On the move: The role of mobility and migration as a coping strategy for resource users after abrupt environmental disturbance – the empirical example of the Coastal El Niño 2017
Introduction
Human migration processes are no new phenomena, and have been studied in a range of social-ecological settings along history. Scholars distinguish movement patterns according to its durance and magnitude, i.e. whether it is short-term mobility (for a few weeks), or takes place on a seasonal (e.g. for an entire fishing season), long-term (for several years) or permanent (for several generations) basis (sensu Atti Mama 2006, cited in Njock and Westlund, 2010). Factors influencing and stipulating migration are highly complex and may emerge from the combination of case-specific environmental, social or economic factors in either the current location or the place of destination (Njock and Westlund, 2010), or be the result of negotiations at different sociospatial scales (Hoang, 2011). Distinguishing very strictly between all these categories is, however, often difficult and not necessarily conducive to the understanding of reasons and motives for migration. Movement of humans as well as the flow of both material and non-material resources (e.g. media, information and communication technology) creates connections and networks between places (Levitt, 2001), producing translocal development. Often, migrants engage in circular migration, retaining stakes in the places they had moved from. In the long run, the networks through which migrants and non-migrants interact across space might transform locals into translocals, providing the context and setting for further action (Greiner and Sakdapolrak, 2013). In this context, the term translocality refers to the “emergence of multidirectional and overlapping networks” created through the movement of people and “facilitating circulation of people, resources, practices and ideas” (Greiner and Sakdapolrak, 2013, p. 375).
Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct work to 59.6 million people in the world, and many more depend on related activities (in 2016; FAO, 2018). More than 90 % of this employment is created through small-scale fisheries (SSF) (FAO, 2015). SSF are often highly dynamic, of multi-species and multi-gear nature, with resource users being required to spontaneously adapt to resource dynamics by switching to a different gear type or different target species (FAO, 2015). In the face of increasing scarcity of target species, progressing anthropogenic pressures and global environmental change inducing significant alterations in abundance and distribution of living marine resources, as well as the trade of fish products (Barange et al., 2018), moving towards different regions to cope with sudden and/or long-term changes in resource dynamics represents a viable adaptation scenario for many fishers, though barriers – be it physical, social or economic - to mobility exist. The role of migration in small-scale fisheries has received much attention in West Africa (e.g. Haakonsen, 1991; Overå, 2001; Marquette et al., 2002; Binet et al., 2012; Njock and Westlund, 2010; Atuobi, 2016; Goldbach, 2017), East Africa (e.g. Wanyonyi et al., 2016) as well as South and Southeast Asia (Kramer et al., 2002; Islam and Herbeck, 2013; Goldbach, 2017), but there are also some examples from the Latinamerican context (Bremner and Perez, 2002; Badjeck, 2008; Badjeck et al., 2009).
In Peru, internal migration has mainly been driven by rural-urban movement, in particular from the highlands towards urban centers at the coast (Skeldon, 1977; Long, 2008; INEI, 2011; Bastia and Busse, 2011), with the share of population living in urban areas steadily increasing (from 35.4 % in 1940 to 75.9 % in 2007; INEI, 2011). But also international movement from Peru, e.g. towards Italy (Long, 2008) and the US (Bastia and Busse, 2011), was analyzed in the literature. In the 1980’s and 1990’s this movement was likely triggered by the “political and economic instabilities” created through the violent conflict between Sendero Luminoso (the Maoist-inspired revolutionaries) and the Peruvian military, leading to an “exodus of people from the countryside […] to safe rural zones” (Long, 2008, p. 44), mainly from the Andes region or highlands to coastal cities. The present study now brings attention to migration within Peru towards coastal areas, with a particular focus on the Piura region in the north of the country. This region hosts 31.7 % (in 2015; Castillo et al., 2018) of the country's artisanal fleet (i.e. <15m length, 32.6 m3 hold capacity; General Fishery Law 1992 – Law Decree N° 25977 1) and is of particular importance for national coastal economy due to the large number of people depending on fisheries-related activities. The Peruvian