Video introducting fieldwork results

(Italian with English subtitles)

Methodology

The first part of the case study research was desk-based and aimed at looking at the Egadi islands history, state of ecosystems, on-going projects related to the use of natural resources, existence of community-based organizations and non-governmental organizations active in the area, activities and rules of the Marine Protected Area. Research was also conducted on the state of national and international law and policy development on Bluefin tuna and marine protected areas. Special attention was given to the history of tuna fishing in the Egadi as it used to be one of the main traditional activities of the islands.

The COVID-19 outbreak halted the preparation of the fieldwork, which was meant to start in April 2020. Research was suspended until notice of the Strathclyde Ethics Committee, which, up until the 29th of July 2020, had advised to put on hold all fieldwork activities requiring face to face meetings. Once the application for ethics approval could be submitted again (august 2020) the necessary forms and materials were prepared. Ethical approval was obtained after a few months of work, in February 2021.

Interviews and consultation were however started online and on the phone as covid-19 restrictions were at the highest level of protection in Sicily at that time. In mid-May 2021 most restrictions were lifted, and fieldwork started to be planned. It was started at the end of June. It was halted in August because the touristic season on the islands made meetings with their inhabitants very difficult (most of them were extremely busy), and it will be started again in October.

The original fieldwork methodology consisted in three types of interactions with stakeholders: participant observation (observation of practices related to the conservation of the local environment); semi-structured interviews with community members; focus groups (with approximately 10 people and distinguished on the grounds of gender, age, and occupancy). However, to ensure the safety of participants and of the researcher, and to respect national and regional rules on social distance, the methodology was modified so to reduce interactions between multiple people. Only non-structured interviews were conducted on a one-to-one basis with key informants that had roles particularly relevant for the research topic. This decision was guided by the initial risk assessment that was prepared in the research application. While a global pandemic could not be foreseen (September 2018), the risks concerning community engagement were planned to be addressed as follows: “more attention will be paid to key informants (priests, leaders, etc) and interviews will be collected with other key informants (less time consuming) in nearby communities”. This method proved to be effective and fitting with the current legal and social rules, as most interviewees showed to be really at ease to talk in an open space (such as at the harbor, in an outdoor café, or a very vast room of an old building). 

In Favignana, the Egadi Marine Protected Area (EMPA) was used as office base and as reference point for basic information. The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance signed a memorandum of agreement with the MPA to formalize the support received, and to lay the foundations for potential future collaborations. Although a lot of support and help was received from them, it was considered necessary to hire a field guide to avoid local interactions to be biased towards such a prominent institution in the area, with such a clear and well-known set of goals and so close (at least formally) to the local municipality. The field guide was chosen thanks to the contacts previously taken with a marine ecology professor form the Università degli Studi di Palermo that has extensively worked on the Egadi marine ecosystem. The field guide is a local man, born and resident in Favignana, with a degree in ecology.

The methodology followed to identify key stakeholders to be interviewed was based on the field guide extensive knowledge of the islands, their inhabitants, and their potential reactions. He indicated a few people to start the conversation with. He did not directly introduce the researcher to them to avoid raising expectations (they might have felt they had to “prepare” for the interview) and to save the image of the researcher as a totally external actor, not linked to the local Marine Protect Area (he sometimes works for). He indicated who it would have been interesting to talk to and sent the researcher to the right place at the right time (such as for example at a certain harbor early in the morning). This technique proved to be appropriate, as the people he identified were keen to talk, even without previous introductions. The fieldguide then tailored the researcher to ask for further contacts directly to the people that were interviewed: i.e. “you can ask this one to put you in contact with this other one, etc”. The same process was also followed with suggestions given by different members of the MPA.

A few other interviewees were the result of lack.

• One casual suggestion (over a coffee) led to a very complex wire of connections: writing to the Provincial office in charge of cultural heritage to get access to an installation containing interviews of previous workers of the Tonnara; the Director of the Provincial office putting in contact with the curator of the installation who authorized the researcher to enter it and put her in contact with one of the most popular ladies of the island (she has worked as a politician, has driven the tourism sector from its beginning grounding it on gastronomic local knowledge and traditions often based on tunas, has a huge knowledge of the Tonnara, and is the first woman of the island who graduated).
• The researcher was asked about her recurring presence in Favignana by the owner of a café. He then addressed the researcher to a Tonnara expert of the island.
• At the MPA office, the researcher met the Egadi’s ministry of health and youths’ politics, and she is willing to be interviewed.
• A local resident and journalist got in contact with the researcher because she wrote a piece on the Egadi and Covid-19.

So far 14 people were interviewed. Special attention was given to the ration women/men when choosing participants. However, most actors involved in production and fishing activities are men. Hence, attention was given in consulting women to explore their points of view, however the final gender ratio was not even.

Special attention was be given to the ration women/men when choosing participants. However, most actors involved in production and fishing activities are men. Hence, attention will be given in consulting women to explore their points of view, however it is possible that the ratio will not be even.

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