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Shifting Baselines in the Galapagos White Fin Fishery, Using Fisher’s Anecdotes to Reassess Fisheries Management: The Case of the Galapagos Grouper

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The Galapagos Marine Reserve

Abstract

This study links social and ecological aspects of the white fin fishery in San Cristobal Island. This is a traditional fishery focused at first on the Galapagos grouper (Mycteroperca olfax), a top predator and an iconic species of the archipelago as part of a traditional dish to celebrate Easter on the continent. We used anecdotal information and perceptions provided by three generations of fisherman to understand the impacts of fishing on the dried and salted fishery. Significant differences were found among fishers’ groups surveyed and interviewed for this study. The oldest group indicated a greater past abundance of the Galapagos grouper than the other two younger age groups. The close relationship between fishers and their activity have generated certain knowledge about marine environments, its species, and the dynamics developed in their fishing areas, creating a perception of changes in this fishery.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Quiroga and Orbes (1964) and Barragan (1975) presented technical reports about the white fin fishery fleet composition and the fishing method, but they did not present information about the catch composition and the status of the species in the handline fishery at that time.

  2. 2.

    Gagern’s study presents a comparative analysis with Reck about the status of Mycteroperca olfax. His results show length distributions similar to Reck.

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Acknowledgments

This study could be possible because of the cooperation of the artisanal fishery industry of San Cristobal Island, who shared with us their knowledge, anecdotes, and perception about changes in the white fin fishery. We want to thank the editors (Judith Denkinger and Luis Vinueza) for inviting us to participate and for their comments on the manuscript. We want to recognize Juan Carlos Murillo and Mauricio Castrejón for their contribution and specially Susan V. Poats for her observations during this research as co-advisor. We also want to thank Lea Meth for helping with editions. Finally we want to thank the Galapagos Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) for its support. The results presented here are part of the Master’s thesis in Ecology of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Galapagos Science Center, University San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbaya, Quito, Ecuador

    Diana V. Burbano

  2. Galapagos Science Center, University San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Carlos F. Mena & Günther Reck

  3. Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

    Paulina Guarderas

  4. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Luis Vinueza

Authors
  1. Diana V. Burbano
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  2. Carlos F. Mena
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  3. Paulina Guarderas
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  4. Luis Vinueza
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  5. Günther Reck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana V. Burbano .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Judith Denkinger

  2. Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador

    Luis Vinueza

Appendix

Appendix

Table 11.2 Fishermen' comments from the older group, recalling past abundance of species in the white fin fishery
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Table 11.3 Comments extracted from the interviews to the middle-aged and older fishermen about changes in the abundance and size of the Galapagos grouper, an indicator species of the whitefish fishery
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Burbano, D.V., Mena, C.F., Guarderas, P., Vinueza, L., Reck, G. (2014). Shifting Baselines in the Galapagos White Fin Fishery, Using Fisher’s Anecdotes to Reassess Fisheries Management: The Case of the Galapagos Grouper. In: Denkinger, J., Vinueza, L. (eds) The Galapagos Marine Reserve. Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02769-2_11

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