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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 :
-
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.
-
there must be full and open consultation with the local fishers
and their communities, whose agreement must be obtained before
proceeding with the venture.
-
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.
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.
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!” |
