Author Archives: Kyrstin Mallon Andrews

I am a PhD candidate in anthropology at UC Irvine. I'm currently conducting dissertation research in the coastal waters of the Dominican Republic with diver fishermen and environmental officials, tracing the trends of interactions between conservation and local fishing communities. The themes of my research include human-nonhuman relations, affect and health, and processes of state-making in aqueous territories.
Underwater photograph of person swimming away with flippers on their feet and carrying a harpoon and a fishline with three fish attached.

Parrotfish: The Charisma of Conservation in the Caribbean

During the week of Easter, the beaches of the Dominican Republic were converted into billboards for the campaign to stop the consumption of parrotfish. Pictures taken from drones showed brilliant blues of the ocean bordered by the characteristic white sands of beaches throughout the country. Spelled out on the sand were calls for help. The messages, “Save me, don’t eat parrotfish,” “If you eat parrotfish, I disappear,” “If you eat parrotfish, you eat away my sand,” and “SOS: parrotfish,” were each followed by the hashtag #lasplayashablan: the beaches speak. (read more...)