Safety Training and Oceanic Fishing

This paper reports on the cultural adaptation of Atlantic commercial fishermen to the danger of their occupation and efforts to ameliorate that danger through safety training programs. The research is directed towards measuring fishermen's patterns of subjective perceived danger and assessing the impact of safety training on these patterns of thinking. Safety training for commercial fishermen has unique problems owing to a culture that relies heavily on the trivialization or denial of the dangers associated with the work (Binkley, 1995; Poggie et al., 1995, 1996; Pollnac et al., 1995). Hence, understanding the efficacy of various approaches to safety training is important in promoting greater safety at sea, for this understanding will help create the most effective programs

Cultivar diversity as a means of ecologically intensifying dry matter production in a perennial forage stand

The relationship between genotypic diversity and productivity has not been adequately explored in perennial forage production systems despite strong theoretical and empirical evidence supporting diversity\u27s role in ecosystem functioning in other managed and unmanaged systems. We conducted a two-year field experiment with six cultivars of an agriculturally important forage grass, Lolium perenne L. (perennial ryegrass). Dry matter production of L. perenne and the weed community that emerged from the soil seed bank were measured each year in treatments that ranged from cultivar monocultures to three- and six-way cultivar mixtures, all sown at a constant seeding rate. Mean L. perenne dry matter production increased with increasing cultivar diversity and was highest in mixtures that contained cultivars representing the greatest additive trait range (calculated on rankings of three traits: winter hardiness, heading date, and tolerance to grazing). Mixtures had greater yields than those predicted by the mean of their component monoculture yields, but there was evidence that highly productive cultivars may have dampened over-yielding in mixtures. Weed abundance was correlated with L. perenne dry matter, but not L. perenne cultivar diversity. These results suggest that multi-cultivar mixtures may have utility as an approach to ecologically intensifying perennial forage production. Additional research will be necessary to determine the mechanisms responsible for the over-yielding observed in this study and the generality of these findings

Socioeconomic factors that affect artisanal fishers’ readiness to exit a declining fishery

The emerging world crisis created by declining fish stocks poses a challenge to resource users and managers. The problem is particularly acute in poor nations, such as those in East Africa, where fishing is an important subsistence activity but high fishing intensity and use of destructive gear have resulted in declining catches. In this context developing effective management strategies requires an understanding of how fishers may respond to declines in catch. We examined the readiness of 141 Kenyan fishers to stop fishing under hypothetical scenarios of declines in catch and how socioeconomic conditions influenced their decisions. As expected, the proportion of fishers that would exit the fishery increased with magnitude of decline in catch. Fishers were more likely to say they would stop fishing if they were from households that had a higher material style of life and a greater number of occupations. Variables such as capital investment in the fishery and the proportion of catch sold had weak, nonsignificant relationships. Our finding that fishers from poorer households would be less likely to exit a severely declining fishery is consistent with the literature on poverty traps, which suggests the poor are unable to mobilize the necessary resources to overcome either shocks or chronic low-income situations and consequently may remain in poverty. This finding supports the proposition \ud that wealth generation and employment opportunities directed at the poorest fishers may help reduce fishing effort on overexploited fisheries, but successful interventions such as these will require an understanding of the socioeconomic context in which fishers operate. \u

Classification of Coastal Communities Reporting Commercial Fish Landings in the U.S. Northeast Region: Developing and Testing a Methodology

The National Marine Fisheries Service is required by law to conduct social impact assessments of communities impacted by fishery management plans. To facilitate this process, we developed a technique for grouping communities based on common sociocultural attributes. Multivariate data reduction techniques (e.g. principal component analyses, cluster analyses) were used to classify Northeast U.S. fishing communities based on census and fisheries data. The comparisons indicate that the clusters represent real groupings that can be verified with the profiles. We then selected communities representative of different values on these multivariate dimensions for in-depth analysis. The derived clusters are then compared based on more detailed data from fishing community profiles. Ground-truthing (e.g. visiting the communities and collecting primary information) a sample of communities from three clusters (two overlapping geographically) indicates that the more remote techniques are sufficient for typing the communities for further in-depth analyses. The in-depth analyses provide additional important information which we contend is representative of all communities within the cluster

