Bridging the divide: From fisheries to conservation knowledges and governance. The case of the Costa Rica Dome, an offshore upwelling in the Pacific Ocean (Central America)

This intervention examines distinct knowledges about an offshore environment as its uses and governance practices have evolved from fisheries to conservation objectives. It is based on the socio-historical study of a space geophysically defined by an upwelling phenomenon in the Pacific ocean off Central America, that spans parts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua’s EEZ, and parts of the High Seas: the so-called ‘Costa Rica Dome.’ This case highlights that multiple, divergent ocean knowledges inform policy action for the protection of marine biodiversity and contribute to stated ‘effectiveness’ goals.

Three main research results will be shared. First, findings illustrate how diverse and dispersed actors from the Global North have developed knowledges of this ‘Thermal Dome’ over time. This began from the 1930s and on as part of fisheries frontiers extending their activities into the wider region. Next to these extractive uses, a recent motivation to know the Dome emerged in the past decade within the global marine conservation sector working on the High Seas. A second result reveals a strong divergence in how actors spatially depict the Dome and envisage to govern it. Fishers and oceanographers relate to it as dynamic ecological configurations. In their views, it defies border-making, stabilization – and as such, Euclidean space. In contrast, certain conservation staff produce ‘territorial’ knowledges that spatially fix the Dome to make it a candidate for area-based management. This polarization crystalizes around governance modalities, and their subsequent effectiveness against stated goals. A third result aims to reflect on, and overcome, the fisheries-science-conservation knowledge divides around the Dome. Despite conflicting views, actors across these sectors share difficulties to cognitively grasp and ‘socialize’ this offshore space for policy and management. As such, this case invites reflection on two questions linked to ocean science informing governance. How does recognizing the context-specific nature of knowledges on the Dome bring about a more collective understanding of it? And how do difficulties to govern the Dome with the tools available for policy-makers encourage to turn towards alternative approaches to protect biodiversity?