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| | | Fisheries and economic development |
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|  Technology transfer projects in the small-scale sector have, by and large, failed to realize their objectives. Conventional strategies have seen development primarily as a series of technical transfers aimed at boosting production and generating wealth. In practice, conventional projects usually target medium- to large-scale "progressive" producers, supporting them with technology, credit and extension advice in the hope that improvements will gradually extend to more "backward" strata of rural society. In many cases, however, the channelling of development assistance to the better off has led to concentration of capital and the marginalization of small-scale fishers.A recent evaluation found that half of rural development projects funded by the World Bank in Africa were outright failures. A review of assistance to agricultural cooperatives reported similar results. A study by the International Labour Organization of "poverty-oriented" projects worldwide showed that the poorest were excluded from activities and benefits.The basic fault in the conventional approach is that the rural poor are rarely consulted in development planning and usually have no active role in development activities. This is because the vast majority of the poor have no organizational structure to represent their interests. Isolated, undereducated and often dependent on the rural elite, they lack the means to win greater access to resources and markets, and to prevent the imposition of unworkable programmes or technologies.The fisheries sector is rarely a strategic sector for national economic development. Although it plays a prominent role in only a few countries such as Iceland, Namibia, Maldives and other small island developing states rich in fishery resources relative to their populations, it is nonetheless an important economic activity in many coastal regions of the world. Indeed, in many countries, fish export is a major contributor to foreign exchange earnings, often ranking far higher than other agricultural commodities. In 1998 some forty percent of the world fish production was traded with an export value in excess of US$50 billion. The major trade flow - from south to north - underlines the significance of this sector for the trade balance of many developing countries. Licensing fees of foreign fishing fleets are another source of foreign exchange revenue from marine fishery resources, especially in West African and South Pacific countries. | | | | Most negative impacts result from the fact that resources used for fisheries cannot be used by other sectors. The "thinning" effect of fisheries on the biomass reduces the interest of a fished area to tourism and recreation. Damage to fish habitats caused by some destructive fishing practices (e.g. dynamite) are deterrents to tourism. The destruction of coastal wetlands and mangrove areas by aquaculture pond construction and water pollution by intensive coastal aquaculture can have the same sort of effect. The presence of set fishing gear or aquaculture installations can be an impediment to navigation and tourism (through "hard" occupation of space and aesthetic damage to landscape) and the development of these activities competing for space need to be carefully integrated. | | | | Negative impacts can also reflect a misallocation of development resources. If heavily subsidized, the fishery sector may, however, be drawing excessive economic resources that could otherwise be used for other developments. In addition, if overdeveloped, the fishery sector may also be drawing on excessive fishery resources that will not be available for future generations. | | | | The more considerable and substantial contribution of fisheries worldwide is the supply of highly nutritious animal protein for human consumption and the employment and income generation in often-remote coastal areas. While globally some seventeen percent of the animal protein supply is derived from fisheries, in many developing countries - especially in the Asian region that is home to nearly two-thirds of the world's population - this share is above fifty percent. Finally, the growing importance of recreational fishing is also notable, especially as its contribution to economic benefits is often difficult to assess and still insufficiently recognized. | | | | Nature of positive impacts | | | | The fisheries sector usually makes a valuable contribution to economic development of coastal areas. The relative dispersion of coastal small-scale fisheries adds to maintaining economically viable rural communities and balancing the trend towards growing coastal urbanization. In history, fisheries have often been the basis for human settlements and coastal development in both the rural and urban environments. For example, Iceland was established as a fishing settlement and the United States owes a lot to the cod fisheries. In Africa, artisanal fisheries often generate the capital needed by fisher-farmers to invest in agriculture. In well-managed fisheries, high resource rents can be generated and used to finance investments within or outside the sector. The sight of fishing activities (e.g. ports, fishing boats, landing sites and fish markets) is attractive to many people and often has considerable aesthetic value to both those living permanently in the area and tourists. | | | | In addition to its direct contribution, the indirect multiplier effects of the fisheries sector on economic development are often significant through intrasectoral interactions (e.g. between capture fisheries and ancillary activities such as net-making, or between capture fisheries and aquaculture through the supply of fishmeal), as well as intersectoral interactions (e.g. between forestry and fisheries through the supply of timber for boat-building, or between agriculture and aquaculture through the supply of feed). Fishing or fish farming is often undertaken next to other economic household activities including farming and small trade. These multiple economic occupations not only bridge the often-great seasonality in the abundance of fishery resources, but also insure against risks of failing production in any one of these activities. Moreover, these complementary pursuits may in some cases determine part of the fisheries sector dynamics; for example, the supply of capital and labour of the fishing activity may evolve in close relation to agricultural activities undertaken by the household. | | | | The infrastructure developed for fisheries (feeder roads, landing sites and coastal havens, water-retaining ponds) tend to trigger further economic developments in other sectors such as tourism or agriculture. | | | | An important contribution of the sector is the employment opportunities it generates, especially in remote and marginal areas. And not only in fishing but also in boat-building and maintenance, mechanical workshops for engines and gear, net-making and repair, handling, processing, packing and transport. In developing countries, it is estimated that some 36 million fishers (including those engaged in production, harvesting and landing site-based activities) are dependent for all or part of their livelihoods on fisheries. Together with their dependents, as many as 200 million people may rely on fisheries for their livelihood. The rapid development of aquaculture, for the local and export markets, and its rapid transformation in many areas into a commercial or semi-industrial activity is also contributing substantially to the development of rural areas. | | | | The fisheries sector can also be an inexpensive "observer" and, potentially, "guardian" of the aquatic resources and environment of a country or a region, capable of alerting the relevant authorities in case of some major hazard such as pollution. Fishers and fish farmers often first witness major changes in ecosystems. Under this angle, and provided fisheries adopt a responsible attitude "across the board", as provided in the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, fisheries could significantly increase their future contribution to sustainable development. | | | | Negative impacts | | | | |
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