About This Project

Community-based fisheries conservation is widely promoted as a solution to protect marine ecosystems while supporting fishing communities. But an important question remains: who actually benefits from these initiatives? This project examines the social equity outcomes of community based fisheries conservation in Mexico and explores how benefits and decision making are distributed among stakeholders.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Community-based conservation has become one of the most widely promoted approaches for managing fisheries and marine ecosystems around the world. These strategies aim to protect marine resources while allowing fishing communities to participate in management and benefit from conservation outcomes. However, an important question often remains overlooked: whether the social outcomes of these initiatives are perceived as fair by the fishing sector. In many cases, conservation policies focus on ecological performance but pay less attention to how benefits, participation, and decision-making are distributed among stakeholders. This project examines the social equity outcomes of community-based fisheries conservation using Fishing Refuge Zones in Mexico as a case study.

What is the significance of this project?

Understanding the social dimensions of conservation is essential for the long term success of fisheries management initiatives. When conservation strategies are perceived as unfair or exclusionary, they can generate conflicts, reduce compliance, and undermine conservation goals. By examining how fishing communities perceive the distribution of benefits and decision making within community based fisheries conservation, this research contributes to a growing international discussion on equity in marine conservation. The findings can help improve the design of conservation policies that are not only ecologically effective but also socially legitimate and equitable.

What are the goals of the project?

The main goal of this project is to analyze the social equity outcomes of community-based fisheries conservation. Specifically, the project aims to assess how different groups within the fishing sector perceive the fairness of conservation initiatives, examine participation and influence in decision-making processes, and evaluate how conservation outcomes are distributed among stakeholders. By integrating these dimensions, the project seeks to generate empirical evidence on social equity in fisheries governance and contribute to ongoing international discussions on more inclusive and equitable conservation strategies.