Marine Conservation as Complex Cooperative and Competitive Human Interactions

Globally, marine protected areas (MPAs) are prominent conservation tools. Yet, the understanding of their social effects remains limited. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments (n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. We also deployed a standardized fishers' survey (n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews (n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, cooperation and hypercompetitive behavior are significantly higher, and the presence of hypercompetition does not seem to have a negative effect on collective action. We suggest that institutional interventions for the development of the MPAs jointly with market integration and economic diversification are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of observed pro- and antisocial behavior. By providing a different perspective to understand the social effects of MPAs, we bring together conservation science with resource governance, social psychology, cultural anthropology, and behavioral economics.