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A Sustainable Future for Small Coastal Fishing Communities
Paper presented at A.R. Scammell Academy, Change Islands, Newfoundland at the Change Islands / Simon Fraser University workshop conference Oceans and the Future of Endangered Coastal Communities. August 8 – 10   2006, by David B Thomson International fisheries and coastal consultant


Contents :                         Coastal Communities; 

global threats to their future
          their value and importance
          national and international efforts

Sustainability Issues;

            resource sustainability
            economic sustainability
            social sustainability

Conclusions

Precis:   The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that small scale coastal fisheries support the livelihoods of over 200 million persons worldwide. Most of this fisher-dependent population lives in small villages scattered along the coast of the world’s continents and islands.  The bulk of them are found in South Asia and South-East Asia.   A significant number are located around the shores of North and South America and Europe.  Practically all these communities are under threat from globalisation, centralisation, and from the growing demand for access to fishery resources and coastal lands.  But these small villages are of enormous national, cultural, economic, and social importance.  They have a strategic value in their presence and protecting influence over the coast and coastal assets.  Their loss would impact on their countries for generations to come, and if allowed to die, their restoration could require huge investments in effort and capital.  This paper examines the issues related to a sustainable future for small coastal communities, with particular reference to the Change Islands, and argues that wise administration and modest support could ensure they become or remain viable and continue to be a valued asset to their province or nation.  

Coastal Communities 

global threats to their future

The agricultural revolution of the 18th century and the industrial revolution of the 19th century resulted in a huge shift of population from rural to urban areas as mechanisation made it possible to replace farm labour with machines.  This naturally had a huge impact on rural villages, most of which declined in size and significance.   Some communities were brutally affected when mechanisation and amalgamation had dreadful unforeseen results in the 20th century; - in the dustbowl of America’s wheatlands, and the collectivisation of previously viable private farms in the Soviet Union.  The process of urbanisation hit the industrialised countries first, but is now continuing apace in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Some see the trend as irreversible and to be accepted.  Others believe that priceless elements of our culture, our links to nature, social cohesion, and even national security, may be lost unnecessarily by our failure to protect what is beneficial and important in our blanket acceptance of all that technology and markets have to offer. 

Fishing communities have suffered less from urbanisation and mechanisation, but are now faced with serious threats to their very existence from market forces and legal measures that weight the dice against them.  The specific form these threats take varies from country to country.  We shall consider them as they affect Newfoundland, North America, Scandinavia, Europe and south and south-east Asia, to provide us with a global background to the issue. 

Other looming threats are more environmental in nature.  Fish stocks are under greater pressure than ever before.  Global warming may result in sea level rises that could endanger some coastal areas.  Deforestation and industrial pollution are contributing to the number of factors that could destroy the coastal zone environment in the long term. Other parts of the world have witnessed extensive damage and loss of life from sudden tsunami waves created by seabed earthquakes, that may have occurred hundreds of miles away.  Tropical storms and hurricanes appear to be on the increase, as seen recently in the Gulf of Mexico.

their value and importance

Coastal villages have a value that can not be assessed in monetary terms alone.  They are a national asset for tourism, for rural sustainability, and for strategic issues like security of our shores and remote locations.  When I was discussing these issues 38 years ago with New England fishermen and academics, fisher leader Jake Dykstra defended the continuance of small harbours and landing places from a wider economic perspective.  He said that tourists have no wish to see dead or stagnant villages.  They want to see a few boats, some fishers mending their gear, and stalls where they can buy fish and lobster, fresher than any they see in the city.  These communities also have a cultural and historical significance.  Nowhere is that more true than in Newfoundland.  The Province’s wealth of traditional songs, jig tunes and sea shanties, was born and nurtured in hundreds of small outports and bays that made up for their lack of urban sophistication by their enormous poetic and musical talents which expressed the heart and soul of Newfoundland, its traditions and its values.

