Page 8 - Himes_2007

ARTICLE IN PRESS
336 A.H. Himes / Ocean & Coastal Management 50 (2007) 329–351
The same questionnaire was used for each stakeholder group in order to make
comparisons. The survey was modeled after a similar survey conducted in Indonesia by
Dahl-Tacconi in 2003 [31,32]. However, in the present survey, questions were modified
specific to the Egadi Islands and added to further characterize the present case study. The
majority of the questions were closed-ended, with open-ended questions scattered
throughout.
Due to the nature of the survey, conducting the interviews face-to-face was the most
logical method to use in order to get the most thorough answers for the open-ended
questions in the questionnaire [33,34].
A sample of 281 local residents (approximately 12% of the local population) was
randomly approached, of which 73 refused. Therefore, 208 respondents were interviewed
throughout the archipelago, showing a 74% response rate. For the purpose of this study,
the category ‘local resident’ is defined as individuals that live in the Egadi Islands year
round, excluding individuals that could fall in to one of the other three stakeholder
categories.
The same questionnaire was aimed at the population of all commercial fishers. The
stakeholder group ‘fishers’ is defined as anyone working on a fishing vessel registered in the
Egadi Islands. Information on the number of crew aboard each vessel was taken from a
previous survey conducted by the author. The data showed a count of 83 fishers that work
on vessels in the Egadi Islands. Because of the small numbers of fishers, a census of
registered fishers was attempted on an opportunistic basis. Questionnaires were presented
to fishers either on board the vessel that they work on or at the commercial fishing port at
each island. A total of 54 individuals related to the fishing sector were located and
approached with 4 refusals (92.6% response rate). In addition, two fishing cooperative
representatives were interviewed.
Finally, a census was attempted of local researchers and MPA managers. A total
of 22 out of 25 researchers (3 refusals) and 12 of 17 managers were interviewed during
this stage of the research. For the purposes of this questionnaire, the stakeholder
group ‘researcher’ includes anyone that is conducting or has conducted biological,
social or economic research in the Egadi Islands. This includes researchers from the
University of Palermo, University of Siena and an Italian National Research Council
marine biology laboratory based in western Sicily. The stakeholder group ‘manager’
includes individuals that are or have been in control of MPA management. This includes
past and present MPA directors, Harbor Master officers (who are in charge of
enforcement), the president of the MPA’s advisory committee, and past and present
representatives from the local government that are given responsibilities within the MPA
management structure.
In addition, informal focus group meetings were conducted frequently throughout
the study in order to evaluate how stakeholders are coping with and feel about the
EIMR and how they have been affected, respective to individual stakeholder affiliations.
Key informants were also questioned about the relationships and commonalities
that define stakeholder groups and to allow them to freely express themselves about
the success or failure of the EIMR. In-depth interviews were conducted with the
MPA management staff, town council members and other relevant management bodies
to discover whether they consider the EIMR to be successful and properly managed,
how it can be better managed, and how stakeholders should be involved in
management.