The role of fishing material culture in communities’ sense of place as an added-value in management of coastal areas

Fishing communities in many places around the world are facing significant challenges\r\ndue to new policies and environmental developments. While it is imperative to ensure sustainability\r\nof natural resources, many policies may overlook the contribution of fisheries to the sociocultural\r\nwell-being of coastal communities. Authors address the problem of valuing the sociocultural benefits of fishing by exploring the role of fishing landscapes and traditional working waterfronts in\r\nmaintaining sense of place in fishing communities. The paper explores how sense of place contributes to understanding the relationship between fishing and cultural-ecosystem services, drawing\r\non case studies from four U.S. fishing communities in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Through\r\nsemi-structured and in-depth interviews with fishing communities members, resident photography\r\nand sites visits, this paper outlines how fishing contributes to sense of place in terms of placeattachment and cultural-social memory. By understanding the relationship between fishers’ sense\r\nof place, and the physical environment in fishing communities in Brunswick County, the authors\r\nidentify the complexity and interrelated elements that shape the relationship between fishermen\r\nand their cultural landscape. The paper suggests that realizing the value of fishing cultural landscape can encourage policies that promote preservation of fishing cultural heritage for the sociocultural benefit of communitie