Using Cognitive Response to Assess Shrimper Participation and Regulation Compliance in the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery

Charismatic, endangered, and threatened marine animals present unique challenges for fisher uptake of bycatch reduction technology because of the conservation value rather than their commercial value. With respect to bycatch, little is known about shrimp fishers’ knowledge and attitudes. The available literature considers the biological elements of managing shrimp trawl fisheries but pays little attention to social acceptance of such protocols, despite the clear importance of human behavior in determining the success of fisheries management. Fishers’ knowledge can be useful in both biological and management contexts. Tapping into stakeholder knowledge and increased fisher participation often times assumes that these actions will ensure greater acceptance of fishery research results and the resulting recommendations, however these activities reflect a limited conception of what participation entails. Framed in the cognitive hierarchy approach, this research examines the mediating effect of general environmental attitudes; the mediating effect of wildlife value orientations; the moderating effect of factual knowledge about fishery bycatch on the relationship between values and specific shrimping attitudes; and how norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control influence participatory behaviors within the shrimping community. These relationships are assessed and compared across three states in the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp fishery: Texas, Louisiana and Florida.