Shifting tides: the oil industry’s influence on the values of nature in artisanal fishing communities in the Gulf of Mexico
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Values of nature provide insights into how people perceive, experience, and manage social-ecological systems. Abrupt environmental and social changes, such as those driven by extractives industries, can reshape, erode, or generate new values, yet these dynamics remain understudied. This research explores how oil industry expansion has influenced the plurality of nature values in artisanal fishing communities along the Gulf of Mexico in Tabasco, Mexico. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups with diverse members of fishing communities, we documented how participant perceive shift in their instrumental, relational, and intrinsic values over time. Their narratives reveal that oil-related impacts, such as territorial exclusion, declining marine species, and pollution, have disrupted long-standing human-nature relationships. Participants described losses in livelihood security, stewardship practices, social cohesion, and cultural identity. These changes manifest as reduced environmental care, weakening of traditional knowledge, diminished intergenerational transmission, loss of agency and fewer opportunities for aesthetic, spiritual, and emotionally meaningful experiences in nature. We argue that these perceived shifts signal a broader transformation in the fishing communities’ relationship with nature, which poses serious risks to the continuity of artisanal fishing as both a livelihood and a cultural practice. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating local values into coastal and fisheries management strategies to support more inclusive, resilient, and equitable governance.
Date Issued
2025-10-05
Publication Type
Article
Subjects
Erosion of values
•
small-scale fisheries
•
human-nature relationship
•
social-ecological changes
•
coupled social-ecological systems
•
environmental change
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Hernández-García, Benjamin | |
Mesa-Jurado, M. Azahara | |
Espinoza-Tenorio, Alejandro |
Journal
Ecosystems and People
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
ISSN
2639-5908
2639-5916
Access(Rights)
open.access