3. TRENDS IN THE NUMBER OF COASTAL FISHERS VIS-À-VIS THE STATUS OF FISHERIES RESOURCES AND THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT

By U. Tietze

This chapter examines the changes which have taken place in the number of fishers over the past couple of decades in the context of general demographic and social trends. It also relates these changes to the level of exploitation of coastal fisheries resources and to the state of the coastal environment.

Global and regional trends in the number of fishers

During the two decades from 1970 to 1990, the number of fishers and aquaculturists more than doubled, growing faster than the world's population, and the number of part-time fishers grew even faster. Although there are other aspects of the importance of fisheries to national economies than employment (e.g. value added, exports, nutrition), “it is noteworthy that, in 1990, fishers represented more than five percent of the economically active population in the agricultural sector of 38 countries, in 15 of which the percentage was above 10 percent” (FAO, 1999a).

According to the latest estimates (FAO, 1999b), the total number of fishers, including those involved in marine and inland capture fisheries and in aquaculture increased from 12.5 million in 1970 to 29 million in 1990 (see Table 1). During the 1990s, FAO suggests that while numbers further increased on a global level, increases were much smaller than in previous decades and the total number of fishers and aquaculturists is estimated to have reached about 30 million in 1997.

• The following factors may have contributed to the growth of employment:
• growth of aquaculture owing to an increase in demand for aquaculture products and the availability of suitable aquaculture techniques, production inputs, capital, etc.;
• trade liberalization and deregulation of national economies;
• population growth in coastal fishing communities and migration from other sectors of the rural economy.

Table 1 shows that by far the largest group consisted of so-called “unspecified” fishers, meaning that it is not known whether they were involved in inland fisheries, marine fisheries or in aquaculture. Therefore, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding the number of marine fishers (consisting chiefly of coastal fishers) and changes in the past, except for the general trends mentioned above.

Table 1 - Number of fishers and aquaculturists in the world, 1970–1990

The same is true for trends regarding the number of fishers and aquaculturists in Asia and Africa on a regional level, as shown in Tables 2 and 3 below.

Table 2 - Number of fishers and aquaculturists in Asia, 1970–1990

Note: … = not reported.

By far the majority of fishers are active in Asia. However, it appears that the number of marine fishers in that region declined between 1980 and 1990. However, the number of “unspecified” fishers considerably increased over the same period. It is not known whether and to what extent marine fishers were included in the category of “unspecified fishers”.

Table 3 - Number of fishers and aquaculturists in Africa, 1970–1990

Note: … = not reported.

Similarly, in Africa, it cannot be determined to what extent the number of marine fishers and inland fishers had changed, because they were reported under the category “unspecified” in some years and under their original categories in other years.

The tables show that from the figures routinely reported by FAO, little can be said of the trends in the number of marine and coastal fishers, because far too many fishers and aquaculturists were categorized as “unspecified” fishers. Apart from the global and regional levels, this was also found to be the case in five of the six countries covered by the study, namely Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Tanzania, where the number of marine fishers is not available at all in the FAO statistics, or only for certain years.

In order to obtain a realistic and differentiated picture with regard to demographic trends among marine fishers in the countries covered by the study, namely the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Tanzania and Senegal, macro-level analysis, desk studies and expert interviews were carried out by the Project. The findings of these macro-level studies are summarized in the following sections.

The Philippines ⁵

General demographic trends

The latest census data for the Philippines shows 68.6 million inhabitants in 1995 (National Statistics Office of the Philippines, 1996), making the Philippines the thirteenth most populated country in the world. The annual growth rate of the population slightly decreased from 2.35 percent in 1990 to 2.32 percent in 1995. The latter rate translates into an increase in population of 1.9 million per year.

⁵ This section is largely based on Baylon (1997).

Table 4 shows a comparison of the socioeconomic and demographic indicators in the Philippines for the census years 1970, 1980 and 1990 (National Statistics Office of the Philippines, 1974, 1983, 1992).

The indicators in the table show a decreasing population growth rate, consistent with the declining total fertility rate, lower average household size and rising age at marriage. Moreover, an accelerating increase in urban population took place, mainly as a result of people migrating from rural areas to seek employment in the cities.

Table 4 - Socioeconomic and demographic indicators for the Philippines, 1970–1990.

Note: … = not reported.

