Changing Coastal Commons in a Sub-Tropical Island Ecosystem, Yaeyama Islands, Japan - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 127

methods of recreational anglers, equipped with sonar and high-speed boats, for
overfishing. The professional local fishers have insisted on the value of their long-
term experience and time-proven expertise as the ideal bases for developing the
sustainable management of local marine resources.
Such discussions regarding marine conservation in the Yaeyama Islands
highlight the need to clearly recognize just which peoples may lay claim to a
local common resource; what kind of uses are envisaged and considered
legitimate; and how outsiders are (or ought to be) allowed, if at all, to make use
of such precious resources. There are many diverse local institutions guiding the
use of natural resources, and these may help avoid the “tragedy of the commons”,
whereby the pursuit of individual self-interest maximizes short-term exploitation
and destroys the commonly held and managed resource (Feeny et al. 1990 ;
Ostrom 1990 ; Akimichi 2004b, 2007 ). These ideas are explored in this chapter
with particular reference to the tidal stone weir fishing technique as practiced in
Yaeyama.

Fisheries in the Yaeyama Islands

The Yaeyama group consist of eight major islands: Ishigaki, Iriomote, Taketomi,
Kuroshima, Kohama, Uechi-Shimochi (or Aragusuku), Hatoma and Yonaguni.
They are located at the southwestern extremity of Japan (Fig. 10.1 ). Their environment

Okinawa Is.

Kume
Is.

Kerama
Is.

Daitoh
Is.

Miyako Is.

Yaeyama Is.

Iriomote
Is.

Yonaguni
Is.

Ishigaki
Is.

Fig. 10.1 Location of Yaeyama Islands