Tourism and marine resource conservation tentacle in tentacle? Zanzibari hotels as biosphere stewards in support of octopus closures

Abstract: Tourism fuels the Zanzibari economy but adds to the depletion of marine resources. However, the concept of corporate biosphere stewardship suggests that companies with consolidated power can influence sustainability pathways. Can tourist hotels practically support octopus closures, a novel conservation tool, as a way towards sustainable marine resource consumption? I address this issue by making the first known attempt to estimate Zanzibari hotels’ seasonal and annual octopus demand, mapping their value chain structure and identifying the nature of their demand. The study relies on semi-structured interviews of 31 respondents (hotel staff, hotel suppliers, market traders, food importers and key informants) and official data. I assess the demand of hotels to range between 16 to 27 percent of the mean 2008-2018 annual catch in Zanzibar. Hence, this consumer power hotels may confer agency for them to contribute to resource conservation such as octopus closures. Hotels may support closures particularly if they match seasonality in octopus price and demand. However, hoteliers’ use of a wide sourcing network including imports may lead to diluted price signals hampering understanding and incentives to protect the local octopus supply. Additionally, hoteliers’ weight preferences largely correspond with the Zanzibari voluntary minimum weight limit, but do not align with the desired outcome of bigger octopus from closures. The typical practise of purchasing fresh octopus and limited freezer capacity of hotels may also limit their agency to support octopus closures. This study makes a novel contribution of linking octopus conservation with tourism. It furthermore nuances the concept of corporate biosphere stewardship by assessing the practical potential of Zanzibari tourism, a less consolidated industry, to contribute to marine resource conservation.  Further research into local biosphere stewardship of value chains within low-income country contexts should investigate differences in use of consumer power by small as opposed to large-scale businesses. In addition, similar assessments could benefit from research into local spatial and relational value chains, and their influence on hoteliers’ capacity to perceive of supply status through price signals, not only for octopus but seafood in general.