School of Geography - Theses
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ItemGoverning Rock Fishing Risk on Australian Coasts: A qualitative study of framing, social power, and collaboration( 2022)Rock fishing is a form of recreational fishing where anglers cast lines off coastal rock forms. It is frequently described as Australia’s ‘deadliest sport’. Although 7% of Australia’s population participate in rock fishing, most rock fishing deaths are concentrated in a relatively small number of locations. Around half of these deaths involve Australian residents born overseas and from non-English speaking backgrounds. Increased efforts over recent decades by governments and community organisations to reduce rock fishing death and injury have had limited success. The qualitative study reported here aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to effectively govern risks associated with rock fishing. It does so by exploring how stakeholders in diverse government and non-government organisations frame people, define problems, allocate responsibilities, and perceive other stakeholders involved in rock fishing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-five participants drawn from the main rock fishing states of New South Wales, Western Australia, and Victoria. Thematic and frame analysis identified: (1) how participants distinguished between people who fitted within a cultural identity of ‘rock fishers’ and other groups who rock fished; (2) clarified the ways in which different understandings of problems related to different understandings of responsibility; and (3) investigated potential for disagreement amongst different sub-groups of stakeholders, particularly between those with certified expertise and those with experiential expertise. Findings suggest that the effectiveness of current rock fishing risk governance is impaired by formal governance structures that fail to account for the contradictions between how rock fishing risks are experienced by diverse costal users and how it is governed. Insights from this study help to identify policy-relevant opportunities for improved collaboration between stakeholders who seek to govern rock fishing risk in Australia.