination of MPAs and traditional knowledge and management systems. The biological management superseds The First Salmon Ceremony in many areas, even where indigenous tribes manage their own salmon fisheries. Constructed by building rock walls in the low, intertidal areas of soft-sediment clam beaches, indigenous tribes are thought to stabilize sediments behind the wall, presumably to enhance shellfish productivity. This chapter presents an example of the clam garden that shows the usual state of affairs between traditional knowledge and science: a dialogue of the deaf. The Gulf of Maine example shows a remarkable knowledge broker, a one-person bridging organization who is both a fisher and a traditional knowledge-holder/researcher, combining the two kinds of knowledge to make sense of the cod disappearance and to inform future management.
