Le canard a-t-il coulé la moule du Québec ? Construire un problème de prédation, dépolitiser un échec économique

Abstract

In the early 2010s, mussels cultivated by Quebec mussel farmers in various parts of the maritime regions of Eastern Quebec were subjected to unprecedented waves of predation. Several species of migratory birds, known as "sea ducks", are attacking sea-based cultivation lines, jeopardizing the province's mussel-growing industry. These phenomena of predation are being treated as a public problem, mainly by scientists and producers. However, predation appears to be a secondary issue to the more general question of the industry's economic development. While the economic and scientific producers focus on the predation problem, the public actors adopt a blame-avoidance strategy. They avoid their responsibility for the choice of a model that has encouraged predation blaming ducks and producers and reducing their material support for the industry.

Keywords

• aquaculture
• industry
• predation
• public problem
• technicality