Fisheries

In 1994, the Philippines was ranked the twelfth largest fish producer in the world and the second biggest producer of tuna and tuna-like fishes in Southeast Asia (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. 1995). The fishing industry accounted for 3.9 percent and 4.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product at current and constant prices, respectively. The fishing industry provided a livelihood for about one million people in the Philippines, or five percent of the country's labour force. The total fish production in the Philippines for 1994 was 2.69 million tonnes and valued at P81.30 billion, registering increases of 1.47 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The largest share of fish production, in terms of quantity, came from small-scale municipal fisheries (38 percent), followed by medium and large-scale commercial fisheries (33 percent) and by aquaculture (29 percent). In terms of value, the highest share came from aquaculture (43 percent), followed by municipal fisheries (31 percent) and medium and large-scale commercial fisheries (26 percent). Aquaculture consists mainly of fishponds and sea-farming activities in the coastal areas.

Commercial fisheries is defined as involving the use of boats greater than three gross tonnes, while municipal fisheries uses boats of three gross tonnes or less.

Trends and changes in municipal fisheries

In the Philippines, coastal small-scale fishers are referred to as municipal fishers. Municipal fishers are fishers who catch fish without a boat or using a boat of three gross tonnes or less and who fish in inshore areas. Table 5 shows trends in municipal fisheries over the last three decades.

Table 5 - Number of municipal fisherfolk in the Philippines, 1970–1995

Note: … = not reported.

The table shows that from 1970 to 1980 the population of municipal fisherfolk increased by 126 percent. The increase between 1980 and 1990 was much smaller, only 6.6 percent. Since then the number of coastal small-scale fishers in the Philippines declined drastically, by 29.9 percent.

The large increase — much larger than the population growth rate — over the period 1970–1980 suggests that fishing provided a superior source of income in coastal areas and attracted considerable labour from other sectors of the rural economy. The considerable decline in the number of coastal fishers in the early nineties show that this was no longer the case. A large number of people once again moved out of fisheries.

In 1995, however, commercial, medium and large-scale marine capture fisheries expanded, employing 56 715 fishers. Aquaculture also expanded considerably, mostly in coastal areas. It more than doubled from 1990 to 1995, employing 258 480 people then. In 1995, therefore, the total number of commercial and municipal marine fishers and (mainly coastal) fish farmers was 990 872, slightly higher than the number of municipal fishers in 1990. It seems that in the nineties, many municipal fishers moved to fish culture and commercial marine capture fisheries.

Table 6 - Fish production in the Philippines, 1970–1993 (tonnes)⁶

Note: … = not reported.

⁶ See Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 1994.

Table 6 shows the municipal fisheries production, which follows a similar trend as the data of Table 5. From 1970 to 1980, the production of municipal fisheries increased by 152 percent. From 1980 to 1990, the increase was 50 percent. From 1991 onwards, the municipal fisheries production started to decline, around the same time as the number of municipal fishers.

Fisheries resources and coastal environment

While commercial marine fisheries and aquaculture production steadily increased, the figures indicate a gradual leveling off of total marine fisheries production. This tendency could be attributed to the overexploitation of fishery resources and to the destruction of fish habitats, e.g. coral reefs and mangroves. About 70 percent of the coral reefs were known to have suffered major damage, while only 30 percent of the original 450 000 hectares of mangroves still remain.

Malaysia ⁷

General demographic trends

In 1991, the total population in Malaysia was 18.4 million (see Table 7). The annual growth rate fluctuated around 2.5 percent between 1947–1957, 2.3 percent between 1970–1980 and 2.6 percent between 1980–1991 (Malaysia Department of Statistics, 1995).

The population is expected to reach 32 million in the year 2020 with an average growth rate of 1.7 percent (Masitah, 1995). In 1994, Malaysia's estimated mid-year population stood at 19.6 million (Malaysia Department of Statistics, 1996).

Based on the 1991 census, the population of Peninsular Malaysia categorized as fishing households was estimated at 63 600, which is roughly 0.45 percent of the total population of 14.1 million.

Population distribution

Approximately 50.7 percent of the Malaysian population resided in urban areas in 1991. This proportion is higher than the one shown in previous censuses, but this is partly because of the new, wider definition of urban areas (Malaysia Department of Statistics, 1983).

