The performativity of sustainability: Assessing the continuity of Artisanal Fishing livelohoods in

280 Pages·2016·2.19 MB·English

The Performativity of Sustainability:
Assessing the Continuity of Artisanal Fishing Livelihoods in
Galápagos’ Precarious Waters
Adam Burke
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A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

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Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology
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Faculty of the Humanities
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Uiniversity of Cape Town
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COMPULSORY DECLARATION
This work has not been previously submitted in whole, or in part, for the award of any
degree. It is my own work. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this
dissertation from the work, or works, of other people has been attributed, and has been
cited and referenced.
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Signature: ! Date: Dec 12, 2016
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The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No
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quotation from it or information derived from it is to be

published without full acknowledgeement of the source.
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The thesis is to be used for private study or non-
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commercial research purposes only.

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Published by the Universit y of Cape Town (UCT) in terms
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of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
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Abstract

This work is about how people develop strategies to make sense of and to deal with
the challenges of situating themselves within the global push for ‘sustainability.’
Sustainability is a concept that I understand to be imagined, socially constructed,
remade and ritualized as global actors tote the ‘sustainable development’ discourse
globally and impose it upon local actors’ practices. Such foisting typically promises
to resolve socio-ecological problems by providing communities with certainties and
stabilities such as redeeming issues linked to threatened eco-systems and local
actors’ precarious livelihoods therein. However, I argue that ‘sustainability’ indeed
fails to fulfil its ideological aspirations. In this light, I take the stance that
sustainability is performative, and therefore, enacted through sets of relationships
which require critical interrogation. I use the example of artisanal fishermen in the
Galápagos Islands to demonstrate how: (i) they deal with local managing authorities
and the enterprise of sustainability that disturb their daily lives on land and at sea;
(ii) they situate themselves within co-management processes; and (iii) their
performativities allow them to make sense of and to deal with their precarious
livelihoods by remaking, challenging, and subverting ‘sustainability’ in effort to
remain relevant in Galápagos’ evolving eco-political landscape. This occurs, I argue,
as fishermen enact performativities that are situated in their material practices,
collective, and authoritative. Notions of performativity thus contribute to conceptual
understandings of how global actors’ ambitions to remake local actors’ practices
‘sustainably’ produces and distributes precarity – and therefore exposes how the
latter deal with the precarity resulting from their attempts to remain relevant in
Galápagos’ eco-political landscape over time.

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Acknowledgements
With sincere gratitude, I thank –
Galápagos’ fishermen and their families – for hooking me with their passion for the
sea, pulling me in to their personal lives and social networks, and releasing me to
tell of their joys and struggles with the world.
Dr. Divine Fuh – for choosing to take on this project; challenging me to trust and to
embrace the process of exploring unfamiliar spaces, people and concepts; and
teaching that our anthropological pursuits involve seeking the reasons behind the
smiles and suffering we often overlook along our journeys.
Dr. Sophie Oldfield – for finding promise and opportunity in each troubled draft,
pushing me to press deeper in my inquiry, and encouraging me to run the marathon
despite times of fatigue and frustration during the race.
My family – for enduring each struggle and asking about every detail along the
journey that led to this work’s completion and for always reminding that the best is
yet come.
Adry – for waiting without counting time, believing without questioning, loving
without trying, and sparkling without compare.
Jesus Christ – for showing me how to love fiercely.
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Table of Contents
ABSTRACT 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3
LIST OF FIGURES 7
ACRONYMS 8
AUTHOR’S NOTE 9
ONE. Fishing for a Sustainable Future: An Introduction to Galápagos
Fishermen’s Eco-Political Plight and Their Performative Responses 10
Precarious Theoretical Hooks and ‘Sustainable’ Shortcomings
Performativity as a Conceptual Thread
Thesis Structure
TWO. The Precarity of Sustainability 38
‘Sustainable Development’ Produces and Distributes Precarity
The Precarious Roots of ‘Going Green’
The Global Imagining of ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Sustainable Development’
Assumptions, Interventions, and Clashes
Failed Promises: Anthropological Critiques of ‘Sustainable
Development’
Moving Forward
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THREE. The Performativity of Sustainability 63

An Introduction
Butler’s Notion of ‘Performativity’
Theoretical Points of Departure
Conceptual Hypothesis
Performativities vis-à-vis Sustainability, Environmental and Fishing
Literature
In Conclusion

FOUR. Fish Tails and Tales: An Account of Research Methods & Ethics 90

‘Surf and Turf’
An Initial Account of Methods
‘Follow the fish’: an ethnographic tool and conceptual guide
Language Challenges
Research Ethics
Onwards to Galápagos’ Fishing Spaces

