Page 9 - Himes_2007

ARTICLE IN PRESS
A.H. Himes / Ocean & Coastal Management 50 (2007) 329–351 337
5. Results

5.1. Perceived resources and threats
Before entering into a discussion about stakeholder preferences, an analysis of
stakeholder perceptions of the most important resources (and activities) present in the
Egadi Islands and what particular threats to those resources they feel are significant is
imperative. Different stakeholder groups will inherently perceive different resources to be
more useful and thus important than others depending on their particular needs and
interests. Likewise, stakeholders will each perceive different threats to those resources. An
understanding of each group’s perspective is important in fully understanding the
importance that they assign to performance indicators and management interventions in
an MPA setting.
Respondents were asked to consider what the most important resources of the Islands
are and the existing and potential threats that could damage them. A total of 80 individual
resources and 238 threats were obtained and coded into primary and secondary categories.
The categories assigned to each individual response are given in Tables 1 and 2.
Respondents were not limited in nominating resources and threats. As such, individual
respondents may be represented in more than one resource category.
Interestingly, with regards to importance, the majority of fishers cited purely economic
and cultural resources as important much more frequently than the marine resources (e.g.,
fish, clean water) that form the basis of their primary livelihood. The two most important
activities fishers cited were fishing and other maritime traditions, cited by 60% of
respondents, and the local tourism industry, cited by 52% of fishers. This is most likely
because fishers’ livelihoods are dependent on fishing and the tourism industry.
Not surprisingly, the most cited threat by fishers is illegal trawling with the EIMR—
which should be predictable since illegal trawling within the MPA’s boundary, observed

Table 1
Respondent identification of the most important resources in the Egadi Islands
Primary category Secondary category

Ecological resources Coastal areas Marine environment
Natural Beauty Clean water
Fish Sea grass beds
Marine life in general Benthic environment
Protected species Terrestrial environment
Community resources Fishers Locals
Youth
Cultural resources Local traditions Local culture/context
Archaeological sites Local history
Local gastronomy (seafood based) Local well-being
Maritime traditions (e.g. tuna fishing)
Economic resources Tourism Tourists
Existing jobs Local livelihoods
MPA presence This category includes the basic existence of the MPA