From below and from within: fishing communities under the COVID-19 pandemic and other globalizations in southern Manabí, Ecuador

Resumen

Within the many fishing communities that dot the southern coast of Manabí province, Ecuador, everyday realities are more diverse and uneven than those suggested by the romantic images circulating in the global media. This article zooms in on a maritime-fishing territory located in the Puerto Lopez canton to illustrate the challenges posed by globalization processes at different scales. Drawing on Ribeiro's concept of globalizations from below, this work analyses the ambiguous relations between artisanal and industrial fishing sectors, marine conservation and fishers' livelihoods, and the unmitigated spread of COVID-19. The article argues that fishers' adaptive strategies do not exclusively articulate with a changing environment but are also pragmatic responses to the long-term effects of several types of socioeconomic developments that have shifted the meanings of the seascape. The study concludes that fishers' adaptive strategies to grapple with institutional and economic volatility must be understood as non-linear and emergent processes that simultaneously shift between the centre and the marginal borders of the globalized economic system. This article is based on ethnographic research, semi-structured interviews and focus groups carried out between 2014 and 2020.