The lobster fishery of southwest Nova Scotia: A case study of the effects of structural transformations on the allocation of access to a publicly owned resource.

摘要

This study documents the development of the lobster industry in Southwest Nova Scotia since its inception in the mid-nineteenth century, with an emphasis on structural changes that have occurred in the postwar period. It discusses these changes in terms of evolving conceptions of distributive justice in the fishery, an increased emphasis on scientific knowledge as a basis of authority in management, emerging pressures from the forces of globalization, and a capitalistic reconfiguration of the lobster fishing labour process. Central to the analysis is the Canadian government's newly intensified commitment to stock conservation, and its apparent retreat from social policy commitments to fishing community development. Using data obtained from structured, open-ended interviews with fishermen, lobster buyers, lobster scientists, and federal fisheries managers, the study develops typologies for fishing enterprises and categorizes the structure of the lobster market. It examines the approaches of lobster scientists as they analyze the status of lobster stocks and create ‘fisheries knowledge’, and the approaches of fisheries managers at different levels as they attempt to regulate the fishery fairly. The study concludes that in order to fulfill the aspirations outlined in its recently released Canada's Ocean Strategy, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will have to increase its capacity to respond to issues originating in three general areas: in the lobster fishing sector; in coastal communities; and in the marine ecosystem itself.