Fishers and Scientists in Modern Turkey The Management of Natural Resources, Knowledge and Identity on the Eastern Black Sea Coast

About this book

What role does local knowledge play in the management of marine resources, on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey? Through the ethnography and history of fish production, seafood consumption, state modernizing policies, and marine science, Fishers and Scientists in Modern Turkey uncovers possible answers to this question. The debate about contemporary common pool resources (CPR) tends to focus on institutions and rules; in contrast the author argues that the role of the larger historical and ideological context should be taken into account. Fishing, science and other forms of relating to the sea are provide valid and useful perspectives on this issue.

Through the ethnography and history of fish production, seafood consumption, state modernizing policies, and marine science, this book analyses the role of local knowledge in the management of marine resources on the Eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey. Fishing, science and other forms of knowing and relating to fish and the sea are analysed as particular ways of life conditioned by history, ideology, and daily practice. The approach adopted here allows for a broader analysis of the role knowledge plays in the management of common pool resources (CPR) than is provided in much of the contemporary CPR debate that tends to have a somewhat narrow focus on institutions and rules. By contrast, the author argues that local knowledge and the larger historical and ideological context of production, as manifest in state modernization policies and consumption patterns, should also be taken into account when trying to explain the current management regime in Turkish Black Sea fisheries.

Contents

List of Figures List of Tables Preface and Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Seafood Consumption and Turkish Identities Chapter 3. Fisheries and the State Chapter 4. Fisher's Knowledges Chapter 5. Informal Regulations in Small-boat Fishing Chapter 6. Fishing Careers, Family and Friendships Chapter 7. State Representatives: Elite Lifestyles and Knowledges Chapter 8. The Controversy over the Sonar: Does it Harm Fish? Chapter 9. Water Produce Cooperatives and the Cultivation of Ignorance Chapter 10. Articulation of Knowledges through Moralities and Politics Notes Bibliography Glossary Index

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Biography

Stale Knudsen is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Bergen. He has spent extended periods doing fieldwork among Turkish Black Sea fishers. He is currently leading a working group on the Black Sea as part of an EU-funded project entitled "Knowledge-based Sustainable Management for Europe's Seas".