Fisheries management in the social domain: perspectives from Tanzania's Lake Victoria fishery

For a long time, the Tanzanian Fisheries Department has managed Tanzanian fisheries without incorporating other stakeholders within its management framework. On lake Victoria, the persistent use of illegal fishing gear and declining catches have led the government to realize that this system of fisheries management may no longer be viable, and have sought to incorporate fishing communities into the management structure. Through the creation of beach management units (BMUs), the Fisheries Departments have sought to persuade fishing communities to implement and enforce Tanzania's fishing regulations and to monitor the fishery. In this paper we explore a recently gathered data set that yields information on, amongst others, how Tanzanian fishing communities perceive the state of their resource base, how they view their relationship with the Fisheries Department, the efficacy of fishing regulations and other variables. We draw on a series of criteria developed by Ostron (1990) for institutional 'robustness' to explore various areas of institutional development on Lake Victoria, and to try and anticipate how the BMUs will fare. We argue there are many socio-political and economic factors that will determine how communities will receive and perceive their responsibilities towards government-imposed administrative structures at the local level, these will become 'socialized' such that they will vary from place to place. While this may bode well for problems of heterogeneity, it does not necessarily mean that fisheries management objective on Lake Victoria will be met

Artisanal fisheries status and sustainable management options in Teknaf coast, Bangladesh

The study was an endeavor to bring forward a concise, factual description of the salient features of the present status of artisanal fisheries resources and its management for sustainable development of fishing communities in Teknaf coast, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This study was conducted through 14 fishing villages of 4 Unions in Teknaf Upazila. As a hub of various fisheries deeds, a comprehensive coastal fisheries census, conducted on the coast during the study period, revealed that about 566 fishing fleet of two types, 1263 fishing gears of seven kinds, 6466 fishermen were being involved in fishing at Naaf river estuary. The catch composition of the coastal fishing was found 52 finfish species, 10 shrimp and 3 crabs. The unique potentialities provided by mostly affluent fisheries resources are needed to be tapped and channelized in the appropriate direction for maintaining a paragon of these fisheries resources of coastal area and for pursuing ecologically sustainable development via environment friendly intrinsic exploration and exploitation. “Community Based Fisheries Co-management” program should initiate immediately for the fisherman community of Naaf river estuary of Teknaf coastal region. This will go along way to help sustain the coastal fisheries resources with active participation of the fishermen

Co-managerial potentials for Tanzania's Lake Victoria fisheries perspectives from two landing sites

Two landing sites were chosen in Tanzania for the 4-beaches survey. The former, Ihale, is a large one with an avarage of 120 boats and direct connections to the fish processing factories. The latter, Mwasonge, is one of the smallest landing sites in the Mwanza region with totally different characteristics. This book section aims to analyse the results from these two sites in the context of the co-management potentialities in Tanzania and more generally on the Lake Victoria region.

Mangrove rehabilitation and coastal resource management: a case study of Cogtong Bay, Philippines

The Cogtong Bay experience represents a bold attempt to pursue a shared responsibility between the government and local residents for rehabilitating coastal resources. Some of the factors that provided the impetus to co-management arrangements were the recognition of resource management problems, dependence on coastal resources for livelihood and the desire for more sustainable resource use. This paper draws attention to the importance of legitimate user/property rights, vigilant law enforcement efforts, common commitment among stakeholders and continuing support from local leadership in viable co-management arrangements.

Impact evaluation of community-based coastal resource management projects in the Philippines

The benefits of decentralizing the management of coastal resources to local governments and resource users have long been recognized, but the best systems for coastal resources management depend on many factors. A number of community-based management and co-management projects were started in the Philippines in the early 1980s. This report describes a comparative assessment of these projects to determine where improvements can be made in the design of future community-based coastal resource management projects. Early and continuing involvement by project beneficiaries is one of the factors that contributes to the success of the project development, implementation, and evaluation.