Fertility and mortality

As shown in the table below, the total fertility rate in Malaysia is following a downward trend, decreasing by one third from 5.0 live births per woman in 1970 to 3.3 in 1991. Mortality declined steadily, as shown by more increases of more than 10 percent in life expectancies and the decline of infant mortality. The trend of lower fertility and reduction in birth and death rates results in fewer children being born and longer life expectancies. In the long run this will increase old age dependency.

The figures indicate that Malaysia is undergoing a demographic transition. Both fertility and mortality rates are declining. The changes in fertility and mortality rates cause changes in the population age structure and family size.

⁷ This section is largely based on Kusairi, Tai & Tengku (1997).

Table 7 - Selected demographic indicators for Malaysia, 1970–1991

Age structure

The age structure of Malaysia's population is still young. 37 percent of the population was below age 15 in 1991 with a juvenile dependency ratio of 62 percent. The total dependency ratio continued to decline from 92.4 percent in 1970 to 68.2 percent in 1991.

Household size

Families are having fewer children with a greater chance of survival. This trend is reflected in the reduction of the average household size from 5.5 people in 1970 to 4.8 in 1991. The reduction in household size was found in both rural and urban Malaysia.

Average age at first marriage

The mean age at first marriage is on the increase, both in urban areas and in rural areas. It is somewhat lower in the latter. (Unfortunately, this indicator was not available separately for males and females.)

Median age

Fifty percent of the Malaysian population in 1970 was under 17.4 years of age. The median age increased to 19.6 years in 1980 and further to 21.9 in 1991 (See Table 7) indicating an older population age structure and an impending aging of population. Further, the median age of the urban population was older than the rural population, signifying the graying of the urban population.

Educational status

The educational status of the population can be assessed through school enrolment as well as through literacy ratios. The percent of the population aged six and above who have attended school increased from 77 percent in 1980 to 84 percent in 1991. The increase in school attendance was greater for females than for males. However, school attendance was still lower in rural areas than in urban areas (Malaysia Department of Statistics, 1995).

The literacy rate of the population above the age of ten in Malaysia in 1991 was 86 percent. The urban population was more literate (91 percent) than the rural population (81 percent).

Household income

The mean gross monthly income for households increased from RM 1 167 in 1990 to RM 2 007 in 1995. The percentage of households earning between RM 1000 and RM 3 000 per month increased during the same period from 33 percent to 47 percent, while the percentage of households earning less than RM 1 000 per month declined from 61 percent to 36 percent.

In line with the general improvement in household income, rural households also reported higher incomes. In 1990, the rural household monthly income was RM 951. It increased by 37 percent in 1995, to RM 1 300. Urban households recorded a higher increase (60 percent), from RM 1 617 in 1990 to RM 2 596 in 1995.

Health status

The health status of the population improved considerably as reflected in the demographic statistics. The improvement can be attributed to extensive health delivery systems, namely the Maternal and Child Health services (MCH) targeted for the rural population and disadvantaged groups in the urban areas. Owing to these services, maternal mortality and infant mortality have been reduced to rather low levels..

Population policies

The new population policy of the government aims at slowing down the decline of the population growth rate. The overall aim is still the reduction of the total fertility rate to the replacement level of 2.05, but this would be achieved by the year 2070 only. A stable population of around 70 million by the year 2100 is the long-term objective.

Fisheries

The marine fisheries sector in Malaysia has undergone rapid change during the past three decades. The remarkable development of the sector during the mid-sixties and seventies has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of fishing units, fisherfolk, motorized vessels and the expansion of total fish landings. One significant factor that provided considerable impetus to the fishery development during this period was the Government policy to eradicate poverty by improving productivity.

Rapid development and adoption of modern fishing technology in the sixties and seventies resulted in the dualistic character of the fishery sector in Peninsular Malaysia. The traditional fishery sector is typically small-scale, using vessels of less than 40 Gross Registered Tons (GRT) using traditional fishing gears. The inshore vessels operate within territorial waters twelve nautical miles from shore. The commercial sector uses larger vessels (greater than 40 GRT) that typically operate further offshore, using commercial gears such as trawls and purse seines.

The improvements in fishing technology and productivity in the sixties and seventies had severely negative impacts on the fish stocks in Peninsular Malaysia. By the eighties and early nineties much of the fish stocks, particularly in inshore areas on the West coast of Peninsular Malaysia, were overexploited. As a result, since the eighties fishery policies were oriented towards resource conservation and management of the fishery resources on a sustainable basis. During this period, inshore fishing fleets and the number of inshore fishers were reduced and consolidated in order to achieve the optimal level consistent with the sustainable resource objective. This has contributed towards the increased productivity of the hitherto low productivity traditional fisheries sector.