The fisher communities and the small scale fisheries in general, are based on a way of life rather than on economic opportunity.  Newfoundland knows well from bitter experience how some companies and corporations have a ‘get-rich-quick’ mentality that grabs resources and concessions in the initial period, but abandons the community once these benefits start to decline.  In contrast, small fishers and their communities are in their business for the long haul.  They have generational roots in their way of life and these are valued more than temporary affluence.  This is at variance with modern economic development theory that worships the power of the market place.  But it provides a stability that is absent from most profit-motivated enterprises.       

national and international efforts to protect and nurture coastal communities

While some who have boundless faith in market forces and technological progress opine that small scale businesses and rural villages should be allowed to “wither on the vine”, most governments recognise their importance and try to afford them some long term protection.  Interestingly, this is happening in both the industrialised and developing parts of the world.  America has provided “community quotas” to ensure that aboriginal communities will have legal ownership of and access to their local fish stocks.  Japan developed an intricate and sophisticated series of fishery cooperatives that are empowered to manage local fisheries and to decide on their particular direction of development.  Indonesia could harvest its huge 3.5 million ton fish production with powerful vessels and agro-business fish farms, but it has chosen instead to protect its 3.0 million small scale fishers and fish farmers because their continued employment is critical to social stability.  When the effect of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, and ICES advice on quotas and fleet sizes, threatened to close many small coastal ports, Norway made a significant policy decision to maintain its coastal communities regardless of cost. Being in the EEA, but outside of the EU, though respecting ICES advice, it was more free to do so, and so today along its NE coast and the Lofoten Islands, those small villages remain active and viable.  The first requirement then for a sustainable future, is political will on the part of national and provincial authorities.   

The United Nations Agencies have played a part in the promotion of schemes to protect the resource base and enhance the economic opportunities for rural, coastal, and island communities.  One of the schemes encouraged has been ‘TURFS’, territorial user rights in fisheries, which is designed to give communities continuing legal access to and management authority over, their local fishery resource.  The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are also committed to assisting rural communities, though this is not always well expressed in their development loans.  The writer has just completed a coastal project for ADB in central Vietnam where poor coastal communes are being assisted to ensure their future viability. 

Sustainability Issues

resource sustainability

·         fresh water, forests and wildlife

Some 18 years ago the writer was part of a team that examined FAO fishery projects in Africa, Asia and S.E. Asia, to determine what approaches worked, and which ones had less success.  Two elements that were concluded to be vital in ensuring success, were an integrated approach to rural development activities, and treating all of a community’s natural resource in totality rather than looking piecemeal at single sectors like fisheries. Fish are a major resource for a coastal or island community, but wildlife, forests, fresh water, and mineral resources are also important, both as economic assets, and as part of the whole ecosystem.  The integrated, total-ecosystem approach sits well with small communities where income-earning may involve several skills and different products. Newfoundland fishermen have traditionally been skilled carpenters, usually constructing their own houses and boats.  Their fishing activities involved cod, flounder, capelin, salmon, and lobster.  Hunting was a seasonal affair involving seal, moose, seabirds, and other game.  Outport and island communities traditionally had a multi-resource, multi-activity economy, much like the crofting villages of the Hebrides in Scotland.

·         the coastal environment

Coastal zone management is a relatively new science that has developed rapidly in response to concerns that this unique area bordering land and sea, which has so much to offer us, is under threat, and in need of careful study and wise protection. Universities like Simon Fraser, Rhode Island, Memorial / Marine Institute, and many others, are now focusing attention and effort on CZM.  I leave it to the biologists and environmentalists to give us a detailed account of the zone and the threats it faces, but a personal view of my home coast may stimulate thought and discussion. 

I live at Covesea on the Moray Firth in Scotland.  This coastal area has supported fisheries and communities for centuries.  As far back as Viking and Roman times, fish were a mainstay of the population, and a vital winter food in its salted or dried state. As a boy I loved to explore the rocky pools and beaches where marine life abounded.  There were sandeels, saithe, rockfish, conger eels, dabs, mackerels, hermit crabs, brown and velvet crabs, and lobster.  Both rock pools and sandy beaches were full of sea life. Today, they are bereft of all but a few hardy limpets, mussels and the occasional small crab.  That is the situation all around our coast.  What has happened?  Nobody has an answer, but it would appear that a combination of industrial, agricultural and urban pollution and excessive fishing effort has had a disturbing impact.  I hope Newfoundland’s coasts are in better shape.  Perhaps we can get some feedback on that during discussions. 

fishery threats

·         grab for access to and control of fish stocks

Fifty years ago almost anyone who could obtain a boat and a net, line or trap, could proceed to sea and catch fish.  Today the situation is extremely complex, with permission to fish and access to particular species, bound up in a maze of regulations. The most restrictive measure is the application of quotas or limits to fish catches.  In the North Sea, the application of single species quotas in multi-species demersal fisheries has resulted in the dumping or discarding of 600,000 tons of fish at sea.  These discards are dead, - lost to the stock, to the fishers, and to the market.   Now ITQs or individual transferable quotas, has created a trade in the very entitlement to fish.  This trade is not just a trade in fish (fish that have not yet been spawned or hatched or grown to maturity), - it is a trade in fishermen’s jobs and communities’ futures.  Others here may disagree, but it is indisputable that where ITQs have been applied, whether in Newfoundland, Iceland, New Zealand, or Europe, their introduction has been followed by massive stock reduction and concentration of fishery activity and profit into fewer and fewer hands.  The victims have largely been the small scale traditional fishers and their communities.  

