Institutional adaptation as a governability problem in fisheries: patron–client relations in the Junagadh fishery, India

Interactive governance theory proposes that fisheries can be compared according to their governability, or their overall capacity for governance. Central to governance capacity in fisheries is institutional adaptability, the ability of humans to modify their organizations and reflect on the rules and values that guide them in response to change. In this paper, I suggest a preliminary synthesis of interactive governance theory, resilience thinking and adaptive co‐management in order to refine the understanding of institutional adaptation as a key component of fisheries governability. I use the case of patron–client relationships in the Junagadh fishery to show how governability analysis is a valuable perspective from which to understand institutional characteristics that have contradictory implications for adaptation in fisheries.