artisanal fishery sector is open to any fisher with a valid permit, and the extraction is regulated through minimum mesh sizes for certain gears and minimum landing sizes restrictions for a few species only (Ministerial resolution Nº 209-2001-PE 2), while compliance with rules is low due to a high level of informality and low monitoring capacity of authorities (Nakandakari et al., 2017). Historically, the activity has been highly dynamic due to seasonal and long-term movement of fishers and fish workers following changes in local resource abundances (compare Section 3.2 for details and references). In the past, these movements mainly followed strong El Niño (EN)-induced changes in population dynamics of high valuable fisheries target species such as the Peruvian bay scallop Argopecten purpuratus (e.g. El Niño 1983/84 and 1997/98; Badjeck, 2008; Badjeck, et al. 2009). Since the last strong EN of 1997/98, an ever increasing number of fishers from all over the country moved towards Piura region, gradually transforming the previously open-access fishery into an aquaculture activity, creating a flourishing new sector. From small, rather improvised and informal culture plots used in the beginning of the 2000’s, the aquaculture has evolved to be increasingly formal: Culture areas (so-called concessions) are assigned to small-scale fisher cooperatives (in the following termed scallop farmer) within the large bay of Sechura following a set of legal requirements (for a detailed historic overview compare Section 3.2). Because of this, it was argued that migration and mobility pattern would be hampered in the face of a new external disturbance event (e.g. Badjeck, 2008; Kluger et al., 2019).
This work studies the role of mobility as a coping strategy for small-scale resource users (fishers and scallop farmers) in the aftermath of the coastal El Niño event (CEN) 2017 which has brought drastic rains and subsequent flooding to the region of Piura and heavily impacted fisheries and aquaculture (Kluger et al., 2018). Using a mixed-method (qualitative biographic and expert interviews, qualitative-quantitative surveys) and multi-sited research approach, this work attempts to (1) understand reasons and motives behind movements towards and originating from Sechura from a translocal perspective, and (2) analyze how and why movement patterns differ between the two sectors, introducing a historical perspective. Further, lessons learned are evaluated in order to help formulating regional and national resource management strategies incorporating the migration component through applying a translocal lens.
Section snippets
Environmental and socio-economic setting of the case study Sechura (Piura region)
The Sechura province within the region of Piura in Northern Peru (5.6 °S, 80.9 °W; Fig. 1) is the focus of this work. The large Sechura Bay is influenced by the Humboldt Current Upwelling System bringing cold, nutrient-rich waters from deeper layers to the surface, as well as warmer by equatorial waters from the north (Tarazona and Arntz, 2001). This transition zone produces a highly productive setting during normal upwelling conditions, and as a consequence, the province is home to a diverse
Historic examples of fisher's mobility within the region of Piura
The region of Piura has historic importance, and the name of its principal port Paita (see Fig. 1) as the “entrance door to Peru” (Glave, 1993, p. 497) dates back to colonial times. Due to its position in the north of the country it represented a strategic stop-over for many European sailors – be it crown officials, merchants, whale hunters – before embarking on a difficult journey against winds (from southwest) and currents (flowing from the south to north) on their way south, e.g. to the port
The Coastal El Niño 2017 – effects on fisheries and scallop mariculture
When the Coastal El Niño hit the region of Piura in the first months of 2017, this caused almost a complete die-off of marine benthic organisms (including scallops), with drastic consequences for both the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. On a personal level, some villagers lost their homes, cars, or other assets due to the strong rains and subsequent flooding. In the months following the event, most fishers opted for returning to fishing as soon as they could, adapting their gears to a
Cross-sectoral comparison of movement patterns
The migration patterns analyzed in this study revolve around the effects of the Coastal El Niño 2017 on the small-scale fisheries and scallop aquaculture sector in Sechura Bay. Resource users from both sectors have experienced great economic losses and detrimental consequences for their activity though the overall impact appeared to have been greater for the aquaculture operations (Kluger et al., 2018).
