Chapter 3: From crisis to institutional sustainability in the Chilean sea urchin fishery

C. MORENO; N. BARAHONA; C. MOLINET; J. M. ORENSANZ; A. M. PARMA; A. ZULETA

Fisheries Management: Progress Towards Sustainability

Blackwell

Lugar: London; Año: 2006; p. 43 - 65

A frequent perception of artisanal and small-scale fisheries is one of low-investment operations, at least in part subsistence-oriented, conducted by part-time fishers and their families in the proximity of their villages, eventually yielding a surplus that is sold or bartered at local markets. Commercial diving for sea urchins in Chile is no doubt a small-scale fishery, if gauged by the size of the fishing units, and ?artisanal according to the country?s fisheries legislation. Yet, it could not be more different from the stereotype outlined above. Above all, this small-scale fishery is one of astounding dimensions along several axes. For decades the World?s largest sea urchin fishery (Andrew et al. 2002), in 2002 it contributed approximately 65% of the world?s supply (Fig. 3.1). Spread along the entire 36 degrees of latitude spanned by the country, from 18° S (border with Perú) to 54° S (Cape Horn), this strictly commercial fishery fuels a multi-million export-oriented industry. Most of the landings originate in remote and inhospitable regions in the fjords of southern Chile, far away from the towns and villages where the thousands of participating fishers and their families live. Idiosyncratic and defying categorization, this fishery presents daunting challenges for assessment and management. Its complexity has led to cycles of regulatory innovation and frustrations, and occasionally to political or legal stalemate and violent confrontations. Yet, ultimately, conflicts forced the government, managers, fishers, processors, and scientists to sit together (whether they liked it or not) and look jointly for alternatives for monitoring, assessment, and management. The result has been the first fisheries management plan produced in Chile, one that was elaborated in a truly participatory context and is backed by consensus from all the parties. Here we describe how this fishery, once regarded as hopeless, is re-shaping itself, and discuss the serious difficulties faced ahead.