ABSTRACT

Fish stocks are widely reported to be in decline in many of the world's oceans and inland water bodies. While this poses significant environmental problems, a major concern is the impact of these declines on millions of people who depend on fish as a source of both food and livelihood. Efforts to manage fish stocks for sustainable production have, in the past, focused on maintaining optimal productivity by managing fishing effort and catch limitations. More recently, acknowledging the intrinsic role of humans within the fisheries system has led to a more inclusive approach to integrate social, economic, and biological objectives within fisheries management. Today, the particular importance of fish and fisheries to the world's poor suggests a need to take a pro-poor approach to fisheries management to ensure that benefits from remaining fish stocks continue to contribute to food security and livelihoods of the poor.

To effectively improve fisheries management for the benefit of the poor, this paper argues that management approaches must address the inherent complexity and heterogeneity found in fisheries, and the differing needs of both fishers and non-fishers, for whom fish plays a role as a source of food, income, and employment. We conclude that understanding the diverse nature of fishery activities and the role they play in rural livelihoods is essential if we are to avoid making potentially damaging assumptions about the nature of fishing and the contribution of fish to the lives of the poor, leading to unintended interventional outcomes. We also argue that fishers are not passive beneficiaries of interventions, but rather ‘drivers of change’ responding to the opportunities and constraints with which they are presented.

INTRODUCTION

As fish stocks are reported to be in decline throughout many of the world's oceans and inland areas (e.g., Worm et al. 2006; Wong et al. 2007; Garcia and Newton, 1997), concerns have been increasing in recent years not only for the environmental impact of such declines, but also for the potential effects of fish stock decline on the millions of people around the world who depend on fish as both a source of food and livelihood.