ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the most important ways human intelligence— and ignorance—have worked with and affected ocean life. It focuses on the anthropology of fishing communities to find out how people can find a degree of balance, a relatively stable relationship with neighboring communities and with their environment. The chapter presents three short case studies, which illustrates how sustainable fishing works in traditional communities and in modern commercial fishing. They are Kilwa Island, Tanzania; Hokkai shrimp in northern Japan; and Tilefish in the North Atlantic. Governmental organizations and agencies have developed a number of ways to regulate the use of common-pool resources. Total allowed catch is a method of regulation that sets the rules on how much of fish can be landed and sold in a season, in each fishing port, or for a particular designated fishing area. Another way of managing a fishery is to regulate the kinds of gear or boats the fishers are allowed to use.
