Fish Names Variability Traces the Geo-Historical Dynamics of Moroccan Fishermen Communities

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe knowledge related to fish names is an integral part of being a fisherman and considered as a proof of competence within fishermen communities. This local knowledge is designated as folk taxonomy, and is in some ways predictably similar to the scientific (Linnaean) naming system (Berkes et al. 2001; Berlin 1992; Jernudd and Thuan 1984). Such knowledge is local in scope and thus highly variable by geographic region, language, and ethnic group depending on local culture, biodiversity patterns, and fishing practices. It is also assumed to vary in time. Due to widespread anthropogenic pressure causing the collapse of fishing stocks and local extinctions of species, young fishermen will have had little probability to meet as many species and in such numbers as have their predecessors. This folk taxonomy knowledge in its different dimensions is intimately associated with Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK), and its description is often a prerequisite to gather local biological and ecological knowledge (Berkes et al. 2001; Eugene Hunn 2011; Freire and Pauly 2003; Haggan et al. 2007). The relevance of ecological information is likely to be anecdotal if the accuracy of taxonomic identification is not guaranteed (Albuquerque et al. 2014). Local ecological knowledge has become an essential source of information for conservation ecology (Ruddle and Davis 2013), especially in data-poor ecosystems.Morocco presents an interesting case for examining variability in fish naming due to great diversity of species, as well as long and varied sociolinguistic traditions. Bordered by both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines of Northwestern Africa, Morocco is the center of the transition zone between temperate and tropical waters, populated with diverse species communities (Masski and Tai 2014; Tai et al. 2013). For bony fish alone, FishBase (Froese and Pauly 2011) lists more than 766 species for Morocco. Fishing activity is widespread along the Moroccan coast, involving culturally diverse populations. Cultural diversity, an additional variable to consider, has its origin in the geopolitical situation of the country, which has always put indigenous people in close interaction with the people of Europe, Africa, and Arabia.What is considered by one as a diversity of local knowledge is seen by others as a variability in seafood labelling and represents a central issue in trade control and regulation, and in fisheries science and conservation (Fraser 2012; Leunda Urretabizkaia et al. 2009). In developing countries, where the adoption of a standard for naming fish is uncommon, vernacular (folk) and common names are also used in national fisheries statistics systems (Previero et al. 2013). Due to the high variability in folk taxonomy, the same fish species can be named differently in different regions, and one name can be attributed to different fish species (Berlin 1973, 1992). Furthermore, the use of fishery statistics databases for scientific purposes is therefore restricted to well-identified species, which impedes fisheries management procedures (Kifani et al. 2008). The usual answer to such a situation is the adoption of a standard, which is the goal of the Moroccan fisheries management agencies.The success of the targeted standardization is, in our opinion, dependent on the strength of reflection and research previously conducted. Thus, and far from wanting to carry out a comprehensive inventory of vernacular names, the present study aims to 1) build correspondence lists between folk and scientific names for a set of species in different locations along the Moroccan coast and, on this basis, 2) to analyze the structure and variability of the Moroccan folk taxonomic system. We hope that the results from our study will help to improve the use of folk taxonomy in formal management procedures, facilitate local ecological knowledge gatherings, and clarify the view for the ways to achieve a standardization process. …