Assessment of the performance of beach management units (BMUs) on Lakes Victoria, Albert, Kyoga and George

Until the late 1990s the fisheries of Ugandan lakes had been managed by government where stakeholders were excluded from the decision-making process. In order to involve other stakeholders, co-management was adopted. Operationalising Co-management on landing sites has led to the formation of BMUs at gazetted landing sites. A BMU is made up of a BMU assembly and the BMU committee that it elects. A BMU committee should be: 30% boat owners; 30% boat barias 30% including fish processors, boat makers, local gear makers and repairers, fishing input dealers and managers and 10% fish mongers/traders; and if possible, 30% women. To operate at a particular landing site, one must be registered with the BMU. The BMU assembly is the supreme organ of a BMU empowered to elect, approve and remove the BMU committee

Status of the beach management units development in Uganda

Fisheries plays a significant and important part in the economy of the country contributing to foreign exchange, food security and employment creation. Lake Victoria contributes over 50% of the total annual fish catch. The purpose of fisheries management is to ensure conservation, protection, proper use, economic efficiency and equitable distribution of the fisheries resources both for the present and future generations through sustainable utilization. The earliest fisheries were mainly at the subsistence level. Fishing gear consisted of locally made basket traps, hooks and seine nets of papyrus. Fishing effort begun to increase with the introduction of more efficient flax gillnets in 1905. Fisheries management in Uganda started in 1914. Before then, the fishery was under some form of traditional management based on the do and don'ts. History shows that the Baganda had strong spiritual beliefs in respect of "god Mukasa" (god of the Lake) and these indirectly contributed to sustainable management of the lake. If a fisherman neglected to comply witt'l any of the ceremonies related to fishing he was expected to encounter a bad omen (Rev. Roscoe, 1965) However, with the introduction of the nylon gill nets, which could catch more fish, traditional management regime broke down. By 1955 the indigenous fish species like Oreochromis variabilis and Oreochromis esculentus had greatly declined in catches. Decline in catches led to introduction of poor fishing methods because of competition for fish. Government in an attempt to regulate the fishing irldustry enacted the first Fisheries Ordinance in 1951 and recruited Fisheries Officers to enforce them. The government put in place minimum net mesh-sizes and Fisheries Officers arrested fishermen without explaining the reason. This led to continued poor fishing practices. The development of government centred management systems led to increased alienation of resource users and to wilful disregard of specific regulations. The realisation of the problems faced by the central management system led to the recognition that user groups need to be actively involved in fisheries management if the systems are to be consistent with sustainable fisheries and be legitimate. Community participation in fisheries management under the Comanagement approach has been adopted in Lake Victoria including other water bodies.

Current policies, laws and regulations in relation to management of Kyoga basin lakes

For the formulation of policies, laws and regulations for management of fisheries and aquatic systems there is a requirement for scientific knowledge to guide in this formulation. Such knowledge is used to guide in sustainable management of capture fisheries, integrating lake productivity processes into fisheries management, prevention of pollution and eutrophication of the aquatic environment, control of invasive weeds e.g. water hyacinth, enhancement of aquaculture production, reduction of post-harvest fish losses and ensuring fish quality, development of options for optimization of socio-economic benefits from fisheries and for co-management.

SAMUDRA Report, No. 48, November 2007

Misconceptions, Outright Prejudice - Fishing rights. The Dilemma of the Nile Perch - Africa: Ecolabelling. Fishing Safely - Analysis: Safety at Sea. Shoring Up - Labour: Shore-based Workers. A Sustainable, Equitable, Small-scale Fisheries - Document: Traditional Communities. Getting Their Act Together - India: Co-management. Certifying the Uncertifiable? - Report: Industrial Aquaculture. Shocking Reality - Cambodia: Electro-fishing. Be Consultative, Participatory - Document: Indigenous Peoples. Towing the Line - Peru: Artisanal Shark Fishery. Declaration of Charter. (56 pp.)

