A fifty-year production and economic assessment of common property-based management of marine living common resources: A case study for the women divers communities in Jeju, South Korea

We examined the conditions of successful common property-based management for coastal marine living resources, using a case of historically and anthropologically well established women divers communities on Jeju Island, South Korea, focusing on their decentralized work rules and production records. Due to their tight social network and work rule, the women divers have harvested coastal marine living resources with limited fishing pressure exclusively from their village fishing grounds for over 400 years. However, their harvest patterns have been mostly reactive to market prices, eventually requiring direct governmental regulations such as total allowable catch in some cases. Most recently, the communities have been experiencing multiple challenges: their aging population, water pollution in the coastal zone, competition with cultured products and imported seafood, and expanding barren grounds. These challenges demand a multi-scale/dimensional response if the women divers communities are to keep their village fishing grounds and communities sustainable.