Cooperatives in the small-scale fisheries sector are a way of maximizing long-term community benefits to deal with the threats of fisheries mismanagement, livelihood insecurity and poverty – harsh realities for many of the world’s small-scale fishers. Communities with successful community-based organizations are better off than those without (Ostrom, 1990). Successful cooperatives are possible, feasible and desirable and play an important role in community development. Cooperatives have the potential to empower small-scale fishers against environmental and socio- economic shocks such as catch shortfalls, sickness and death in their families, natural disasters and hunger.Latest estimates indicate that small-scale fisheries contribute more than half of the world’s marine and inland fish catches, most of which are used for human consumption. Small-scale fisheries employ more than 90 percent (33 million) of the world’s 36 million capture fishers, and another 107 million people in fish processing, distribution and marketing (Mills et al., 2011); about 47 percent of these people are women. Although small-scale fishers supply most of the fish consumed in the developing world, many of them are extremely food-insecure and lack access to the resources and opportunities they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. FAO (2002) reports that 5.8 million small-scale fishers earn less than USD 1 a day. Women in fisheries are particularly marginalized. The 2008 Global Conference on Small-scale Fisheries recognized that “while for historical reasons the term ‘cooperatives’ can have a negative connotation, it is generally accepted that cooperatives could improve the resilience and stability of fishing communities” (FAO, 2009). Cooperatives can: i) increase fishers’ price- negotiating power with market intermediaries, help stabilize markets, improve post- harvest practices and facilities, provide marketing logistics and information, and facilitate investment in shared structures such as ice plants and fish processing facilities; ii) increase market competition by setting up auctioning systems; iii) use their greater negotiating power to make cost-saving bulk purchases of fishing gear, engines, equipment and fuel and to advocate with government; and iv) facilitate microcredit schemes for fishers, to reduce their dependency on intermediaries and give them greater freedom in selecting buyers.
These case studies show how fisheries cooperatives contribute to improving the conditions of small-scale fishers around the globe.