STREAM Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp 1-17. October-December 2005

CONTENTS: Seaweed culture and farmer incomes in Bekasi, Indonesia, by A. Mauksit L. Maala and Aniza Suspita. Significant change for a self-help group, by Nguyen Song Ha. Conflict over fishing in Jharkhand, by Ashish Kumar. Two worlds across a highway, by William Savage. Critical steps in preparing coastal communities for effective policy changes, by Josephine P. Savaris. New guidelines on data collection and iniormation sharing for co-management, by Charlotte Howard.

Information access survey: Cambodia

As the Cambodian government begins to work more closely with local aquatic resources managers from poor rural communities, increased attention is being paid to the use of communication strategies and tools. In particular, the newly established Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) of the Department of Fisheries (DOF) is seeking mechanisms to share information about aquatic resources co-management practices and the livelihoods of people who depend upon the resources. The aim of this report is to identify and recommend methods of communication that are appropriate to aquatic resources management stakeholders, focusing in particular on poor rural communities. (Pdf contains 51 pages).

Regulation in Uganda's Lake Victoria fishery: historical and contemporary conditions

This paper sets out to explore how Uganda's lake Victoria fishery has been managed. It explores the management of the fishery during the protectorate period, and argues that the apparent success of regulation during this time may be attributed to the very heightened controls arising from Sleeping Sickness Controls. Once these were removed, entry into the fishery was rapid and uncontrolled, and the resultant impact on fish stocks was quickly felt. With its huge area, considerable shoreline, and innumerable islands, the lake Victoria fisheries service was quickly overwhelmed and disbanded as a result. In the early independence years, the Republic's government focused on developing the fishery, plans thwarted by turmoil of, and following, Idi Amin's reign. More recently, the fishery has prospered from Uganda's entry into the Nile perch fillet export market, which ahs adversely affected stocks. We present and comment on recently collected data that considers fishers' impressions of the status of the fishery, regulations and future managerial possibilities, and comment on these in the light of recent changes to Uganda's fisheries administration

Fisheries legislation of Lake Victoria: present legislation and new developments

This paper provides an overview of fisheries legislation in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as far it concerns the administration of Lake Victoria's fishery. It also provides brief comment on the structure of these nations' fisheries departments and how they have evolved in recent years. The administration of Kenya's Lake Victoria fishery has changed very little since the introduction of the 1988 Fisheries Act. In Tanzania and Uganda, however, government policies of decentralization have had a profound impact on fisheries administration at a local level. This paper examines these changes and speculates about possible future management scenarios for these two countries

Community-based organizations on Lake Victoria: a lesson from the Tweyambe Fishing Enterprise in Muleba District, Kagera Region, Tanzania

This paper is aimed at government, non-government organizations, intergovernmental organizations and the general public as they work toward the development of their individual strategies and action plans. It has been recognized that community-based organizations have a particular relevance to the pursuit of sustainable resource management and may well contribute to the foundations of self-sustenance. Women on Lake Victoria, Tanzania presently face great challenges within the fishery. These include the lack of capital, interference by men, theft of fishing gear, time constraints and socio-cultural problems. In recent years, the fish trading and marketing sectors of the fishery, which have traditionally been dominated by women, have seen large incursions by male entrepreneurs. This move has endangered the role of women within the fishery. This paper focuses on the Tweyambe Fishing Enterprise (TFE), a well-known women's group based in Kasheno village in the Muleba District of Kagera Region in northwestern Tanzania. Inhabitants from the Haya ethnic group who make up some 95% of the population of Kagera Region dominate this village. The TFE has a series of initiatives aimed towards ecologically sound self-development

Who's doing what sustainably? Fishermen's perceptions of managerial responsibility on Lake Victoria, East Africa

This paper examines the data recently collected from Lake Victoria (SEDAWOG, 2000a). In the first section, it provides the results from the survey that examines fishermen's perceptions of the status of the resource base. In the second section, it starts with an examination of boundaries, followed by an examination of these data insofar as they relate to fishermen's understanding of roles. We conclude the paper with a brief discussion of what these findings mean for fisheries management on Lake Victoria in particular, and our understanding of co-managerial applications more generally