·         introduction of restrictions that damage the local economy

A healthy rural or coastal community requires certain minimal facilities to function well. These include access to resources and to markets, local sources of fresh water, and regular supplies of energy whether electricity, oil, gas, or fuel wood.  Where fishing is a key basic economic activity, it supports a range of secondary and tertiary business, including boat repair, marine engineering, processing or preservation, ship chandlery, transport, and also, grocery stores, banks, post office, and fuel supplies.  These facilities and services in turn justify the provision of local health services, public transport, garages, guest houses or hotels.  But if the basis of the local economy is removed, as has happened in a number of cases, then the remaining business and social components begin to die or be much reduced in activity.  A fleet of one or two dozen boats can keep a village alive, but once they go the secondary industry dies from lack of business, and the tertiary services also suffer.  Government may then consider closing the local post office and medical clinic, and public transport services can also be curtailed. 

This is what has happened to some small fishing harbours in the Hebrides and west coast of Scotland.  Government measures reduced the fish quotas the fleet depended on, and in some cases denied the port official landing status, so that catches had to be transported to larger ports some distance away.  Local fish merchants and processors had to cease trading due to lack of raw material.  It is important for Newfoundland’s small communities that Provincial governments exercise care to ensure that there are no legislative measures that might penalise vulnerable outports or put them at an unfair advantage vis a vis big business.    

·         imposition of sanctuaries that deny community involvement

Fish sanctuaries, marine parks and closed areas can be a useful tool to help facilitate the replenishment of fish stocks, if carefully designed and managed on the basis of extensive solid research.  One difficulty with the case for such sanctuaries is that the stock reduction has usually been brought about by large impact fleets, yet the fishers who must sacrifice grounds and access to resources, are the coastal small scale operators.  In some cases such as the recent marine parks introduced for the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, and proposed for the southern Hebrides off south-west Scotland, there were no prior scientific studies and no genuine attempt to consult the local communities. 

There are three fundamental principles that WWF and IUCN seek to apply with considerable diligence when considering possible marine parks or sanctuaries.  These principles are :

  1. there must be sound scientific evidence of the need for such a measure, and also reliable indications that the measure will have the desired result.
  2. there must be full and open consultation with the local fishers and their communities, whose agreement must be obtained before proceeding with the venture.
  3. if some fishers or stakeholders are to lose income as a result of the intervention, then there must be adequate compensation or alternative employment provided.  

These guidelines are adhered to in some but not all situations as indicated above.  It is important that Newfoundland’s communities are protected from any such conservation measures that might have negative unintended impacts on the local economy.

·         economic bias in favour of high impact fleets

One would have thought that authorities and governments in their efforts to reduce pressure on fish stocks, would restrict and control the operations of the large-impact fleets, - the huge stern trawlers, purse seiners, midwater trawlers, and ocean going long liners.  But no, - in most cases the tactic is to reduce the low-impact fleets, to penalise the small operators, and in some cases to allow their fishing rights to be acquired by the big companies.  I can provide several recent examples.  The common excuse for such policies is that it is done to achieve economic efficiency.  What do they mean by that? 

I have quizzed government, bank and fishery management authorities on the question. Ultimately in their view it appears that they believe more profit in fewer hands is indicative of economic efficiency, while the same profit shared among a larger number of operators and their communities, is indicative of poor economic performance.  Generally speaking, the poorer developing countries take a different view, as does Norway, Japan, the Faeroe Isles, and the Pacific states.  In the USA, although quotas and licenses are strictly applied, they are usually qualified in ways that protect the smaller scale operators.  But generally today, governments tend to favour high-impact fishing units, viewing them as ‘more economically efficient’.     

