The illegal harvest of marine species within exclusive economic zones can have a strong impact on the function of local ecosystems and livelihoods of coastal communities. The complexity of these problems is often overlooked in the development of solutions, leading to ineffective and sometimes harmful social and environmental outcomes. One-dimensional, oversimplified perspectives can lead to conservation prescriptions that exacerbate social stressors. This is particularly critical in the case of international illegal trade of endangered, high-value species, which generate a value chain in which artisanal fishers are the first operational and often the weakest link of an intricate web. We examined 2 illegal fisheries, totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) and sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus and Holothuria floridana), in Mexico. Although these are 2 separate and independent fisheries, important ecological (resource condition, fishery impacts at the ecosystem level) and social (governance, markets) similarities improve understanding of their complexity. Our findings are relevant globally and show the need for interdisciplinary decision-making groups, community engagement, and the development of demand reduction measures.

中文翻译：

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非法渔业、环境犯罪和海洋资源保护

在专属经济区内非法捕捞海洋物种会对当地生态系统的功能和沿海社区的生计产生重大影响。在制定解决方案时，这些问题的复杂性往往被忽视，从而导致无效甚至有害的社会和环境结果。一维的、过于简单化的观点可能会导致加剧社会压力的保护处方。这在濒危、高价值物种的国际非法贸易情况下尤为重要，这会产生一个价值链，在这个价值链中，手工渔民是复杂网络的第一个作业环节，而且往往是最薄弱的环节。我们检查了 2 种非法渔业，totoaba ( Totoaba macdonaldi ) 和海参 ( Isostichopus badionotus和Holothuria floridana），在墨西哥。虽然这是两个独立的渔业，但重要的生态（资源状况、生态系统层面的渔业影响）和社会（治理、市场）相似性提高了对其复杂性的理解。我们的研究结果具有全球相关性，表明需要跨学科决策小组、社区参与和制定减少需求措施。