Black Box Production of Paper Fish: An Examination of Knowledge Construction and Validation in Fisheries Management Institutions

In this paper I examine the relationship of institutional structures of governance to the production, acceptance and legitimization of knowledge by various stakeholder groups participating in fisheries management arenas. I focus first on the New England groundfishery where the stock assessments of federal scientists have come under intense criticism by fishermen. As a counterpoint, I examine knowledge production for management purposes in two fisheries where cooperative management institutions have emerged: the Puget Sound region of Washington and the Kuskokwim River watershed of Alaska. Knowledge is produced and legitimated differently by the different stakeholders in the management process. The findings highlight the critical importance of two-way communication, in which stakeholder groups both listen and are listened to, in creating a legitimated and more robust knowledge base with which management decisions can be made.