FIVE. Master and Commander: ‘Sustainable’ Performativities at Sea 120

An Introduction
The Art of Mid-Water Long Line Fishing
Shanking Fishermen’s Social Identities
Blinded by Sight: How the Helmsman Got the Watchman to Become
the Helmsman and What it Means
In Conclusion

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SIX. How To Fish Out of Water: ‘Sustainable’ Performativities on Land 166

An Introduction
A Fisher of Men: Gustavo Performs and Brokers New Social Identities
A Fisher of Endorsements: Don Antonio Grows Grassroots
Sustainability in Puerto Ayora
In Conclusion

SEVEN. Fishy Futures: Fishermen Make Ends Meet Via Diverse Vocational
Trajectories 204

An Introduction
When A Fisherman Goes Viral
‘Catch and Release’: Gustavo’s ‘Big Fish’
‘Give Me Some Fuel…I Need One More Cast’
In Conclusion

EIGHT. Who’s Line is it Anyway? 232

A Summative Introduction
Revisiting the Present Study’s Conceptual Framing
Plating the Big Fish: Key Findings and Conclusions
Ways Forward: Sustaining Galápagos Fishermen’s Ability to Sustain
The Next Cast: Future Inquiry Looking at Relationships Between
Global and Local Notions of Time
Parting Thoughts: The Case for the Ethnography of Precarity

APPENDICES 260

WORKS CITED 267

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List of Figures

Figure 1: A Brief History of Mid-Water Long Line Fishing in the GMR (1999-2014) 93
Figure 2: GNPS-Implemented ‘Artisanal’ Fishing-Related Terms and Definitions 104
Figure 3: Pelican Bay Spaces and Faces 107
Figure 4: Puerto Ayora Topographical Map Showing Gustavo’s Preparation Points 126
Figure 5: Gustavo’s Charting of our Trip’s Course 129
Figure 6: Field Sketch of Gustavo’s Mid-Water Long Line Swordfish Rig 134
Figure 7: Gustavo’s Mid-Water Long Line Implements 136
Figure 8: Field Sketch of Gustavo’s Mid-Water Long Line Tuna Rig 138
Figure 9: Gustavo Hauling in His Line 143
Figure 10: GNPS Fisheries Observer Galo and a Frigate Bird Observe Gustavo’s
Swordfish Catch 144
Figure 11: Landing a Contested Swordfish 147
Figure 12: Deck spaces 154
Figure 13: “Yes, captain!” 157
Figure 14: Between Casts 160
Figure 15: A Space of Social Convergences 175
Figure 16: Maps of Pelican Bay and Puerto Ayora 176
Figure 17: “Fish, Camera, Action!” 179
Figure 18: Netting Solidarity on Social Media 210
Figure 19: Advocating Collaboration on Social Media 212
Figure 20: Fishing Motors and Fuel Barrels 227

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Acronyms Frequently Used in This Research Proposal

ASnA Anthropology Southern Africa
CDF Charles Darwin Foundation
CDRS Charles Darwin Research Station
CI Conservation International
COPESAN Cooperativa de Producción Pesquera Artesanal de San Cristobal [San
Cristobal’s Artisanal Fishing Production Cooperative]
COPROPAG Cooperativa de Producción Pesquera Artesanal de Galápagos
[Galápagos’ Artisanal Fishing Production Cooperative]
GMR Galápagos Marine Reserve
GNP Galápagos National Park
GNPS Galápagos National Park Service
GSL Galápagos Special Law
IMA Inter-institutional Management Authority
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MT Metropolitan Touring
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NIF National Institute of Fishing
NISC National Institute for Statistics & Census (Ecuador)
PMC Participatory Management Council
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
UCT University of Cape Town
UN United Nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
WWF World Wildlife Fund

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Author’s Note

In respect to the conventions of ethnographical writing, this thesis relies at times on a first
person narrative voice as a means to engage with the qualitative data collected in the field.
As an ethnographer, I have chosen to use a narrative voice to bring to light how I have made
sense of my role as a researcher vis-à-vis my participant observation in the fieldsite and
among informants.

All names in this work are pseudonyms, which is my attempt to disguise the identities of
informants who were willing to participate in this study. However, those intimately familiar
with the fieldsite are likely able to identify informants based on contextual data and figures
provided herein.

The vast majority of research occurred in Spanish. I personally transcribed and translated
all interviews. The interview data included in this work are represented as I heard and
understood them verbatim. However, my transcriptions have occasionally polished the
grammar and filled in gaps where informal dialogue and banter would otherwise be difficult
to understand. While I consider myself bilingual, there are likely instances where I have
struggled to find the exact vocabulary in English that informants used to express technical
fishing terms, implements and procedures.

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