The proclamation of the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the early eighties extended the fishery jurisdiction and expanded the resource base for Malaysia. The development of offshore fishing was given greater emphasis. By issuing licenses, private entrepreneurs and inshore fishers were encouraged to invest in offshore fishing. The development of offshore fishing has increased the production capacity and productivity of marine fishery in Peninsular Malaysia, particularly on the East coast.

Trend in the number of fishers

Statistics on the number of fishers in Malaysia refer to fishers who were working on mostly small and medium-scale licensed fishing vessels. As can be seen from Table 8 (based on FAO, 1999a, and Malaysian fisheries statistics), the number has been steadily increasing from 1970 to 1980. This increase was part of the rapid expansion of the fishing industry. Since then, the trend has been reversed. The number of fishers steadily declined to its lowest level in 1993. This was probably because of the overexploited state of the fishery resources and government measures reducing the number of licensed fishing vessels in order to conserve and rehabilitate marine resources.

Besides the deliberate Government policy of reducing the number of fishers, especially in the inshore coastal areas, the gradual decline in the number of fishers is also related to improved employment opportunities in other sectors. The awareness of fisherfolk themselves of these changes and processes, along with developments at the micro-level will be detailed further below.

Table 8 - Number of fishers working on licensed fishing vessels in Malaysia, 1970–1995

Marine fish landings

The trend in marine fish landings in Peninsular Malaysia (Table 9) can be divided into three stages. Between 1969 and 1981, landings increased by about 115 percent from about 303 to 649 thousand tonnes. However, the trend was reversed between 1981 and 1986, when they decreased to about 446 thousand tonnes. In the third stage, from 1987 to 1993, landings again increased from 741 to 792 thousand tonnes, because of the development of offshore fishing. Generally, the West Coast has contributed to a larger proportion of the Peninsular Malaysia's marine landings compared to the East Coast, but the gap between these two coasts has been narrowing in recent years (see Table 9).

Table 9 - Marine fish landings in Peninsular Malaysia, 1969–1992 (tonnes)

State of coastal environment - Mangrove areas

Mangrove areas generally enhance the availability of food in areas near the shore. Because of this and their ability to provide shelter or protection from predators, mangrove areas function as significant nurseries or spawning grounds for many fish species. The extent of mangrove areas is one indicator of the state of the coastal environment that will influence fish productivity.

Table 10 shows the transformation in the area of mangrove reserves in Malaysia between 1980 and 1990. Except for Malacca, all states showed decreases in mangrove areas. In Peninsular Malaysia, the reduction was more pronounced on the East Coast than on the West Coast. The percentage of destruction of mangrove areas in Sarawak was above the national average, while the percentage in Sabah was lower. Figures for the period 1955–1980 showed that the main reason for the conversion of mangrove forests to non-forestry use was agriculture (85 percent). Aquaculture accounted for only four percent of the conversions.

Table 10 - Mangrove areas in Malaysia, 1980–1990 (ha)

The level of the exploitation of fisheries resources may be inferred from data on (a) the ratio of so-called trash fish to total landings and (b) the catch per unit of fishing effort (table 11).

Table 11 - Indicators of exploitation of fisheries resources in Peninsular Malaysia, 1970–1991

The term “trash fish” denotes juvenile and undersized fish of commercially valuable and target species, as well as fish belonging to commercially non-valuable and non-target species that are generally not used for human consumption but converted to fishmeal used e.g. as feed or fertilizer. An increasing share of trash fish in overall landings is an indication of gross overfishing. The landings of trash fish as a part of total landings increased considerably from 1970 to 1991 in Peninsular Malaysia. The increase was very pronounced between 1980 and 1991.

Catch per vessel here refers to commercially valued species only, excluding shellfish and trash fish. That indicator of productivity decreased from 1970 to 1980 for the West Coast, indicating that fisheries resources in this region were being overexploited. The subsequent increase in the eighties reflects the government policy of controlling fishing effort. For the East Coast, the catch per vessel increased from 1970 to 1991. This contributed to an increase for Peninsular Malaysia as a whole over the period. The increase that occurred on the East Coast may be attributed to the government fishing effort control policy as well as to an increase in fisheries resources in the region because of the proclamation of the 200-mile EEZ and the subsequent expansion of the deep-sea fishing fleet. However, there are signs that the increase is subsiding.

