Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG): Institutional Legitimacy and the Halibut Fishery in Greenland

小规模渔业是广泛存在的社会生态系统，在北极尤其受到威胁。在格陵兰岛，小型渔民的数量超过大型渔民的8：1。虽然小型渔业在文化、经济和社会上都是不可或缺的，但它们可能很难管理和获得。监管渔业准入的机构被认为是合法的，尽管它们对全球渔业有重大影响，但人们对其认识不足。这项研究调查了北极大比目鱼渔业，以及利益相关者的态度是如何受到1)影响渔业准入的关键历史、社会和空间因素以及2)感知的机构合法性的影响。这类研究的结果对阿拉斯加和北极其他地区的可比渔业具有重要影响。这项研究采用了“Q”方法，开发该方法是为了系统和重复地评估参与者对具有相互竞争观点的问题的观点。使用Q，调查员将确定和评估渔民和其他利益攸关方如何看待管理渔业的体制安排的合法性的关键变量。这项工作还将评估在不同社区的政策制定者、科学家、监管机构、资源管理人员和渔民等利益攸关方群体之间和利益攸关方群体内部的机构合法性趋同程度。调查者假设，被认为的机构合法性受到研究参与者的经验和对社会历史变量的认识的影响，例如以前的监管安排，以及他们相对于未受监管的渔业的位置。Q的使用将与人种学访谈和研讨会相辅相成；数据收集之后将进行统计分析。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Small-scale fisheries are widespread socio-ecological systems that are especially threatened in the Arctic. In Greenland, small-scale fishers outnumber large-scale fishers by over 8:1. While small-scale fisheries are culturally, economically, and socially indispensable, they may be difficult to govern and access. The perceived legitimacy of institutions that regulate access to fisheries are poorly understood, even though they have significant impacts on fisheries globally. This research investigates an Arctic halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) fishery and how stakeholders’ attitudes are informed by 1) key historical, social, and spatial factors that affect fisheries access, and 2) perceived institutional legitimacy. The results of such research have critical implications for comparable fisheries in Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic.This research employs the “Q” method, developed to systematically and reproducibly evaluate participant perspectives on issues with competing viewpoints. Using Q, the investigator will identify and evaluate key variables in how fishers and other stakeholders perceive the legitimacy of institutional arrangements governing fisheries. The work will also evaluate the extent to which perceived institutional legitimacy converges across and within stakeholder groups, including policymakers, scientists, regulatory agencies, resource managers, and fishers from different communities. The investigator hypothesizes that perceived institutional legitimacy is affected by study participants’ experience and awareness of socio-historical variables, such as previous regulatory arrangements, and by their location relative to unregulated fisheries. Use of Q will be complemented with ethnographic interviews and workshops; statistical analyses will follow data collection.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.