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FISHERIES ECONOMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARTISANAL FISHERIES OF THE MARINE SECTOR IN TANZANIA |
November 1983
RAF/79/065/WP/7/83
by
X.E. MAPUNDA
Mr. X. E. MAPUNDA
Senior Economist
Min. Natural Resources & Tourism
Box 9372
DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever by 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. The views expressed are those of the authors.
The Present State of the Artisanal Fisheries of the Marine Sector in Tanzania |
Tentative Guideline Policies for the Development of the Artisanal Fisheries |
The development of the small scale marine fisheries in Tanzania is influenced by conditions in the other sectors of the economy. The artisanal fisheries are particularly sensitive to the general conditions of the economy. The small scale fisheries sector (artisanal fisheries) plays a role that has devolved upon agriculture. Generally, the sector is characterised by underemployment, low incomes, retarded technology and low labour skills as a result of the dual nature of the economy.
This paper outlines the major constraints hindering the development of the small scale fisheries of the marine sector in Tanzania and provides tentative development policies for the upgrading of artisanal fisheries through improvement of catch, distribution and marketing.
The artisanal marine fisheries are by far the most important fisheries in the marine sector of Tanzania. They contribute over 50% of the total catch. It is because of this importance that government policy is directed towards the development of this sector through improvement in catch, preservation and marketing.
It is historically known that the artisanal fisheries have provided the economic foundation for most countries of the Southwest Indian Ocean region. For this role to continue there is a need to further establish whether there is any potential at all for the industry, whether it has a long run economic viability. Intuitive economic reasoning based on insufficient data on biological potential of the SWIO waters and the absence of developed off-shore fisheries, tends to suggest that there will continue to be a large fishing industry in the area for as far ahead as the economic future is foreseeable.
The waters of the Southwest Indian Ocean region are said to possess few rich fishing grounds, both in terms of the total size of the biomass of commercial species like tuna and in terms of its density and consequent ease of exploitation (Sharp 1982). While it is true that the fishery qualifies as a renewable resource, is not necessarily an inexhaustible one. However, during the course of time high intensities of effort could cause the extinction, or near extinction, of a number of fish stocks especially for those species for which there is a high degree of localization of the biomass, the anadromous species, pelagic species with a propensity for schooling such as sardines and the hunt for large individuals with low reproduction rates such as whales.
High levels of fishing effort in the waters of the Southwest Indian Ocean sector may in the long run cause a serious reduction in the size of the fish stock and the consequent rate of physical catch per unit of effort. There is no known evidence that such is now the case in the fishery for some of the more important commercial species. A continuing decline in the physical returns per unit of effort could as well reach a point where rising costs relative to market returns causes marginal fishing units to be withdrawn and fishing effort to be reduced on a substantial scale.
The Tanzanian Indian Ocean fishery is composed mainly of the inshore fishery which is a traditional activity carried on by independent fishermen in small boats usually using simple gear like traps, gillnets and handlines. These inshore fishermen mostly live in small "outports" of which hundreds are spread along the coast. Some inshore fishermen work alone, but usually they are organized in small crews. Most of these artisanal fishermen are confined to a short range of operation from their outports. The duration of their trips is counted in hours only, as they seldom stay out overnight. The length of the fishing season varies with weather conditions along the coast. Hoverer, rough weather sharply curtails the number of days on which fishing is possible. Generally, the artisanal fisheries which are exploited by a large number of fishermen are largely overexploited.
On the whole, the artisanal fishery is developed in terms of its potential. A much higher sustainable yield of fish may not be taken from the marine sector than now obtained. The under-developed state of fish processing, marketing and distribution structure has aggravated the under-development of the artisanal fisheries. Also, the fishermen are engaged in other economic activities such as subsistance farming to supplement their meagre fishing incomes. This practise and the lack of developed infrastructure, has led to the inadequate development of specilization and exchange between the fishery sector and other sectors in the economy. As such the artisanal fisheries sector has remained incapable of attaining high levels of productivity.
The main constraint on productivity in the artisanal fisheris is the extet of the fish stocks. This is the case because it is characterized by conditions of 'crowding', at least for the najor fisheries. In addition most marginal sites are over-fished. As a result, any increase or decrease in fishing effort at the margin of the artisanal fisheries has little effect on the immediate total catch, as the most productive sites remain fully exploited. For the marine sector of Tanzania, the total value of fish landed by artisanal fiheries has tended to rise steadily due to inflationary trends in the economy. The rising physical output per fisherman has led to a faster rise in the value of outpu per fisherman. Capital invested in the artisanal fisheries has been rising continuously over the years although the output/caital ratio has remained low. Table I below shows an increase of output/fisherman in the artisanal fisheries as a result of increased fishing efforts and transformation of the traditional fishery sector.
