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Abstract:
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"In the Grand Manan lobster fishery, as in many other local fisheries, there exists an informal communal management system separate from the Canadian governmental management regime. Communal management can be described as collective resource management occuring at a local level, originated and shaped by local harvesters. By its nature, communal management is appropriate to the local ecological, social and cultural community. Results of a study into the Grand Manan lobster fishery reveal three identifiable sectors each with a differing system of communal management. This paper documents the intricacies of these three systems. The introduction of high-tech devices and new gear technology has precipitated changes in the spatial patterns of lobster fishing in this community resulting in the division of the fishery into three sectors. The inshore, offshore, and below-the-ledges sectors are distinguished by geography and gear type. Because these three sectors have functioned in the community for varying lengths of time, this situation offers a valuable opportunity to examine the developmental stages of communal management from the stability of a century-old system to the emergence of a new fishery.
"The research leading to this paper was conducted from September through December, 1996, and for brief periods in the Spring of 1997. Grand Manan is a New Brunswick archipelago located at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. Traditionally, lobster fishing practices were severely limited in this area by the extreme tide characteristics of the Bay of Fundy. In recent years, new technology as well as entrepreneurship of local fishers is allowing the Grand Manan fishermen to overcome some of the problems the strong tides inflict. Such innovation is changing not only fishing practices but also the fibers of the community mesh which informally govern the harvest of this common resource."
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