Bangladesh ⁸

General demographic trends

Bangladesh is the ninth most populous country of the world, with an estimated population of 129 million in 2000 (United Nations, 1999). In 1995, its population density was 819 persons per square kilometer — the highest in the world for a country of such a size (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1996). Rapid population growth has been one of the greatest hindrances to development in Bangladesh. It has resulted in an enormous pressure on all types of resources including land, employment and a high dependency ratio. It has also exacerbated the problems of environmental degradation and overextended social services.

In recent years, however, Bangladesh has achieved some success in reducing the population growth rate, as a result of highly concerted family planning efforts launched by government and non-governmental organizations. Nevertheless, the population growth rate is still high and its reduction is a major aim of the Government. The short-term goal is to achieve a net reproduction rate of one by the year 2005. Thus, the population growth rate would decline from around 1.85 percent in 1995 to 1.23 percent in 2005 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1996).

The percentage of the rural population decreased from 84 percent in 1981 to 78 percent in 1995 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1996). Trends in the size and growth rate of the total population, rural population and marine fishers during 1980–1994) are summarized in Table 12. The number of marine fishers increased by some 37 percent during the period, implying with an average annual growth rate of 2.5 percent. This is faster than the rates at which both the rural and total population increased — respectively 1.6 percent and 2.1 percent.

The main reasons for the rapidly increasing number of marine fishers are: (a) the lack of occupational diversification and mobility in coastal fishing communities; (b) migration from different islands to coastal areas because of land erosion and for better settlement; (c) the fact that the rural poor turned to fishing from other occupations. However, though the number of fishers increased over time, a decreasing trend in their rate of growth can be observed.

⁸ This section is largely based on Rezaul (1997).

Table 12 - Size and growth rate of total and rural population and marine fishers in Bangladesh, 1980–1994 ⁹

Fertility and mortality

Changes in key fertility indicators for total and rural Bangladesh are shown in Table 13.

Table 13 - Fertility indicators: Bangladesh, national and rural population, 1981–1995 ¹⁰

The table indicates a decreasing trend in fertility rates of both the general and rural population. The national crude birth rate decreased from 34.6 per thousand in 1981 to 26.9 in 1995. In rural areas, a higher crude birth rate was found than in urban areas. The total fertility rate in Bangladesh declined from 5.04 in 1981 to 3.50 in 1995. Declining trends were also found in the gross reproduction rate and in the net reproduction rate both rurally and nationally.

Fertility rate indicators in rural Bangladesh were higher than the national average. High rural fertility is related to lack of education, lack of female employment, lack of awareness of family planning, high infant mortality, non-availability of clinical aids to family planning, early marriage and other factors.

Table 14 - Mortality indicators: Bangladesh, national and rural population, 1981–1995 ¹¹

Table 14 shows that mortality, both in terms of the national average and in rural areas of Bangladesh, has declined over the years, but is still high. The decline in infant mortality - a crucial component of overall mortality - has been slower in the rural areas than at national level. The same trend is apparent regarding maternal mortality (which, although a very small component of overall mortality, is extremely indicative of women's condition). The fact is that health facilities are not as developed in rural areas as in urban areas. More generally, lack of education, sanitation, communication, poverty, etc. are cited as causes of higher mortality in rural areas of Bangladesh.

⁹ Table based on information contained in: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (1996b: 28, 168); Rezaul & Hossain (1996a); and Liaquat (1996).
¹⁰ See Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (1987: 51; 1994: 37; 1996:2).
¹¹ Ibid.

Overall, the life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined increased from 46 years in 1974 to 58 years in 1995 (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1996: 3; 1982: 327). This is a moderate increase, which leaves life expectancy at a relatively low level.

Chapter 5 will examine fertility and mortality patterns and other demographic characteristics in fishing communities, based on the household survey conducted by the Project.

Household size

The average household size in marine fishing communities in Bangladesh was remarkably higher than the national average, as shown in Table 15. One reason for the larger household sizes in fishing communities seems to be the demand for labour in marine fishing, where work groups are still largely based on kin groups. This seems to create social conditions more conducive to the formation of large residence units than in other population segments. A downward trend in household size can be observed in all categories, however, and that decline was faster among fishers.