Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery

Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2014.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rood, Jennifer E.
Other Authors: Thomas Levenson.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92634
_version_ 1826209424056778752
author Rood, Jennifer E.
author2 Thomas Levenson.
author_facet Thomas Levenson.
Rood, Jennifer E.
author_sort Rood, Jennifer E.
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2014.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T14:22:17Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/92634
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T14:22:17Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/926342022-02-08T02:05:57Z Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery Rood, Jennifer E. Thomas Levenson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing MIT Program in Writing & Humanistic Studies Graduate Program in Science Writing. Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2014. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 41-45). The Caribbean spiny lobster fishery is one of the most important industries in the economy of the Bahamas, and in turn it is one of the largest lobster industries in the world. The natural geography of the Bahamas makes its waters into a lobster haven that Bahamian fishermen have successfully exploited over the past few decades. In 2009, in order to safeguard the industry's future and earn a higher margin, the government and the lobster processors together sought sustainability certification for their product. However, they came up short. The international assessors deemed the data on the health of the lobster stocks to be too minimal, and the legal structures to protect the lobster from over-harvesting to be too weak. In response, the government, together with the World Wildlife Fund, set up a program called the Fishery Improvement Project to get the country's lobster industry on the right track. Under the auspices of the Fishery Improvement Project, the government, local and international NGOs, the processors, and the fishermen themselves are contributing to improving the availability of information on the lobster and to crafting new laws to control the industry. Despite successes in improved communication and stock assessments, there are many obstacles to be overcome: differences of opinion, the spread-out nature of the country, and the limited resources available to enforce the laws. Through interviews with fishermen, government officials, processors, and scientists, this thesis tells the story of how the Fishery Improvement Project began, what it has accomplished, and where the lobster and the humans who harvest them might go from here, when the program wraps up and the fishery reenters the sustainability certification process. by Jennifer E. Rood. S.M. in Science Writing 2015-01-05T20:00:20Z 2015-01-05T20:00:20Z 2014 2014 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92634 897735551 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 45 pages application/pdf nwbf--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Graduate Program in Science Writing.
Rood, Jennifer E.
Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title_full Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title_fullStr Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title_full_unstemmed Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title_short Succulent and spiny : the Bahamas' quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
title_sort succulent and spiny the bahamas quest for a sustainable lobster fishery
topic Graduate Program in Science Writing.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92634
work_keys_str_mv AT roodjennifere succulentandspinythebahamasquestforasustainablelobsterfishery
AT roodjennifere bahamasquestforasustainablelobsterfishery