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| Evelyn Roozee, Ph.D. BSc Biology and Environmental Studies, Tufts University, USA; MSc Ocean, Coastal and Earth Sciences, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA; Ph.D. Renewable Resources, McGill University, Canada. Email: evelyn.roozee@mail.mcgill.ca
Interests: ecosystem-based management, sustainable fisheries, transboundary water issues, collaborative natural resource management approaches
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Ph.D. Thesis:
SUSTAINING COLLABORATION IN TRANSBOUNDARY FISHERY MANAGEMENT NETWORKS
Abstract
Fisheries that frequently transcend international borders, known as transboundary fisheries, generate most global fishing revenue but face severe overexploitation. Transboundary fisheries management is complex and fraught with uncertainty, demanding flexible and adaptive governance arrangements to combat persistent issues of overexploitation and coordination failure. Additionally, climate change is shifting the distribution of marine species, changing historical ranges, and causing fisheries to venture into other management jurisdictions. These ecological changes will have a substantial impact on the overall management and economics of fisheries worldwide, requiring effective international collaboration. To inform these efforts, this dissertation seeks to understand the structure, performance, and adaptation processes necessary to sustain collaboration within transboundary fishery management networks.
The dissertation begins with a literature review of the unique management issues of transboundary fisheries and the use of inter-organizational management networks to achieve adaptive and sustainable management, ultimately depicting the collaborative processes underpinning these networks. The subsequent chapters provide empirical evidence using case studies of collaboration in three different transboundary fishery settings. The first results chapter uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to assess the causal relationships between the organizational structure and collaborative performance of non-tuna Regional Fishery Management Organizations. The findings indicate that high collaborative performance requires distinct roles for Secretariats and committees, meaningful representation of stakeholders, and a small decision-making body. The second case study considers the impacts of past performance on collaborative Lake Sturgeon management in the Saint Lawrence River through the lens of social-ecological memory. The results indicate that social-ecological fragmentation and distrust have shaped the social-ecological memory of the system, leading to a path-dependent management approach in each implicated jurisdiction. However, distrust was also found to foster path plasticity through informal social engagement and third-party brokering activities. The third case focuses on the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization and applies Contribution Analysis to assess relationships between social learning and organizational change in transboundary fishery management. The findings suggest that the use of more formal and hierarchical meetings stifled deeper learning processes, leading to a legitimacy crisis that was resolved using mutuallyapproved external experts. Additionally, a reflexive policy context was created by managers through a roleplay workshop that reduced organizational identities, fostering “double-loop” learning and organizational change.
This dissertation offers empirical insights into the collaborative processes supporting transboundary fishery management networks, with a focus on learning and adaptation in socialecological systems. While the creation of management structures is essential to foster arenas for collaboration, network performance is profoundly shaped by relational dynamics and the ability of participants to learn and innovate beyond entrenched practices.
Awards and Scholarships:
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Graduate Research Stipend (2022-2025)
Fonds de Recherche du Québec: Société et Culture Doctoral research scholarship (2023-26)
F. Grey Woods Fellowship, McGill University (2024)
Graduate Mobility Award, McGill University (2025).
Graduate Excellence Award, McGill University, 2022-25
Publications:
Roozee, E., Temby, O. and Hickey, G.M. (2026). The impact of Regional Fishery Management Organization structure on collaborative performance. Ocean and Coastal Management 271: 107961.
Temby, O., Roozee, E., Kim, D. and Hickey, G.M. (2025). Institutional and ideational features of Canadian-U.S. fishery governance networks: connectivity, coherence, and collaboration. American Review of Canadian Studies 55(3): 202-231.
Vallejo, J., Roozee, E., Kim, D., Song, A.M., Gabler, C.A., de Vries, J., Sohns, A., Hickey, G.M. and Temby, O. (2025). A preliminary investigation of research collaboration through scientific paper co‑authorship in the Gulf of Mexico. Estuaries and Coasts 49: 5.
Pedersen, D., Temby, O., Sohns, A., Roozee, E., Hickey, G.M. (2025). Assessing inter-organizational collaboration within the transboundary network governing the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale. Marine Policy 171: 106469.
Katznelson, D., Sohns, A., Kim, D., Roozee, E., Donner, W.R., Song, A.M., de Vries, J., Temby, O. and Hickey, G.M. (2025). Examining the presence and effects of coherence and fragmentation in the Gulf of Maine fishery management network. Regional Environmental Change 25(3).
Roozee, E., Kim, D., Sohns, A., de Vries, J.R., Temby, O.F. and Hickey, G.M. (2024). Managing inter-organizational trust and risk perceptions in transboundary fisheries governance networks. Marine Policy 159: 105927.
Hickey, G.M., Roozee, E., Voogd, R., de Vries, J.R., Sohns, A., Kim, D. and Temby, O. (2023). On the architecture of collaboration in inter-organizational natural resource management networks. Journal of Environmental Management 328: 116994.
Vallejo, J., Sanchez, K., Roozee, E. and Temby, O. (2022). Disaster Resilience Versus Ecological Resilience and the Proposed Second Causeway to South Padre Island. Case Studies in the Environment 6(1): 1714379.
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