Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms
We use a Foucault-inspired environmentalities analytical lens to conceptualize alternative sustainability auditing frameworks. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) claims to administer the international gold standard for sustainability evaluation of fisheries, yet the livelihoods of many people who...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0b9f464ee85342249e4c9919ae4cc199 2023-05-15T17:43:56+02:00 Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms Paul Foley Dinah A. Okyere Charles Mather 2018-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10382-230337 https://doaj.org/article/0b9f464ee85342249e4c9919ae4cc199 EN eng Resilience Alliance http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art37/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-10382-230337 https://doaj.org/article/0b9f464ee85342249e4c9919ae4cc199 Ecology and Society, Vol 23, Iss 3, p 37 (2018) assessment frameworks audits environmentality governmentality Marine Stewardship Council sustainability Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10382-230337 2022-12-31T07:17:36Z We use a Foucault-inspired environmentalities analytical lens to conceptualize alternative sustainability auditing frameworks. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) claims to administer the international gold standard for sustainability evaluation of fisheries, yet the livelihoods of many people who depend on Canada's first MSC-certified fishery are in serious jeopardy. After decades of growth that helped fishers and coastal communities alleviate the social consequences of the infamous cod collapse, the northern shrimp fishery in eastern Canada is experiencing ecological change and social conflict over the distribution of quota reductions. However, recent disputes over the distribution, and social consequences, of quota reductions in this fishery are completely invisible in assessment and auditing documents for the successful recertification of the fishery to the MSC's standard for "sustainable and well managed fisheries" in 2016. We draw upon aspects of an alternative assessment framework to highlight information and knowledge that a socially attentive sustainability audit of this fishery might consider. The alternative auditing framework renders visible social dimensions of Canada's northern shrimp fishery, including government decision making that incorporates ethical and moral economy principles, the distribution of access to various interests, uses of access benefits for regional and community development purposes, and conflict over policy and resource access during a period of resource decline and dispossession. Although the spread of auditing frameworks across natural resource sectors tends to reinforce neoliberal interests and undermine social justice aims, we argue that the development of alternative assessment frameworks that clearly make visible materialist social development relationship and knowledge can enable action in support of social justice objectives. Article in Journal/Newspaper northern shrimp Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Ecology and Society 23 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
assessment frameworks audits environmentality governmentality Marine Stewardship Council sustainability Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
assessment frameworks audits environmentality governmentality Marine Stewardship Council sustainability Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Paul Foley Dinah A. Okyere Charles Mather Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
topic_facet |
assessment frameworks audits environmentality governmentality Marine Stewardship Council sustainability Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
We use a Foucault-inspired environmentalities analytical lens to conceptualize alternative sustainability auditing frameworks. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) claims to administer the international gold standard for sustainability evaluation of fisheries, yet the livelihoods of many people who depend on Canada's first MSC-certified fishery are in serious jeopardy. After decades of growth that helped fishers and coastal communities alleviate the social consequences of the infamous cod collapse, the northern shrimp fishery in eastern Canada is experiencing ecological change and social conflict over the distribution of quota reductions. However, recent disputes over the distribution, and social consequences, of quota reductions in this fishery are completely invisible in assessment and auditing documents for the successful recertification of the fishery to the MSC's standard for "sustainable and well managed fisheries" in 2016. We draw upon aspects of an alternative assessment framework to highlight information and knowledge that a socially attentive sustainability audit of this fishery might consider. The alternative auditing framework renders visible social dimensions of Canada's northern shrimp fishery, including government decision making that incorporates ethical and moral economy principles, the distribution of access to various interests, uses of access benefits for regional and community development purposes, and conflict over policy and resource access during a period of resource decline and dispossession. Although the spread of auditing frameworks across natural resource sectors tends to reinforce neoliberal interests and undermine social justice aims, we argue that the development of alternative assessment frameworks that clearly make visible materialist social development relationship and knowledge can enable action in support of social justice objectives. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Paul Foley Dinah A. Okyere Charles Mather |
author_facet |
Paul Foley Dinah A. Okyere Charles Mather |
author_sort |
Paul Foley |
title |
Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
title_short |
Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
title_full |
Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
title_fullStr |
Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
title_full_unstemmed |
Alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of Canada's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in social terms |
title_sort |
alternative environmentalities: recasting the assessment of canada's first marine stewardship council-certified fishery in social terms |
publisher |
Resilience Alliance |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10382-230337 https://doaj.org/article/0b9f464ee85342249e4c9919ae4cc199 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
northern shrimp |
genre_facet |
northern shrimp |
op_source |
Ecology and Society, Vol 23, Iss 3, p 37 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art37/ https://doaj.org/toc/1708-3087 1708-3087 doi:10.5751/ES-10382-230337 https://doaj.org/article/0b9f464ee85342249e4c9919ae4cc199 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10382-230337 |
container_title |
Ecology and Society |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
3 |
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1766146101476327424 |