Exploring stakeholders' images of coastal fisheries: A case study from South Korea

Images that stakeholders have about fisheries can fundamentally influence how fisheries are to be governed. They represent underlying perspectives about the issues in question and the world at large, helping thus explain why certain governance decisions and actions come about and how policy ideas are carried forward. While it is crucial to identify and integrate them in a policy making process, their practical appearances and characteristics are not always understood, making it less possible to assess their meanings and generate applied insights. Using a case of coastal fisheries in South Korea and its co-management initiative called 'Jayul', this study captures the images of various stakeholders through an exploratory survey design. The results show a diverse range of thematic content of stakeholders' images, but which can be characterized into four dimensions - positive or negative overtones; straightforward vs. composite meanings; time dimension; and action-based vs. describing state of affairs. The article discusses images' useful bearing on the progress of Jayul implementation and draws implications for the governance of Korean fisheries and worldwide.