Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Ocean sustainability for all requires deeper behavioural research

Nature Human Behaviour volume 6, pages 6–8 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Behavioural science can enhance ocean sustainability by providing insights into illegal fishing. Current enforcement criminalizes small-scale fishers and fails to address root causes, letting large-scale illegal fishing off the hook. Efforts to address illegal fishing would benefit from more holistic behavioural research.

The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) seeks policy responses that are scientifically informed, to advance sustainability. This has focused on the natural sciences, which are vital but insufficient to address ocean sustainability alone. Behavioural science can provide insights into fostering pro-environmental behaviours in individuals, corporations and governments. Yet, adopting a narrow perspective (in this case, from behavioural economics and criminology) may decrease sustainability and marginalize vulnerable communities. We illustrate the need for interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate multiple perspectives to analyse the drivers of illegal fishing, and design inclusive, equitable and sustainable governance and regulatory frameworks.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Major drivers of illegal fishing, potential policy responses and ways to support small-scale fishers.

References

  1. Felson, M. & Clarke, R. V. Police Res. Ser. Pap. 98, 1–36 (1998).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Sumaila, U. R., Alder, J. & Keith, H. Mar. Policy 30, 696–703 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Belhabib, D., Le Billon, P. & Wrathall, D. J. Fish Fish. 21, 992–1007 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Winstanley-Chesters, R. Int. J. Diaspora Cult. Crit. 10, 149–183 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Islam, M. M. et al. Mar. Policy 76, 143–151 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Young, M. A. L., Foale, S. & Bellwood, D. R. Mar. Policy 66, 114–123 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Arias, A. J. Environ. Manage. 153, 134–143 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Oyanedel, R., Gelcich, S. & Milner-Gulland, E. J. Conserv. Lett. 13, e12725 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Battista, W. et al. Front. Mar. Sci. 5, 403 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cinti, A., Shaw, W., Cudney-Bueno, R. & Rojo, M. Mar. Policy 34, 328–339 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bennett, N. J., Govan, H. & Satterfield, T. Mar. Policy 57, 61–68 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Marteache, N., Sosnowski, M. C. & Petrossian, G. A. in The Emerald Handbook of Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development (eds Balustein, J. et al.) 485–512 (Emerald, 2020).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Oceana for the financial support which made this work possible. The authors gratefully acknowledge that they live and work on the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territories.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecotrust Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Dyhia Belhabib

  2. Shackleton Research Trust, Palm Beach, FL, USA

    Dyhia Belhabib

  3. Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, USA

    Philippe Le Billon

  4. The Peopled Seas Initiative, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Nathan J. Bennett

  5. People and the Ocean Specialist Group, Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland

    Nathan J. Bennett

Authors
  1. Dyhia Belhabib
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Philippe Le Billon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nathan J. Bennett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dyhia Belhabib.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review information

Nature Human Behaviour thanks Brock Bergseth, Jessica Ford and Mary Mackay for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Belhabib, D., Le Billon, P. & Bennett, N.J. Ocean sustainability for all requires deeper behavioural research. Nat Hum Behav 6, 6–8 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01256-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01256-9

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing