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Small-Scale Fisheries

Small-scale fisheries represent the lowest level of fishery organisation, yet provide more than onefourth of the world’s fish catch

by Nestor Cervantes
Small-scale fisheries are anything but small. Small-scale fisheries employ, either full — or part-time, about 15 million people worldwide, most of them in developing countries. They arc engaged in fishing, processing, distribution and marketing.
And small-scale fisheries provide more than 25 per cent of the world's fish catch.
Yet small-scale fisheries represent the lowest level of fishery organisation. It involves some of the poorest and most neglected groups of society.
These fisheries are characterised by high levels of labour, low capital investment, low levels of mechanisation and frequently, the use of antiquated fishing methods.
Artisanal fisherfolk arc often at the mercy of the weather which limits their catch and their incomes. Poverty and malnutrition arc compounded by geographic isolation and lack of facilities. Without land to represent their concerns, such fishing communities find themselves out of the mainstream, often Ignored by politicians and policymakers.
In many poor countries, fishing is the occupation of last resort. It is a situation that threatens the management, conservation and sustainability of limited fishery resources, especially in certain parts of Asia and Africa.
In Asia, the problems of
small-scale fisheries development arc being tackled by the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP). Started in 1979, the BOBP operates projects in seven countries bordering the Bay of Bengal — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
In Malaysia, pond culture of shrimps is being encouraged by a BOBP project Oyster cul-
ture is also being popularised in Malaysia and Thailand. Pen culture of shrimp in Tamil Nadu, India, and seaweed culture in Srl Ijinka are among the many BOBP projects.
Under the BOBP, fisherfolk arc )>eing assisted in India through non-government organisations; extension services are being strengthened In Bangladesh, India. Sri Lanka and the Maldives; credit Is being provided in Indonesia: and the Importance and role of a native fishing craft in Indian communities are being studied.
Resource assessment is an irhportant BOBP concern. Through a UN Development Programme-funded project, the capabilities of six Bay of Bengal countries for resource
assessment were strengthened. The BOBP is organising exploratory and demonstration fishing to measure the abundance of tuna In the offshore waters of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Specialists in fishing craft, gear and aquaculture arc focusing on developing technologies to raise catches, Incomes and efficiency or lower costs. Beachcraft development is a
major activity in India and Sri Lanka where BOBP efforts have led to a more mobile, reliable and efficient beachcraft.
The BOBP Ie putting emphasis on cage culture — a low-cost and economically sound aquaculture system. In Thailand, demonstration projects have inspired more than 1,000 fishermen there to take up finfish cage culture.
Improving extension services Is successful In many Aslan countries because the network of government, social and technical services available to fishing communities Is wcll-dcvclopcd and education standards are relatively high.
Particular emphasis Is directed at bringing women into the development mainstream.
In Tamil Nadu, India, fisher women are trained to help activate development In fishing villages. They have set up useful and replicable schemes, such as bank loans, savings, day-care centres for children, better health services and nonformal education.
In Bangladesh, women s groups receive nutrition and health-care training. They have taken up income-generating activities such as net-making, fish culture, poultry and livestock rearing.
FAO programmes are the main vehicles for delivering assistance to artisanal and small-scale fisheries in BOBP countries. They help to identify projects and collect data, information and experiences. The FAO has programmes similar to BOBP — in West Africa and several Red Sea and South Pacific Island countries.
Fisheries are a major concern of the FAO. Fish, after all, a ranks as one of the world's major food commodities. About 70 per cent of world fish production is consumed directly as food.
Fish catches in developing countries now equal those of the developed world. Developing countries now account for 45 per cent of total world exports, earning for them In 1988 some US 08.000 million.
— Depthnews Asia