Information Flow within the Social Network Structure of a Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries

Abstract

Transboundary fish stocks are governed by multiple entities, involving individuals with different expertise and sociocultural backgrounds and representing various institutions and jurisdictions. At times, individuals from these entities collaboratively make fishery governance decisions, and the existence of collegial or personal relationships may facilitate the decision-making process and result in better management of fish stocks. Although studies have assessed several aspects of fisheries institutional structures, very few have looked at the impact of social network structure. In this study, we found evidence for the perceived effectiveness of A Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries in its social network structure. We focused on the frequency of interactions for exchanging information about Great Lakes fish stocks in general and lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in particular. These informational exchanges correspond to distinct social network structures, the fish stocks network and the lake sturgeon network. Similarities in participants’ attributes and perceptions about fisheries governance may have facilitated the formation of social ties within these networks. The lake sturgeon network had significant subgroups wherein flow was more concentrated. The formation of these subgroups appears to have been influenced by individuals’ employer type, committee affiliation, and perception about lake sturgeon governance. These subgroups were found to have 11 central individuals and two central subgroups. When comparing the central and noncentral individuals’ attributes and perceptions, we did not find a significant difference that explains why the 11 individuals were central. Similarly, no significant differences were found in comparing the central and noncentral subgroups. In assessing the flow of information within and across these subgroups, we found that it was evenly distributed with some specialization of flow between subgroups, the latter probably related to the presence of bridging individuals connecting the subgroups.

Received March 24, 2010; accepted March 23, 2011

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University for supporting this research. This study was made possible by A Joint Strategic Plan's participants, who voluntarily invested their personal time in completing the research survey. We thank Abigail Lynch, Chiara Zuccarino-Crowe, John Harrison, and Katrina Mueller and the anonymous peer reviewers for suggestions that greatly improved this article.