Understanding the Cultures of Fishing Communities: A Key to Fisheries Management and Food Security

Table of Contents

by
James R. McGoodwin
Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of Colorado
Boulder, USA

ISSN 0429-9345

FAO
FISHERIES
TECHNICAL
PAPER
401

Food
and
Agriculture
Organization
of
the
United
Nations

Rome, 2001

Cover Photo: Small-scale fishing community, West Indies, by J. R. McGoodwin

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries

ISBN 92-5-104606-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Information Division, Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to copyright @ fao.org

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. PURPOSE AND INTRODUCTION

1.1 The crisis in contemporary fisheries and fisheries management
1.2 The fisheries are a human phenomenon
1.3 Reconstructing fisheries management, planning and policy
1.4 Emphasis on small-scale fishing communities
1.5 Problems facing contemporary small-scale fishing communities
1.6 The special fisheries-management needs of small-scale fishing communities
1.7 Guidance for fisheries officials

2. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL-SCALE FISHING COMMUNITIES

2.1 Society, community and culture
2.2 The cultures of small-scale fishing communities
2.3 Small-scale fishing communities in developing countries
2.4 Fishing livelihoods
2.5 Occupational pride, tenacity and cultural identity
2.6 Cultural and technological adaptations to marine ecosystems
2.7 Intimate and functionally-oriented knowledge of marine ecosystems
2.8 Social organization and the division of labor
2.9 Cultural adaptations to risks and uncertainties
2.10 Community-based fisheries management
2.11 Recommended reading

3. STRENGTHENING AND PROTECTING SMALL-SCALE FISHING COMMUNITIES

3.1 Fisheries-management policies and practices
3.2 Instituting cooperative co-management
3.3 Conferring property rights
3.4 Protecting small-scale fishing communities from external threats
3.5 Managing conflicts between people having different cultural orientations
3.6 Safeguarding small-scale fishing communities from unfavorable differentials of power

4. METHODS FOR STUDYING THE CULTURES OF SMALL-SCALE FISHING COMMUNITIES

4.1 What is "methodology?"
4.2 Why are methods important?
4.3 Validity and reliability
4.4 Ethical considerations
4.5 Privacy
4.6 Informed consent
4.7 Utility
4.8 Research design and methods
4.9 Participant observation
4.10 Working with key informants
4.11 Collecting field notes
4.12 Unstructured and semi-structured interviewing
4.13 Structured interviewing
4.14 Questionnaires and survey research
4.15 Scales and scaling
4.16 Unobtrusive observation
4.17 Participatory approaches
4.18 Recommended readings on methods for studying the cultures of small-scale fishing communities

5. RAPID ASSESSMENT OF SMALL-SCALE FISHING COMMUNITIES

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Site selection: the first step
5.3 Types of information to be yielded
5.4 Recruitment and organization of the research team
5.5 Methods for data collection
5.6 Reporting the results and how these should be reflected in management schemes
5.7 Limitations of rapid assessments
5.8 Recommended readings on methods for conducting rapid assessments

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 General recommendations
6.2 Recommended subjects of study for understanding the cultures of small-scale fishing communities
6.3 Recommendations regarding promoting and legitimizing fishers' organizations.⁶
6.4 Recommendations for harmonizing new management and development schemes with fishers' traditional systems
6.5 Recommendations regarding capacity building
6.6 Recommendations regarding promoting public awareness of the cultures of small-scale fishing communities

7. APPENDIXES

Appendix 7.1 Background for this study
Appendix 7.2 Examples of data sets that can be collected by rapid assessments

8. END NOTES

9. REFERENCES CITED

CASE STUDIES

Species-oriented community-based resource management: A Case study from small-scale fisheries in the Yaeyama islands, southwestern Japan
Integration of traditional institutions and people's participation in an artisanal fisheries development project in southeastern Nigeria
Small-scale whaling in north America
The socio-cultural aspects of fisheries: Implications for food and livelihood security - A Case Study of Kerala State, India
When fish is water: Food security and fish in a coastal community in the dominican republic
Hebrides and west coast of Scotland: The social and cultural importance of the coastal fishing communities and their contribution to food security

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