FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 300

Studies on the role of fishermen's organizations in fisheries management

Fishermen's organizations and their role in fisheries management: theoretical considerations and experiences from industrialized countries
by
Rognvaldur Hannesson
Professor
The Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration
Bergen, Norway

The role of fishermen's organizations in fisheries management of developing countries (with particular reference to the Indo-Pacific region)
by
John Kurien
Associate Fellow
Centre for Development Studies
Trivandrum, India

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.

M-43
ISBN 92-5-102749-8

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, Publications Division. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 1988
©FAO

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document has been prepared as part of FAO's Regular Programme activities aimed at assisting governmental and non-governmental institutions, including organizations of fishermen, in the management of fisheries. It is one in a series of technical papers relating to the PRACTICES OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT and a contribution to the ongoing discussion of the role of ‘collective action’ in the management of natural resources.

Based on an extensive literature review, the first paper was prepared by Mr. RÖgnvaldur Hannesson, Professor, The Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Bergen, Norway. The second paper was prepared by Mr. John Kurien, Associate Fellow, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India. It is based on the author's close association and experiences with fishermen's organizations in India and other Asian countries.

Distribution:	For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows:
FAO Fisheries Department FAO Regional Officers Directors of Fisheries Selector SM Authors	Hannesson, R., Studies on the role of fishermen's 1988 organizations in fisheries management. Fishermen's organizations and their role in fisheries management: theoretical considerations and experiences from industrialized countries. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (300):1–27
	Kurien, J.,Studies on the role of fishermen's 1988 organizations in fisheries management. The role of fishermen's organizations in fisheries management of developing countries (with particular reference to the Indo-Pacific region). FAO Fish. Tech.Pap., (300):29–48

ABSTRACT

This document contains two papers on the role of fishermen's organizations in fisheries management. The paper by Rögnvaldur Hannesson discusses the pros and cons of giving fishermen's organizations specific roles in fisheries management . It reviews the practical experiences of groups and organizations of fishermen in fisheries management in a number of industrialized countries including Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom, as documented in the literature. Hannesson stresses that the outcome of giving fishermen's organizations a say in fisheries management depends crucially on the economic framework and philosophy prevailing in each country . On theoretical grounds, he contends that a pseudo-market solution, i.e., the allocation of private property rights accompanied by (i) an appropriate tax system to prevent a concentration of profits and incomes and by (ii) conditionality of transferability to avoid concentration of ownership, may best achieve the twin objectives of efficiency and equity.

The paper by John Kurien sets out with a historic-cultural review of small-scale fisheries in the Indo-Pacific region. Traditionally, many communities had adopted well integrated systems of governing fishing practices and rights of access to the sea. Resources conservation was not a deliberate act but was built into the production system through appropriate technology and modes of production. With the onset of “planned development”, traditional conservationist values and communal control of fishery resources were construed as barriers to development. Capital-intensive growth, spurred by profitable export demand, created a wide disparity in the access capability and appropriation of fishery resources to the disadvantage of artisanal fishing communities. Concomitantly, excessive levels of fishing effort led to overexploitation of fishery resources. The increasing number of the new genre of vocal fishworkers' organizations in the region is a direct consequence of ths process. On the basis of three case studies from India, Indonesia and the Philippines, Kurien illustrates how fishermen's organizations have strongly influenced governments' decisions to initiate steps for fisheries management, though their concrete involvement in the actual process of fisheries management is still small. Kurien concludes that for these organizations to fulfill more formalized roles in fisheries management they would require more recognition and support from governments and national and international organizations.

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FISHERMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR ROLE IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND EXPERIENCES FROM INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES (by Rögnvaldur Hannesson)

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The New Law of the Sea: New Opportunities

1.2 Fisheries Management: By Whom and How?

1.3 Resource Management: What Is to Be Achieved?

1.4 Fishermen's Organizations: A Special Role?

1.5 Public Policy and Fishermen's Goals: Conflicting or Compatible?

1.6 Ways of Involving Fishermen's Organizations

1.7 The Outline of This Study

2. MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS BASED ON SEA TENURE

2.1 The Origin and Role of Property Rights

2.2 Informal Fishing Rights