A more subtle bias in favour of large scale fishing units is seen in the application of current efforts to remove all subsidies from the fishery sector.  As with attempts to reduce fishing effort, the first target is the small scale sector.  There is a general fallacy that small scale fleets are subsidised and large scale ones are not.  What a government describes as a subsidy can be interesting.  At present the UK fishery sector receives no direct subsidies.  But as a civil servant informed me recently, any government service can be regarded as a subsidy.  By that he meant to include all fishery research, protection, statistical, and administrative services.  I have yet to hear such a suggestion made for any other sector.  A recent paper by Professor John Kurien, in a response to Dr Francis Christy’s one on fishery subsidies, examined these from a global perspective.  He found that the most subsidised part of the global fleet by far, was the large scale sector.  This parallels the situation in business where large companies and corporations can lobby effectively for government support, while small businesses in general have little clout in the corridors of power.    

economic sustainability

·         the effect of unrestricted market forces

A successful modern observer of global markets has wisely remarked that, - “Markets are designed to facilitate the free exchange of goods and services among willing participants, but are not capable on their own, of taking care of collective needs.  Nor are they competent to ensure social justice.  These “public goods” can only be provided by a political process.”  Coming from the country that produced the economist Adam Smith, I must respect and appreciate the power of market forces, but I should not be deceived into thinking that their ‘hidden hand’ has any moral authority or sensitivity. And I can assure you that Adam Smith did not think that capitalism in itself could resolve social inequalities.

My 30 years in Asia and Africa have brought me into direct contact with the impact of unrestricted market forces on vulnerable communities.  One witnesses the ‘dual economy’ that prevails in most cities of the third world.  Then one comes across thousands of small villages that stagnate in perpetual debt or poverty as they sell their labour and raw produce at low prices, and purchase manufactured goods at prices they can scarcely afford.  What we see in the third world is but an extreme example of what can happen in Europe, Canada or the USA, if safeguards are not put in place.  Here we have comprehensive welfare systems and safety nets that cushion the effect of market forces.  But that should not cloud our judgment or blind us to the need to afford some economic protection to small communities.

·         small-is-appropriate technologies and facilities

Small communities and small scale enterprises can use simple low-tech and low-cost technologies which would be of little value to large enterprises.  There are several examples of this principle in the energy field.  Wind power produces modest amounts of electricity and the output varies with the weather, so it is hardly relevant to industries with high energy consumption.  For smaller production units, however, whether boats or processing plants, a modest power source may be adequate much of the time.  Power can be obtained from other renewable sources like wood which may be used to fuel a steam engine or a diesel motor through a pyroletic digester.  Biogas can be made from animal waste, vegetation, or even fish offal.  There is a large pork processing plant in the Philippines that is run wholly on biogas produced from the waste of pigs and chickens.  The gas fuels Toyota car engines which drive the generators that produce the factory’s electricity.

Some very modern technologies are suited to small-scale and low-cost operations.  Cell phones, satellite navigators, computers and refrigerators require only modest amounts of electricity.  A combination of solar and wind power sources could provide ample current for such items.  Ice manufacture requires more substantial power, but in that case it is possible to drive a compressor directly from a rotary windmill, without having to convert the movement into electricity.   While some may argue that it is much easier just to use gasoline or diesel, one should bear in mind that oil fuel cost is high for remote communities which have to pay for the additional transport cost. 

·         integrated economies

For small or scattered rural communities, integration with other local economic activities offers much promise.  Traditionally this has been achieved through farming and fishing cooperatives or associations.  The type of vehicle or structure utilised is less important than the commitment of the various stakeholders, and the degree of trust built up between them.  The common criticism of small villages is that they lack the volume of business activity to be viable.  This can be overcome partially by working in concert with other small producers within reasonable distance.  The goal of this cooperation can be two-fold:  first, lower marketing and transport costs, and lower processing or storage costs where facilities are shared;  second, the stimulation of new activities or added value to existing products, through sharing of ideas and proposals.  The whole community can be involved, with even schoolchildren assisting, since in this electronic age, most of them are computer literate, and can scan the internet for data or information required to advance or expand existing local enterprises.   

