{"id":20700,"date":"2024-09-18T11:56:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T15:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/?p=20700"},"modified":"2024-09-18T17:40:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T21:40:48","slug":"the-evolution-of-the-maine-lobster-v-notch-practice-cooperation-in-a-prisoners-dilemma-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/2024\/09\/18\/the-evolution-of-the-maine-lobster-v-notch-practice-cooperation-in-a-prisoners-dilemma-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution of the Maine Lobster V-Notch Practice: Cooperation in a Prisoner\u2019s Dilemma Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I took an awesome lobster boat tour this last summer, and I knew I wanted to include a write-up of the fascinating fishing communities of Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#dedede\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>&#8220;The Evolution of the Maine Lobster V-Notch Practice&#8221; Excerpt Paraphrased by Erin Shaw<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The v-notch program helps make lobster fishing the most sustainable fishing practice in America. When fishermen pull a female lobster which is egg-bearing, they use a tool to notch a \u201cv\u201d in the tail. This signals to other fishermen that this lobster is to be returned if caught as notched lobsters can not be sold. This is a voluntary practice that helps conserve the breeding stocks of lobsters. V-notching helps not only individuals but the entire community in terms of future catches. They were willing to reward those who v-notched with esteem and increased reputation  (Acheson &amp; Gardner, 2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article discusses the three reasons that fishermen may participate in this voluntary practice. They have developed a strong belief that it is effective in conserving lobster stock, the long-term gains are higher than one-time gain, and an increase in reputation  (Acheson &amp; Gardner, 2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s interesting is that fishermen incur the cost of time and there is no certainty of personal payoff. No one is on the boat to guarantee a fisherman is participating in the process. What factors allow this practice to continue despite this? If a high percentage of the population cooperates, others will follow, if only a few cooperate, then less will cooperate to avoid being \u201ca sucker.\u201d It\u2019s important to engage in the practice when the benefits of cooperating are higher than the benefits of staying with a poor-quality practice. They are contributing because of personal commitment rather than a fear of punishment. The article discusses the relationship to this and the prisoner\u2019s dilemma, stating that in a prisoner\u2019s dilemma, two factors can induce cooperation, one is altruism and the other is reciprocity. The unique aspect of the lobster fishing business is that it deals with indirect reciprocity, or 3rd party altruism, which refers to a situation where there is no necessary reward for the people who help others (Acheson &amp; Gardner, 2011).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7e4ac651328708ea719ac0894fa30934\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"836\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"20701\" src=\"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-836x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-836x1024.jpg 836w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-245x300.jpg 245w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-768x941.jpg 768w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-696x853.jpg 696w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850-343x420.jpg 343w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/a67a237b48c34a123407d5defbd0a850.jpg 942w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo of Erin on the lobster tour boat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"20702\" src=\"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-864x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-864x1024.jpg 864w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-253x300.jpg 253w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-768x910.jpg 768w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-696x825.jpg 696w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70-354x420.jpg 354w, https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1c0fa1f26d9d1972e7ead158f19e9e70.jpg 939w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo of lobster tour boat by Erin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7e4ac651328708ea719ac0894fa30934\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>REVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was inspired by a boat tour I took while in Maine in mid-August that discussed this business model that lobster fishermen use. It was in Bass Harbor in Maine and was led by a man who had lived in the small fishing town his whole life. I was fascinated by the collaboration of humans and knew I wanted to incorporate this model into my capstone project. I am interested in motivating indirect reciprocity in individuals who go to parks in relation to waste management. The fact that this dilemma surrounds sustainability, is even more intriguing as fishing is not always seen as a sustainable practice. By managing laws and having volunteered practices like v-notching, the lobster fishing industry is even more healthy than before. Through physical proof of improvement, social norms and reputation, and long-term gains for the entire fishing industry, the lobster community managed the seemingly impossible; collaboration in the benefit of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>REFERENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acheson, J., &amp; Gardner, R. (2011). The Evolution of the Maine Lobster V-Notch Practice: Cooperation in a Prisoner\u2019s Dilemma Game. Ecology and Society, 16(1). http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/26268854<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I took an awesome lobster boat tour this last summer, and I knew I wanted to include a write-up of the fascinating fishing communities of Maine. . . REVIEW I was inspired by a boat tour I took while in Maine in mid-August that discussed this business model that lobster fishermen use. It was in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":20703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20705,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20700\/revisions\/20705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desis.osu.edu\/seniorthesis\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}