Livelihood trajectories in the Chilean Patagonian region: an ethnographic approach to coastal and marine socioecological change

Abstract

Livelihood trajectories are a conceptual device to synthetize the collection of successive strategies displayed by individuals and groups to ensure survival and wellbeing over time. Using this concept, we conduct an explorative analysis of how various episodes, interventions, and ecological change have influenced different livelihood strategies of small-scale fishermen in the southernmost region of the world, the Patagonian region of Magallanes, Chile. Through ethnographic research, we identified four trajectories along five distinct periods: (i) 1960–1972, from the year of the largest recorded earthquake in world history to the initial expansion of industrial fishing; (ii) 1973–1982, from the military coup and the beginning of neoliberal reforms; (iii) 1983–1990, marked by fishing export booms; (iv) 1991–2000, noted by return to democracy and enactment of the first Fishing and Aquaculture General Act; and (v) 2000 to present, characterized by coastal planning and changes to the aforementioned law. Along these periods, trajectories are marked by migration waves and the deployment of specific livelihood strategies, highly modulated by both global seafood markets and legal changes. The results show the potential of ethnographic approaches to the study of long-term interactions in marine and coastal socioecological systems by identifying underlying historical dynamics, specific pulses and pressures, and actors’ responses to regional socioecological changes.