The social–ecological fabric of freshwater fish management: Accounting for feedback loops in human–fish interactions

Abstract

A holistic view of nature, which situates human relationships and actions within ecosystems, can broaden our understanding of environmental problems and expand the scope and efficacy of potential solutions. Social–ecological systems (SES) research attempts to take this broad perspective. However, a core challenge for the field is accounting for the complex nature of SES, which can develop self-reinforcing feedback loops and unpredictable emergent properties. Here, in the context of freshwater ecosystems, we consider key conceptual frameworks that have emerged over recent decades to make sense of SES dynamics. We review selected international examples of freshwater SES before outlining three examples from the island nation of Aotearoa New Zealand. We focus on fish as key ecological components of freshwater SES because of their status as a focal point for cultural and social relationships with rivers and lakes worldwide. Within our SES examples, we highlight positive and negative feedback dynamics that either reinforce desired social–ecological states or create “social–ecological traps” that set freshwater systems on stubborn trajectories of degradation. Four SES features were common within our examples of feedback loops leading to social–ecological traps: (1) poor information flow between resource users and managers, (2) the exclusion of Indigenous people and local communities from resource governance, (3) altered hydrological regimes, and (4) introduced species. We suggest that identifying and addressing feedback loops with SES is a valuable focus for environmental management and should occur alongside efforts to promote deeper societal changes toward sustainability. Our conceptual review highlights the mechanics of freshwater SES feedback loops in the hope that further work in this field will widen the scope of sustainability-focused actions in systems where freshwater fish play a key role.