Taboos/Norms and Modern Science, and Possible Integration for Sustainable Management of the Flyingfish Resource of Orchid Island, Taiwan

Coastal management without scientific data or modern techniques has been implemented successfully by many coastal communities, and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), which is regarded as a culturally framed belief system, has played an important role in the successful cases. TEK of flyingfish culture in the Orchid Island was proved to have a theoretical basis and advantages in managing the flyingfish resource. However, modernization, introduction of modern techniques (motorized boats), development of tourism, and numerous other factors have caused TEK to change or disappear, and integration of TEK with the modern science of environmental management may be a solution to sustain the marine resource. TEK constitutes numerous taboos and norms (T&N). This study, for the first time, itemized the T&N of the flyingfish culture by category, with plausible motives explained by the respondents through in-depth interviews of tribespeople in 2014 and 2015, and identified the T&N with ecological conservation implications. The study also implemented a sampling scheme to provide the first records of fishery composition, flyingfish catch amount (about 260,000–280,000 fish per year), and the catch rate for the island. Finally, this study discussed three interrelated approaches for sustainable management of the flyingfish resource, including integration of TEK with science-based monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS), and research.