The small-scale fisheries sector has been historically highly variable, due to its
Conclusions
The present study looked at the importance of migration as an adaptation strategy of Peruvian marine resource users in the time following the Coastal El Niño 2017. Observed mobility patterns represented a continuity of a highly dynamic sector and scallop farmers expressed diverse mobility despite being tied to the location of Sechura through the investment in their aquaculture concessions. The analysis of spatial extend of migration urges to consider increasing interconnectedness of places in
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Lotta Clara Kluger: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition, Project administration. Henryk Alff: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing - review & editing, Funding acquisition. Eliana Alfaro-Córdova: Validation, Writing - review & editing. Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto: Validation, Writing - review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This paper was prepared as part of the bilateral MOSETIP project (‘Modelling Socio-Ecological Tipping Points for the Latinamerican center of Scallop cultivation’) financed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, MOSETIP 01LC1725A). LK additionally acknowledges funding from the BMBF (Humboldt Tipping 01LC1823D / 01LC1823E), allowing her to follow up on the research through further interviews, crucially enriching the manuscript content. LK and HA would like to thank Ivonne
References (86)
- et al.
The effect of environmental change on human migration
Glob. Environ. Change
(2011) - et al.
Human migration and marine protected areas: insights from Vezo Fishers in Madagascar
Geoforum
(2016) - et al.
On the variety of coastal El Niño events
Clim. Dyn.
(2018) - et al.
Vulnerability of inland and coastal aquaculture to climate change: evidence from a developing country
Aqua. Fish.
(2019) - et al.
Exploring the building blocks of social capital in the Sechura Bay (Peru): Insights from Peruvian Scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) aquaculture
Ocean Coast. Manage.
(2018) - et al.
Artisanal fisher migration patterns in coastal East Africa
Ocean Coast. Manage.
(2016) - et al.
A catch forecast model for the Peruvian scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) based on estimators of spawning stock and settlement rate
Ecol. Modell.
(2007) - et al.
Human security
Los Ingleses en la Actividad Socioeconómica de Piura Durante la Segunda Mitad del S. XIX. Master thesis, University of Piura, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación
(2015)- et al.
El Niño costero en zonas de producción de concha de abanico: consecuenicas y retos para el futuro. In IMARPE, 2018. El Niño Costero 2017: manifestaciones oceanográficas e impactos en los recursos y ecosistemas marino-costeros. Taller Científico 14–16 febrero (2018)
Libro Resúm.
(2018)
Climate change, small-scale fisheries and smallholder aquaculture. p. 109-122
Estadísticas Portuarios 2017
Bol. Estad.
Resource management and the challenges of migration in artisanal fisheries a case study on the mobility of the fishing people in Jamestown and Chorkor fishing communities in Ghana
Master thesis
Vulnerability of Coastal Fishing Communities to Climate Variability and Change: Implications for Fisheries Livelihoods and Management in Peru. PhD Thesis
Climate variability and the Peruvian scallop fishery: the role of formal institutions in resilience building
Clim. Change
Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture - Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options
Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture - Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options
FAO Fish. Aquac. Tech. Paper
Transnational migration and changing gender relations in Peruvian and Bolivian cities
Diversities
Migration of Senegalese fishers: a case for regional approach to management
Marit. Stud.
Applied Spatial Data Analysis with R
A case study of human migration and the sea cucumber crisis in the Galapagos Islands
Ambio
El 80% de Maricultores Dejaría De Producer Concha de Abanico. El Tiempo Piura
Tercera encuesta estructural de la pesquería artesanal en el litoral peruano. Resultados generales
Inf. Inst. Mar Perú
The Fisheries and the Guano Industry of Peru
Migration, social capital, and the environment: considering migrant selectivity and networks in relation to coastal ecosystems
Popul. Dev. Rev.
Innovative and traditional actions
Marit. Stud.
Forcings and evolution of the 2017 coastal el niño off Northern Peru and Ecuador
Front. Marine Sci.
La variabilidad climática y las pesquerías en el Pacífico suroriental
Latin Am. J. Aquat. Res.
Informe general de la segunda encuesta estructural de la pesquería artesanal Peruana 2003 - 2005. Regiones Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Áncash, Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna
Inf. Inst. Mar. Perú
Fisheries and aquaculture software. FishStatJ - software for fishery statistical time series
Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 - Meeting the sustainable development goals
Adaptive capacity of small-scale coastal fishers to climate and non-climate stressors in the Western region of Ghana
Geogr. J.
A Plausible Atmospheric Trigger for the 2017 Coastal El Niño
Int. J. Climatol.
