Regulation and Compliance in the Atlantic Fisheries: State/Society Relations in the Management of Natural Resources

This is a book about fishermen’s reasons for obeying fisheries law. The fish harvesting industry has become subject to state interference to an increasing extent over the past twenty years. As natural resources become scarce and subsequent fisheries regulations abound, the question of law-abidingness is brought to the public agenda. However, there is still little empirical data as regards the dynamics of compliance in this field, and this book aims to meet a demand for in-depth knowledge. The cases studied can be regarded as instances of economies dependent on the harvesting of natural resources for both household and the market, and the study aims to contribute to the building of more adequate theory on the dynamics of compliance in such economies. However, focusing on a specific type of setting seldom constitutes a safe escape route for getting away from more pervasive sociological questions, and it certainly does not in this case. As any attempt to explain social phenomena, this study is faced with the fundamental sociological question of how the acts of individuals can best be understood. The question concerns the interface between the individual and the collectivity – between collective morality and self-interest. It thus deals with classical sociological issues such as the nature and regulatory capacity of group norms and sanctions, and the forms and roles of rationality and strategic action. Preface. 1: Introduction. 1.1. The Cases. 1.2. The Research Question. 1.3. Epistemological Ambitions and Research Methods. 1.4. An Overview of the Book. 2: Utility, Legitimacy And Punishment – Basic Analytical Framework. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. The Compliance Literature. 2.3. Modelling Normative Aspects of Compliance. 3: Legitimacy And Survival Among Uerhavn’s Fishermen – The Norwegian Case. 3.1. A Fishing Community in Decline. 3.2. Perceptions of Governmental Regulations. 3.3. The Relevant Social Norms. 3.4. Strategic Actors in Moral Contexts. 3.5. Food Fishery – A Breach of the Law’s Legitimacy. 3.6. The Role and Meanings of Formal Enforcement. 3.7. Conclusion. 4: Money, Subsistence And Morality In Little Spruce Harbour – The Newfoundland Case. 4.1. A Fishing Community on the Edge of Crisis. 4.2. Perceptions of Governmental Regulations. 4.3. Morality, Compliance, Punishment. 4.4. Conclusion. 5: Accounting For Similarities – Systems Of Moral Distinction. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. The Moral Meanings of Food and Money. 5.3. Two Moral Spheres of Economic Activity. 6: Accounting For Differences Of Legitimacy – State/Society Relations In The Management Of The Norwegian And Newfoundland Fisheries. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. National Identities. 6.3. Industry Influence in Fisheries Management. 6.4. Conclusion. 7: Retrospect And Guidelines. 7.1. Retrospect. 7.2. A Few Survey Guidelines. 7.3. Revisiting the Concept of Authority. List Of Abbreviations. References. List Of Informants: Government and Unions. Fishers. Other Personal Communication. Index.