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How is Shrimp Aquaculture Transforming Coastal Livelihoods and Lagoons in Estero Real, Nicaragua?: The Need to Integrate Social–Ecological Research and Ecosystem-Based Approaches

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Abstract

Ecosystem-based approaches to aquaculture integrate environmental concerns into planning. Social–ecological systems research can improve this approach by explicitly relating ecological and social dynamics of change at multiple scales. Doing so requires not only addressing direct effects of aquaculture but also considering indirect factors such as changes in livelihood strategies, governance dynamics, and power relations. We selected the community of Puerto Morazán, Nicaragua as a case study to demonstrate how the introduction of small-scale aquaculture radically transformed another key livelihood activity, lagoon shrimp fishing, and the effects that these changes have had on lagoons and the people that depend on them. We find that shrimp aquaculture played a key role in the collapse, in the 1990s, of an existing lagoon common-property management. Shrimp aquaculture-related capital enabled the adoption of a new fishing technique that not only degraded lagoons but also led to their gradual privatization. The existence of social ties between small-scale shrimp farmers and other community members mitigated the impacts of privatization, illustrating the importance of social capital. Since 2008, community members are seeking to communally manage the lagoons once again, in response to degraded environmental conditions and a consolidation of the shrimp industry at the expense of smaller actors. This research shows that shrimp aquaculture intersects with a complex set of drivers, affecting not only how ecosystems are managed but also how they are perceived and valued. Understanding these social–ecological dynamics is essential to implement realistic policies and management of mangrove ecosystems and address the needs of resource-dependent people.

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Notes

  1. Here private property refers to areas where an individual or a corporation has exclusive rights, determining access and levels of exploitation, while common-pool resources refers to areas where control of access is difficult (i.e., exclusion is costly) and resource are substractable (i.e., use reduces resource availability). Open access refers to areas where “access is free and open to all”, similar to the example given by Hardin in his famous article on the ‘tragedy of the commons’ written in 1968.

  2. All quotes from the interviews are translated from Spanish.

  3. Some residents differentiate between Canta Gallo and Canta Gallito, a smaller lagoon subsumed within Canta Gallo. We include both when we refer to the Canta Gallo lagoons.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funding from the Levinson and Warren fellowships, the bourse Mobilité-Québec, McGill libraries and the International Development Research Center. We warmly thank the CIDEA institute for its field support, and in particular Juan Ramon Bravo, Eufresia Balladares, Will Herrera, Agnes Saborio Coze and Carlos Rivas for a fruitful exchange of ideas and for facilitating work in Nicaragua. We would also like to thank Oliver Coomes, Billie L. Turner II and Jesse Sayles for insightful comments on this manuscript. Oliver Coomes also provided valuable assistance during fieldwork and data analysis. Prateep Nayak provided valuable insights during the peer-review process. Two other anonymous reviewers contributed to the betterment of this paper. Last but not least, this work would not have been possible without the generous participation and support from the people of Puerto Morazán and other residents of the Estero Real.

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  1. School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Coor Hall, 5th floor, 975 S. Myrtle Ave., Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Karina Benessaiah

  2. Department of Geography, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke West, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada

    Raja Sengupta

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Benessaiah, K., Sengupta, R. How is Shrimp Aquaculture Transforming Coastal Livelihoods and Lagoons in Estero Real, Nicaragua?: The Need to Integrate Social–Ecological Research and Ecosystem-Based Approaches. Environmental Management 54, 162–179 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0295-x

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