Social-ecological System Interactions in Small-scale Fisheries: Case Studies of the Large Pelagic and Shallow Reef Fisheries of Grenada and St. Lucia Under Construction

The components of social-ecological systems, their interactions in marine fisheries and the resulting outcomes of interaction are not always obvious to many fishery stakeholders. In Grenada and St. Lucia, the small-scale fisheries for large pelagics and shallow reef fish are examples of such complex systems. A pelagic longliner or a pot fisher catching, landing and marketing fish appears to be engaged in simple activities at first glance, but there exists a network of complex relationships and human-nature interactions within these fisheries activities. If stakeholders involved in the governance of such small-scale fisheries had a better understanding of how these complex social-ecological systems function from a network perspective, then it may be possible to improve the outcomes to meet societal goals. In this paper, I provide a preliminary description of the main social-ecological components and their network interactions in the fisheries for large pelagic and shallow reef fish in Grenada and St. Lucia. This research is part of a larger study on the governance of small-scale fisheries in the eastern Caribbean.