La Puerta del Perú: Paita y el extremo norte costeño, 1600-1615
Bull. de l'Inst. Français d’Études Andines
Out-migration from coastal areas in Ghana and Indonesia—the role of environmental factors
CESifo Econ. Stud.
Mortandad de Concha De Abanico Frente a Vichayo, Barrancos y Parachique (Sechura), 16 febrero 2012
The Political Ecology of Scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) Use And Management in the Pisco-Paracas Region, Southern Peruvian Coast. PhD thesis
Auge y crisis: la pesquería de la concha de abanico (Argopecten purpuratus) en la región Pisco-Paracas, costa sur del Perú
Espacio y Desarro.
Translocality: Concepts, Applications and Emerging Research Perspectives
Geogr. Compass
Deciphering migration in the age of climate change. Towards an understanding of translocal relations in social-ecological systems
Atlas de la Pesca Artesanal Del Mar Del Perú
Cited by (19)
Resilience in complex disasters: Florida's hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery amid COVID-19
2024, International Journal of Disaster Risk ReductionThemes in climate change and variability within the context of rural livelihoods. A systematic literature review
2022, Research in GlobalizationCitation Excerpt :However, in developing countries, there is limited empirical evidence about the benefits of social network benefits in climate change adaptation (Dapilah et al., 2020). Sharing of labour and income across households, borrowing funds from family or neighbours, getting help in the form of food, shelter, and labour to affected families, prayer and community fundraising are some of the social relation activities reported (Gentle, Thwaites and Race, 2018; Funk et al., 2020; (Kluger et al., 2020). Accordingly, social networks can be less effective, especially during severe climate shocks such as droughts and floods, where most households within the area are affected simultaneously and unable to assist each other (Son and Kingsbury, 2020).
The potential impact of fishing in peruvian marine protected areas (MPAs) on artisanal fishery poverty during El Niño events
2022, Ecological EconomicsCitation Excerpt :Likewise, according to the El Niño Coastal Index (ICEN), El Niño 2015, classified as a “strong El Niño” (Takahashi et al., 2014) by presenting SST anomalies >1.7 (May to December 2015), has greatly affected the fisheries sector, particularly in the regions of Piura and Ica (CIIFEN, 2017). These losses occur because El Niño affects the availability of commercially important marine species for fishers in Peru, such as the Peruvian scallop (Argopecten purpuratus), Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens), jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) (Waluda et al., 2006; Badjeck et al., 2009; Defeo et al., 2013; Kluger et al., 2019; Bertrand et al., 2020; Kluger et al., 2019; Kluger et al., 2020; Lehodey et al., 2020; Yu et al., 2021). Due to changes in marine biomass, fishers suffer variations in their landings and therefore in their income (Sumaila et al., 2011).
Existing foundations, emerging discourses, and unexplored potential for a maricultural geography
2022, GeoforumCitation Excerpt :Kluger et al. (2020) offer perspectives on labor mobility and migration due to an abrupt environmental disturbance, in this case the El Niño Southern Oscillation that occurred off coastal Peru in 2017. In exploring how small-scale resource users (i.e., fishers and scallop farmers) cope with climatic events through mobilization, they find a gender bias whereby men are the main actors of labor migration despite women’s major contributions to fisheries and mariculture activities (Kluger et al., 2020). Political ecology provides a useful lens for untangling the relationship between the natural environment and socioeconomic processes, including the sociocultural dynamics among users and consumers of nature.
Connecting the dots between climate change, household water insecurity, and migration
2021, Current Opinion in Environmental SustainabilityCitation Excerpt :Climate change is a critical global push factor of migration flows, along with political conflict and economic inequality, and has been recognized as an increasingly important driver of mobility by the Agenda for Humanity, the 2016 United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants, and the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees [1,2]. Major migration events are increasingly triggered by extreme weather events [3,4•] such as the Coastal El Niño 2017 in Peru [5], the drought and conflict-induced mass migration of 1.5 million Syrians [6], or by political circumstances like the Rohingya migration crisis from Myanmar [7]. While such events draw significant media and scholarly attention, they fail to account for climate-related migration beyond disasters.