Since most artisanal fisheries in the marine sector have become more heavily exploited, the desirable policy is for the country to put emphasis on the development of aquaculture as a means of supplementing marine production, regulating seasonal supply of fresh fish and also for redeploying the fishermen as away of reducing fishing effort. But problems of capital shortage, techniques of fish farm construction, and management constrain such an undertaking.
To improve conditions of the artisanal fisheries, it is necessary to improve conditions both with respect to production of fish and with respect to demand for fish so that any greater volume of catch can be achieved. Supply from the artisanal fisheries can be increased by the small scale fishermen fishing larger number of days and fishing on more productive grounds, using better techniques such as purse seining.
The other aspect of increasing supply is to give fishermen an incentive to fish for the market. This means they have to spend a larger part of their time fishing, specialize and increase their fishing productivity. An incentive for fishermen can be provided by way of offering them sufficient prices for larger amounts of fish so that they can sell more fish. The way to offer to buy more fish from then is to improve markets so that they can absorb more fish.
Development of the artisanal fishery could be achieved if export of fish (tuna and shrimps) to international markets could be developed. This could be done without restricting the domestic supply.
The level of development of the artisanal fisheries differs from country to country in the SWIO region. For any gains to be realized, coordination of training programmes through movement and exchange of personnel and facilities would have to be enhanced. This would lead to cost advantages. This could further be developed by the establishment of a regional fisheries training centre for the eight states. For this, undoubtedly economies could be achieved by avoiding duplication of expensive equipment. Other cost advantages would include improved information flow and understanding of ongoing development work in the different national sectors.
The total amount of fish that is marketed from the marine sector is estimated to be within the vicinity of 30,000 tons. Close to 80% of the fish is sold as processed fish and the remaining 20% as fresh fish (Rupamoorthy 1981). Available information indicates that the coastal belt, has a relatively high consumption rate of fish. The annual consumption of all fish is about 30 kg per capital in the marine belt and is about 5 - 10 kg per capita in the hinterland.
At present, there is no effective central marketing agency for the villages. Traders buy fish at low prices. The traders' visits range from daily to irregularly depending on the demand for fish and distances of the villages from the major towns along the coast and the city of Dar-es-Salaam. Hence, prices of fish are attributed to the variable costs of transportation. Prices tend to be lower further away from the towns.
The domestic demand for fish could increase if supply could extend to the hinterland, inland towns and rural areas of the other regions of the country where potential demand is estimated to be ten times that of the coastal belt.
The inadequate communications and lack of transport facilities have tended to create a sensitive market for the fishermen with a low price elasticity of demand as prices fluctuate with the level of daily catches. The quantity of fish sold in international markets from the artisanal fisheries is extremely limited.
Given the prevailing economic and social situation of the artisanal fisheries manifested by the low incomes of the fishermen, future increase in catches can be realized by encouraging fishermen to group themselves in cooperatives with a view to promoting their economic and social welfare through the provision of infrastructure, marketing and credit facilities. Such cooperatives would provide fishermen training in engine use, navigation and principles of fisheries management.
Given the very low technology in the sector, it is desirable to intensify and maintain the present regional programme in order to undertake and assist the sector with all the necessary experience and background information in the development and application of appropriate techniques through demonstration and extension and also to assist in the formulation and promotion of viable investment projects. Such an approach could emphasize also the dissemination and exchange of information.
At present, there is no institutional framework for effective execution of small scale fisheries development programmes. So any new fishing techniques and experiences to be introduced in the artisanal sector must be the appropriate ones and within the competence of the small scale fishermen.
When the market for fih is adequately expanded both by better distribution system within the country and by better trading opportunities, it will be necessary to expand the artisanal fishery considerably to meet the additional effective demand. Also, if the country moves to a more advanced economic stage of higher productivity where labour becomes relatively more scarce and underemployment and unemployment are no longer a factor, it will be necessary to look for more capital intensive techniques of fishing. At such a stage, the artisanal fishermen may have to be upgraded to run large scale fishing operations.
For future increase in productivity in the artisanal fisheries, there is need for a wide diffusion of practical fisheries education. A more genuine policy vehicle for improving markets, distribution and reinvestment would be for the artisanal fishermen to progress slowly, mastering simple techniques before they attempt to employ complicated ones, practising labour intensive fishing before proceeding to capital intensive fishing.
(1) Country Statements presented at the Regional Seminar on Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of Fisheries in Exclusive Economic Zones - Mahé, Seycheles, 20 to 25 September, 1982.
(2) Rupamoorthy & Mapunda, X. - National Food Strategy: the Fisheries Sector.
(3) Sharp, Gary D. 1982 - Areas of potentially successful exploitation of Tuna in the Indian Ocean with emphasis on Surface Methods.