Marine fisheries and sense of place in coastal communities in southern England

Urquhart, Julie and Acott, Timothy (2011) Marine fisheries and sense of place in coastal communities in southern England. In: 2011 Conference - People and the Sea VI: Bridging Science and Policy for Sustainable Coasts and SeasMARE People and Sea Conference , 6-9 Jul 2011, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Abstract

In addition to the economic impact that fisheries have, fishing is important for many coastal communities more broadly in terms of identity, place character and cultural heritage. The meanings that people attach to fishing places are representative of a range of social, historic, political and cultural processes and contribute to the construction of a particular sense of place. There is increasing recognition that fisheries and marine policy need to more explicitly incorporate social and cultural objectives in order to achieve sustainability of fish stocks and coastal communities. Using case study material from coastal communities in Sussex and Cornwall in southern England, this paper explores the contribution of marine fisheries to sense of place and the importance of place identity for both local communities and related industries such as tourism. The study draws on qualitative data from interviews with a range of stakeholders, including fishermen, fishing families, residents, artists, heritage providers, tourism providers and industry representatives. We argue that fishing is important for communities not just as a means of earning a living, but is a way of life with more deeply embedded cultural relationships.

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