10. Writing the thesis

Dear reader,

Currently I’m in the middle of a new chapter of this whole process: writing the thesis. After a couple weeks of coding all interviews and conversations with the coral reef users, I finally benefit from all this work. By using the software program atlas.ti I can easily find the right quotes that I need to write this whole story. It is just a matter of knowing which codes are important for writing about a specific topic, and in one or two clicks I have all the information I need. However, as many people mention; it is just a tool: I’m still responsible for the thinking myself. And that’s what I did.

So, right now I have written the two first result chapters (chapter 3 & 4) and this and next week I’m writing the third result chapter (chapter 5). To explain a little more about the content:

Chapter 3 is about the subjectivity of the term ‘coral reef’. This term is used by many of us as something that speaks for itself, but according to many discussions there is quite some variation in how the definition is being used. Imagine that a coral reef is degrading. There will be one point in time where the coral reef is not perceived as a coral reef anymore, because all organisms in this area are dead and there are only some skeletons of hard corals left. Is that still called a coral reef? No! At least, according to many participants of this research. However, where is the point that a ‘coral reef’ is not understood as a ‘coral reef’ anymore? Briefly, this is the main argument that I would like to point out in this chapter.

Chapter 4 is literally an explanation of all different ways in which artisanal fishermen and professional SCUBA divers frame the health of coral reefs. In this explain these ways of framing according to different topics that came out of the coding analysis. Each topic that is described ends with a summarizing storyline; and multiple storylines belong to one discourse. Finally I ended with 5 discourses about coral reef health. Hopefully, these storylines and discourses help me with giving answers to the main research question.

Chapter 5 goes into more detail about three different cases that were often discussed during the fieldwork. Case A is about fishing methods. Case B is about reef restoration. Case C is about the Curaçao Marine Park. All cases are described and the ideas and perspectives of the participants are discussed by using quotes in such a way that it illustrates conflicting ideas about management strategies. In that way, it becomes clear how different strategies lead to social interaction, disagreements or conflicts among coral reef users.

Hopefully this explains a little bit more about what I’m currently writing about. Still, I’m here on the island and everyday I’m writing with a view on the Caribbean ocean with my flip-flops under my feet, which is a huge advantage during the writing.

Michiel