Human Dimensions Research Program (HDRP)
Purpose and Scope
The Human Dimensions Research Program (HDRP) studies the "people" side of fishing and other uses of marine ecosystems in Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. HDRP research complements biophysical and economic studies by exploring social and cultural benefits and values associated with marine resources. Program researchers collect and analyze data and develop frameworks to better understand fishermen, fishing families, fishing communities, and how they are affected by fishing regulations and management. We study governance and institutional aspects of fisheries and marine resource management. We also work with many partners to increase local community capacity to conduct and apply social research, and to increase fishing community and public access to existing data sources.
Research Themes
HDRP research is organized into several broad themes:
Cultural Traditions and Marine Resource Management in Pacific Island Communities
In the Western Pacific, fishing is culture. These projects describe both past and current community ties to fishing and use of marine resources, melding traditional knowledge with contemporary social research to understand these ties and how they are changing over time. Some projects are designed to increase local community capacity to design, conduct, and apply social research to marine issues, or to make existing data more accessible.
- Building Community Capacity to Identify and Meet Social Science Information Needs
- Distribution and Use of Seafood in the Context of the Community: A Case Study of the Main Hawaiian Islands
- Documenting Traditional Knowledge of Marine Resource Use and Management in the Marianas Archipelago
- Fishing Community Profiles
- Institutional Analysis of Community-Based Marine Resource Management Institutions in the Pacific Islands Region
- Sociocultural Importance of Spearfishing in Hawai'i
- Socioeconomic Assessment and Monitoring in American Samoa
- Socioeconomic Monitoring in the Pacific
- Subsistence, Artisanal, Barter, and Trade Fisheries: Definitions and Management Issues
- Traditional Knowledge in American Samoa
Human Dimensions of Climate Change
Climate change is expected to have many types of effects on the small islands in the Western Pacific. These effects will be accentuated because island ecosystems and communities are inherently more vulnerable to disturbances. The goal of this (and subsequent) projects is to provide information and assistance to better equip communities to deal with climate change impacts.
Human Dimensions of Commercial Fisheries Management
These research projects remind us that vessels do not catch fish, people catch fish, and those people and their communities are affected in many ways by NMFS regulations and policies. Many commercial fishermen in the Western Pacific own small boats, fish part-time, and provide fish to the community as well as to the market. Even the full-time longline fishermen report that maintaining a fishing lifestyle and ties to cultural traditions are important reasons why they are fishermen.
- Case Studies of Hawaii Longline Fishermen's Perspectives on Bycatch Reduction
- Catch Shares in the Western Pacific
- The Role of Social Networks on Fishermen Economic Performance in Hawaii's Longline Fishery
- Socioeconomic Effects of the Western Central Pacific Ocean Bigeye Tuna Fishery Closure in 2010
- Sociological Baseline of the Hawaii Longline Industry
Sociocultural Dimensions of Marine Ecosystem Management
As NOAA Fisheries and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) adopt an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, it becomes more important to define and integrate the human dimensions of marine ecosystems. These human components can be considered at many scales, including individual, family and household, community, and regional scales. Indicators of socioeconomic conditions are considered side-by-side with biophysical indicators, and both are combined to describe social-ecological systems.
- Comparative Analyses of Natural and Human Influences on Coral Reef Community Structure, Diversity, and Resilience
- Fishing Ecosystem Analysis Tool (FEAT)
- Framework for Long-Term Monitoring of the Human Dimensions of Coral Reef Ecosystems in the Main Hawaiian Islands
- Human Dimensions of the Kona Integrated Ecosystem Assessment
- Sociocultural Aspects of Mariana Trench Marine National Monument
Social Values of Marine Recreation
In the Western Pacific, recreational fishing has a different meaning than it does elsewhere. Some fishermen who fish primarily for recreation also sell fish on occasion, and nearly all of the fish is eaten, whether by the fishermen an household, others to whom fish is given, or by the community, often in conjunction with social and cultural events or celebrations. Recreational fishing is managed differently than commercial fishing, and data on recreational catch levels can be collected through different programs. As the nation moves toward mandatory annual catch limits for federally managed species, recreational use patterns and catch will need to be carefully considered.
- Hawaii Marine Recreational Fishing Survey: A Review and Evaluation
- Recreational Value of Blue Marlin in Hawaii
Other Research
Most HDRP projects are conducted to inform fisheries and marine ecosystem policy development and management in the Western Pacific Region. However, HDRP also provides a variety of services to other agencies. HDRP has served as a reviewer of articles for the journal Society and Natural Resources and also reviews grant proposals and research plans for the North Pacific Research Board, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant program, Pacific Islands Regional Office, and other organizations. We also have conducted more substantial projects in conjunction with other agencies.