·         added value

It is vital that small producers add maximum value to their products and services.  Every business seeks to do this to a greater or lesser degree.  It can be a general goal for all of the community’s activities, - product quality and product value.  Some communities decide to focus on a single product which together they can produce in quantity, while others may prefer to remain diversified.  Two examples of single added value products, from opposite sides of the globe, may suffice for illustration.  The prawn creel fishers of west Scotland catch nephrops prawns or ‘Norway lobster’.  The best market for these is in Spain where top prices are paid for live prawns.  Inverness airport lies 2 hours away by road from the creel fisher outports.  To catch the Monday morning market in Spain, the prawns must be loaded on to the aircraft by 7. am.  This would normally mean hauling the creels on Sunday and driving to the airport very early next day.  But the west coast fishers traditionally will not work on a Sunday.  So they haul their creels on Friday and Saturday, and painstakingly place each individual prawn in a tube in floating cages near the shore.  After midnight Sunday the prawns are removed from the tubes and put into polystyrene boxes with seaweed to keep them damp and alive.  These boxes are then delivered to the airport in time to catch the best markets in Spain that same morning.  This maximises the value of the produce.

Island communities in the Pacific are able to grow a range of fruit including orange, grapefruit, pineapple, banana and coconut.  But they are unable to compete in quantity with the large volume producers in S.E. Asia and Indo-China.  So they look for niche markets.  Following negotiations with outlets in the USA, they made juices from the fruit, and put them in sealed cellophane tubes.  The tubes are later frozen by the retailers in America and sold as ice lollipops, - but ones with a difference.  Instead of coloured water and sugar, the kids get genuine healthy fruit juice in an acceptable form. 

social sustainability

·         empowerment of local communities

In order to make the decisions about the future direction of the community and have the authority to make changes for the better, the people must be free from over-control by Provincial or District authorities.  Higher bodies can determine policy but the community ought to have the freedom to decide on details of local expenditures and to adapt general plans to fit better the local situation. 

·         devolution and decentralisation

In my involvement in development work in over 50 countries I have rarely come across a government that does not claim to be in favour of devolution and decentralisation.  That is the transfer of powers from the centre to the more remote parts of the country, and the parallel empowerment of rural communities so they can have some say and some control over their futures.  But, in my travels I have seen little evidence of genuine progress in that direction.  It is beginning to happen now as democracies are strengthened.   One odd result is that rural districts and provinces in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, are beginning to experience an empowerment that in some areas exceeds what provinces in Europe and UK know at present.  Devolution and decentralisation can only help the small coastal and island communities.  Without the empowerment they bring, the small village is at the mercy of higher authorities and distant bureaucracies where individual officials may lack knowledge of the situation or genuine motivation to listen and assist.    

Conclusions

strategies for effective action

We close with a few suggestions to guide the local community and its entrepreneurs, in their efforts to develop a robust and sustainable local economy.

  • develop local networks

Form partnerships with other communities in the area.  Link together wherever it is profitable to share facilities or transport.  This could lead to the development of a critical mass or a volume of produce that justifies

  • add value wherever possible

Avoid selling raw produce wherever possible, whether dealing in fish, timber, milk, meat, or handcrafted items.  Remember that live fish, particularly live shellfish, are a more valued product than processed ones.  And I should not have to remind Newfoundland that salt fish or stock fish are still a prized high-value product in southern Europe, West Africa, and the Caribbean.

  • identify niche markets

When you cannot compete with big volume producers, then do what the big factory cannot do, - go for quality and variety and specialised items.  Fishermen can make nautical items from rope and netting and wood, that tourists love to buy to decorate homes or bars or clubs. Seasonal berries can be made into jams or pies.  Dried, salted fish products sell well all over the world.  Small fish like capelin make excellent bar snacks, and split, dried cod or ling or haddock, can fetch top prices in Iberean and West African markets.  And do not forget the humble fish head or crab claw.  These can be made into bisques, chowders or soup bases to which restaurants can add their special flavours.  The soup bases are sold in sealed flexible plastic containers. 

  • maximise all possible opportunities. 

It is unlikely that any one economic activity will support the community in the long term.  But one or two reasonably profitable activities can be supplemented by three or four additional money earners that could make a huge overall difference.  In addition to the traditional fishing, hunting and timber activities, tourism, leisure and sports activities, 

  • select technology with care

A penny saved is a penny earned.    Invest in systems that can be repaired and maintained locally.   Look at low-energy cost systems.  Wind and solar produced electricity can reduce the cost of power over a period. 

  • speak up for your community 

Change Islands already has its own web site.  Cash in on it.  Publicise what you have to offer. Keep elected officials informed of your situation and of any urgent matters. Write to the press. Send recorded pieces to local radio and television.  Remember the old ditty:

“The fish it never boasts about its thousand eggs or so,
The hen is quite a different bird, - one egg and hear her crow!
The fish we spurn, but crown the hen, which leads me to surmise,
Don’t hide your light, but blow your horn, it pays to advertise!”


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