CASE STUDY 7: TACKLING NON-COMPLIANCE IN A SMALL-

SCALE FISHERY IN CHILE

Oxford Researcher: Rodrigo Oyanedel

Reducing non-compliance is key to sustaining the ecological, social and economic ecosystem
services that natural resources provide. The impacts of non-compliance are especially acute in
small-scale resource users, which usually involve poor management and limited enforcement
capacity. In the context of fisheries, small-scale fishing non-compliance has been linked to the
collapse of fishing stocks and habitat destruction. Dealing with non-compliance is thus
necessary, particularly as small-scale communities are often highly dependent on natural
resources as a source of livelihood. Reducing non-compliance in small-scale users is therefore a
key challenge for conserving biodiversity worldwide while maintaining livelihood.

Small scale fishers in Chile

This is an issue of great importance in Chile. It is one of the largest producers of marine products
in the world, with average landings of 3.1 million tonnes between 2005-2014. Fisheries
management in Chile, although progressive in the application of innovative and science-based
schemes, suffers from chronic non-compliance. Increasing compliance in Chile’s fisheries is
urgent for improving the sustainability of the sector and maintaining small-scale fishers
livelihoods. Furthermore, lessons from this case-study can be used to advance our understanding
of non-compliance issues in small-scale resource use more broadly.

For this case-study, we have:

 Reviewed different approaches and theories that could be used to understand non-
compliance. We focused on how to integrate two main approaches for studying
 non-compliance. These are the actor based-approach that address the underlying
motivations for people to comply or not with regulations and the opportunity-based
approach that focuses on the role that the immediate environment plays in the
performance of non-compliant behaviours. Read more here:
 Oyanedel, R, Gelcich, S, Milner-Gulland, EJ. A synthesis of
(non-)compliance theories with applications to small-scale fisheries
research and practice. Fish
Fish. 2020; 21: 1120– 1134. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12490
 We then looked in more depth into small-scale fishers’ motivations for
compliance with different rules in the common-hake case study. Using a
framework originally developed for forestry, we found that a diversity of
motivations (normative, instrumental and legitimacy-based) helps to explain
fishers’ varied responses to rules and regulations. Read more here:
 Oyanedel, R, Gelcich, S, Milner-Gulland, EJ. Motivations for
(non-)compliance with conservation rules by small-scale resource
users. Conservation
Letters. 2020; 13:e12725. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12725
We also developed a framework to assess and intervene in unsustainable natural resource supply-
chain and markets. We showcased the utility of the framework in a data-limited small-scale
common hake fishery. Our mixed-methodanalysis provided relevant, tailored management
recommendations for improving sustainability. Tackling markets driving unsustainable wildlife
use needs integrated approaches that bring together the diversity of factors affecting wildlife
market dynamics.