Construction and maintenance of artisanal fishing harbours and village landings

FAO TRAINING SERIES - 25

Construction and maintenance of artisanal fishing harbours and village landings

Text: J.A. Sciortino

Illustrations: J.A. Sciortino, A. Barcali, M. Carlesi

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome 1995

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.

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing and Multimedia Service, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by email to [email protected]

© FAO 1995

EDITORIAL NOTE

Construction and maintenance of artisanal fishing harbours and village landings; This manual is the latest in the training series of the Fishing Technology Service of FAO. It was conceived as a result of the increasing demand in many developing countries for safer, better and cleaner facilities for fishing vessels, particularly the smaller craft used by small-scale and artisanal fishermen and women.
During the preparation of the manual, FAO undertook the elaboration of an International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing that would include, inter alia, certain principles and guidelines concerning harbours and landing places for fishing vessels. Specific reference is made to the need for the competent authorities to adopt standards and follow guidelines for the design, construction and maintenance of harbours and landing places for fishing vessels in order to ensure:

safe havens for fishing vessels;

that fresh water supplies are available;

the provision of adequate sanitation arrangements;

that waste disposal systems (including oil and oily water) are provided;

that there would be no pollution from external sources (non-fisheries activities);

that there would not be any pollution arising from fisheries activities;

the provision of adequate servicing facilities for vessels, vendors and buyers;

that maintenance programmes include the monitoring of the effects on the environment of operations conducted at the facility;

compliance with relevant conventions concerning pollution of the aquatic environment; and, where appropriate

integration with other users as in the case of non-exclusive facilities for the fishing industry.

This manual will be used as reference material for the Annex to the Guidelines for Responsible Fishing Operations.

PREFACE Many fishing harbours started off as artisanal fishing boat shelters. When building an artisanal boat shelter, Proper use of the existing natural features (such as sheltered areas, open beaches or river mouths) will make it easier and cheaper to upgrade the shelter to a proper fishing harbour when needed.
This booklet has been written for small fishing communities to help them understand how to make the best use of their resources in building a good and serviceable shelter, without forgetting that one day the shelter may be upgraded to a fishing harbour.
To apply of some of the suggestions in this booklet, a basic knowledge of mathematics isrequired and the reader may have to obtain help from the local school-teacher or extension worker. In Chapter 9 you will find the drawing conventions, dimensions and weights used in this booklet.
The equipment required to carry out the work described in this booklet falls into two categories:

Expensive equipment that should be borrowed or leased from a central Government store or contractor with an operator.

Relatively cheap equipment that can be bought by the community and used by locally appointed people.

The booklet may also be useful for schools where fishing is taught and for training village harbour-masters.

FAO would very much like to know what readers think of this booklet, the language, style and pictures. Readers' comments, criticism and opinions will help us to make future books better. So please write to the Fishing Technology Service, Fishery Industries Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

Editorial note

Preface

1. FINDING AN IDEAL SITE