Allison, Edward HBassett, Hannah2020-02-042020-02-042020-02-042019Bassett_washington_0250O_21109.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/45220Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2019Dive fishing is the practice of harvesting marine or aquatic species through the use of an Underwater Breathing Apparatus (UBA), such as SCUBA or hookah. Prior to this study, dive fishing has not been addressed as a distinct fishing method with unique considerations for achieving sustainability. This project represents the first attempt to understand and describe the general nature, extent, and sustainability outcomes of dive fisheries globally. Through a mixed-methods review of relevant multi-disciplinary scientific literature, 118 dive fisheries located in 60 countries were identified. This inventory reflects incomplete treatment of dive fisheries in the scientific literature and suggests that dive fisheries are understudied, particularly in lower-income countries. This analysis finds that most dive fisheries in the literature are small-scale commercial fisheries targeting high-value, benthic invertebrates. Dive fishery descriptions, combined with insights from data on stock status and dive fisher morbidity and mortality (M&M), suggest that dive fisheries present both great risk and great reward to their user groups and communities. While a small number of fisheries report relatively safe operations, others present M&M levels that provide additional support for the assertion that dive fishing may be one of the most dangerous peace-time occupations documented. Of the fisheries with reported stock status, over half are depleted or over-exploited, and serial localized depletion is a common concern across fisheries. M&M levels are consistently lower and stocks are consistently healthier in fisheries in higher-income countries. As a selective and efficient method for the harvest of high value species, dive fishing holds potential for sustainability across social, ecological, and economic dimensions; however, this outcome is not commonly realized. By shedding light on dive fisheries’ potential for both great risk and great reward, this study illuminates the need for greater attention to this unique form of fishing. The initial inventory of dive fisheries provides a foundation of knowledge from which further research and sustainable management practices can be developed.application/pdfen-USnonedive fishingfisher healthoccupational healthsmall-scale fisheriessustainabilitywell-beingEnvironmental studiesMarine affairsThesis