Social-ecological traps in reef fisheries

► Examines critical linkages between social and ecological systems in east African reef fisheries.
► Poverty and missing institutions can set the stage for destructive gear use that can damage reefs.
► Feedbacks between social and ecological processes reinforce undesirable outcomes.
► Escaping or avoiding these social-ecological traps will require breaking feedbacks.
► Key strategies include poverty reduction and investing in institutions.