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. Why and under what conditions are the state's regulations complied with, and when are they violated? Resource scarcity and strict regulation of the Atlantic fisheries have generated a demand for in-depth knowledge of this issue. This comparative study is based on qualitative data from Norway and Newfoundland. It shows that informal social control is a major factor inhibiting violations of formal management regulations among fishermen, and it analyses the relevant moral norms and how they influence compliance. It addresses the relationship between collective morality and self-interest, and describes combinations of normative and strategic action. The comparison of the cases ends with a general theory on the morality of compliance in economies based on harvesting of natural resources for households as well as the market. People concerned with management of fisheries and other natural resources, and social scientists concerned with the questions of compliance and legitimate law will most likely be the primary audiences of the book Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-11 Utility, Legitimacy and Punishment....Pages 13-38 Legitimacy and Survival among Uerhavn’s Fishermen....Pages 39-87 Money, Subsistence and Morality in Little Spruce Harbour....Pages 89-145 Accounting for Similarities....Pages 147-156 Accounting for Differences of Legitimacy....Pages 157-191 Retrospect and Guidelines....Pages 193-213 Back Matter....Pages 215-235