Abstract

Despite increased efforts from government agencies, scientists, and non-government organizations over the past few decades, anthropogenic sources of sea turtle mortality continue to threaten the survivorship of sea turtle species around the globe. More recent efforts to engage local people with community-based sea turtle conservation programs have been based primarily on economic incentives and less on cultural and social traditions. But there is growing evidence that informal institutions such as taboos can be extremely effective at promoting wildlife conservation. Ghana is a culturally diverse country where local traditions have shown to improve protection for primates, crocodiles, and many bird species. This study explores the presence of a sea turtle taboo in fishing communities to demonstrate that traditional practices make residents more receptive to sea turtle conservation and more willing to follow government regulations. Fishers in the communities that are aware of the taboo are also more willing to adjust fishing methods to better protect sea turtles. The traditional taboo and national laws appear to be working synergistically to enhance sea turtle conservation in some regions of Ghana. This paper extends the argument that sea turtle conservation strategies succeed when the cultural and social traditions of local communities are integrated with management activities.

Highlights

  • Sea turtle conservation efforts around the world have historically incorporated the interests and views of local people. Such community-based conservation (CBC) programs take on a variety of forms, from indirect engagement to the implementation of community-driven conservation goals that prioritize sustainable resource use (Western, 1994)

  • We selected four fishing communities to investigate based on the following criteria: (1) proximity to a known sea turtle nesting beach, (2) minimum of one community within each ethnic group, (3) the presence of an artisanal fishery that utilizes purse seine nets, and (4) varied amounts of Ghana

  • The aim of this study was to explore the presence of a taboo protecting sea turtles, knowledge of federal laws, and willingness to protect sea turtles in Ghana

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Summary

Introduction

Sea turtle conservation efforts around the world have historically incorporated the interests and views of local people. Unlike judicial law and other types of formal institutions, taboos represent unwritten social rules that regulate behavior in humans that are bound together by common obligations to each person and a shared reverence for the sacred (Freud, 1913). Informal institutions such as, taboos are based on cultural norms that do not require government intervention for proliferation or enforcement (Posner and Rasmusen, 1999)

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