What affects legitimacy in capture fisheries?: analysis of socio-structural factors

Cepić, Dražen and Puzek, Ivan and Ballesteros, Hugo M. (2026) What affects legitimacy in capture fisheries?: analysis of socio-structural factors. Marine policy, 186. pp. 1-10. ISSN 0308-597X

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Abstract

IN ENGLISH: Legitimacy has been one of the central concepts in the study of fisheries non-compliance. However, while much of the literature has focused on governance frameworks and management systems underpinning legitimacy in fisheries, less attention has been paid to the socio-structural factors that influence it. This paper seeks to address this gap by analyzing association of legitimacy with five such factors, based on the sample of 567 fishers from Croatia, which include large scale, small scale, subsistence, and recreational fishers. The analysis revealed a weak positive association between formal communication and compliance, while informal communication showed no significant relationship. Interaction with non-compliant fishers had a weak negative effect on legitimacy. Trust in fisheries administration and enforcement agencies was moderately and positively associated with legitimacy, while trust in NGOs showed no significant link. Trust in scientific institutions had a weak positive association, economic vulnerability a weak negative association, and professionalization a moderate positive relationship with legitimacy. Four hypotheses were tested using Kendall's tau, an ordinal bivariate correlation measure, while interaction with non-compliant fishers was tested separately using OLS regression. Overall, the results demonstrate that legitimacy emerges from the interplay of social and institutional structures rather than from regulatory design alone, underscoring the need for governance approaches that are adaptive, trust-building, and sensitive to sectoral differences. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Legitimnost je jedan od središnjih pojmova u istraživanju nepoštivanja propisa u ribarstvu. Međutim, dok se velik dio literature usredotočuje na upravljačke okvire i sustave upravljanja koji čine temelj legitimnosti u ribarstvu, znatno je manje pozornosti posvećeno socio-strukturnim čimbenicima koji na nju utječu. Ovaj rad nastoji popuniti tu prazninu analizom povezanosti legitimnosti s pet takvih čimbenika, na temelju uzorka od 567 ribara iz Hrvatske, koji uključuje ribare u velikom ribarstvu, malom ribarstvu, ribare za vlastite potrebe te rekreacijske ribare. Analiza je pokazala slabu pozitivnu povezanost između formalne komunikacije i poštivanja propisa, dok neformalna komunikacija nije pokazala statistički značajnu povezanost. Interakcija s ribarima koji ne poštuju propise imala je slab negativan učinak na legitimnost. Povjerenje u ribarstvenu administraciju i nadzorne institucije bilo je umjereno i pozitivno povezano s legitimnošću, dok povjerenje u nevladine organizacije nije pokazalo značajnu povezanost. Povjerenje u znanstvene institucije imalo je slabu pozitivnu povezanost, ekonomska ranjivost slabu negativnu povezanost, a profesionalizacija umjerenu pozitivnu povezanost s legitimnošću. Četiri hipoteze testirane su Kendallovim tau koeficijentom, ordinalnom bivarijatnom mjerom korelacije, dok je interakcija s ribarima koji ne poštuju propise testirana zasebno primjenom OLS regresije. Ukupno gledano, rezultati pokazuju da legitimnost proizlazi iz međuodnosa društvenih i institucionalnih struktura, a ne isključivo iz regulatornog dizajna, što naglašava potrebu za upravljačkim pristupima koji su prilagodljivi, usmjereni na izgradnju povjerenja i osjetljivi na sektorske razlike.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Language: English. - Title in Croatian: Što utječe na legitimnost u ulovnom ribarstvu?: analiza socio-strukturnih čimbenika. - Article number: 107022.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Legitimacy, non-compliance, formal and informal communication, personal networks, trust, economic vulnerability (legitimnost, nepoštivanje propisa, formalna i neformalna komunikacija, osobne mreže, povjerenje, ekonomska ranjivost)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Depositing User:	Karolina
Date Deposited:	24 Dec 2025 14:03
Last Modified:	30 Dec 2025 08:31
URI:	http://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/id/eprint/1264

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