Comparisons of Ecological Knowledge About Fish Stocks Among Fishermen, Fishery Managers, and Biologists in the South Atlantic

Abstract

The world's fishery resources are becoming depleted, threatening some commercial species with extinction. The Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act has been controversial with fishermen because of disagreements over stock assessments of fish. Fishermen argue that some fish stocks are still plentiful, and that the fishing regulations are too inflexible. Through interviews and surveys, I assess the perceptions of stock assessments of fishermen in North Carolina, and compare their Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with the Scientific Ecological Knowledge (SEK) of biologists. The knowledge gained from this study could help resolve this conflict between fishermen and biologists.