This work presents the results of framed field experiments designed to study the co-enforcement of access to common pool resources. The experiments were conducted in the field with artisanal fishers in Chile. In the experiments, members of a CPR group (called insiders) not only decided how much to harvest but also invest in monitoring to deter poaching by outsiders. Sanctions for poaching were exogenous as if provided by a government authority.

In this introduction to the special issue, “Economics of Marine Resources in the Global South,” we address the current challenges for sustainable management of aquaculture and capture fisheries in developing and transitional countries. We note that the collective action problem remains a major challenge for capture fisheries in the Global South. While aquaculture has been a fast-moving food sector for half a century and provides disadvantaged people in the Global South with low-cost, high-quality protein, negative externalities remain an industry-wide challenge.

Chile’s extended allocation of marine user rights aims to reduce overextraction of marine resources. New user rights promote small-scale aquaculture both to increase coastal incomes and to encourage fishers to transition to other livelihoods. Some activities prove profitable only in particular biogeographic settings, such as open ocean or estuaries. We examine a coastal region of Chile to investigate the response of households to these marine-based activities and rights.

Abstract

Seaweed harvest has denuded many areas of the sea floor, threatening marine ecosystems and the livelihood of coastal communities. Recently, small operators have begun to cultivate seaweed. This paper studies the role of fishing and agriculture, and their interactions with risk and time preferences, in the uptake of seaweed aquaculture. We use a Heckman selection model to study the decision to participate and expansion of production in seaweed aquaculture in Chile.

Marine and coastal resources in Vietnam are under increasing threat from human activities (Burke et al. 2002). One way to manage these threats is through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which safeguard valuable ecosystems within their confines. Despite the ecological and socio-economic benefits they provide (Whittingham et al. 2003), the management of MPAs is often severely constrained by both a lack of funding and a poor relationship with communities living around (or within) them.