INTRACULTURAL VARIABILITY IN THE COGNITION OF DANGER AMONG SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND FISHERS

The costs of the dangers of commercial fishing are very high, yet fishing vessel safety regulations are frequently met with lack of enthusiasm or even rejection by fishers. Why would fishers reject regulations designed to increase their safety? There is a strong possibility that some of the rejection is the result of lack of cognitive sharing and communication between originators of the regulations and the fishers for whom the regulations are designed. This paper examines the pattern of cognition about danger of the occupation among fishers and relates these patterns to sociocultural differences in two southern New England ports. The intent of the study is to help bridge the gap between regulators and users by providing culturally appropriate information that can be used to design more effective policy, training, and enforcement programs.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Job Satisfaction in Fisheries Compared

This article draws comparative lessons from seven job satisfaction studies on marine capture fishing that were recently carried out in nine countries and three geographical regions—Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The seven studies made use of an identical job satisfaction assessment tool and present information on a selection of métiers mainly in the small-scale and semi-industrial fishing sectors. The responses manifest statistically significant geographical variation. Multidimensional plots and cluster analyses lead the authors to identify three clusters: (1) Southeast Asian (Vietnam and Thailand); (2) Caribbean (Belize, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic) and (3) Afro-Indian (Senegal, Guinea Bissau, and India). Jamaica is a significant outlier. On a general level, the authors conclude that fishers who report that they are not interested in leaving the occupation of fishing score higher on three traditional job satisfaction scales—basic needs, social needs and self actualization. Those who say they would leave fishing for another occupation are younger, have less fishing experience and smaller households. The latter findings are of relevance with regard to the pressing need, felt by fisheries managers, to move fishers out of the fishery

Toward a Model for Fisheries Social Impact Assessment

This paper presents a model for Fisheries Social Impact Assessment (SIA) that lays the groundwork for development of fisheries-focused, quantitative social assessments with a clear conceptual model. The usefulness of current fisheries SIA’s has been called into question by some as incompatible with approaches taken by fisheries biologists and economists when assessing potential effects of management actions. Our model’s approach is closer to the economists’ and biologists’ assessments and is therefore more useful for Fishery Management Council members. The paper was developed by anthropologists initially brought together in 2004 for an SIA Modeling Workshop by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. Opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

Changes in Job Satisfaction through Time in Two Major New England Fishing Ports

Fishing communities in the U.S. have been the subject of great transformation due to changes in availability of resources and the implementation of different rules and regulations to manage the fisheries and conserve fish stocks. Job satisfaction has been widely regarded as an important component of well-being especially among fishermen because the occupation of fishing includes attributes of ‘adventure,’ ‘challenge,’ and ‘being outdoors’ infrequently found in other employment. It has been previously demonstrated that management driven changes to fishing communities can directly and indirectly affect aspects of fishermen’s job satisfaction and, consequently, their wellbeing. This paper presents a unique through time comparison of job satisfaction among fishermen between three time periods (1977, 2009/10, and 2013/14) in two major New England fishing ports: New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Point Judith, Rhode Island. Results show important differences between the three time-periods analyzed that can be associated with important changes in fisheries management in the last few decades. Differences found between ports also emphasize important socio-cultural aspects influencing job satisfaction and well-being in fishing communities. This study demonstrates that job satisfaction variables are valuable indicators of change in the context of fisheries and therefore provide valuable information for the development of future management plans that take into account important aspects of fishing community well-being

Which Fishers are Satisfied in the Caribbean? A Comparative Analysis of Job Satisfaction Among Caribbean Lobster Fishers

Lobster fishing (targeting the spiny lobster Panulirus argus) is an important economic activity throughout the Wider Caribbean Region both as a source of income and employment for the local population as well as foreign exchange for national governments. Due to the high unit prices of the product, international lobster trade provides a way to improve the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent populations. The specie harvested is identical throughout the region and end market prices are roughly similar. In this paper we wish to investigate to which extent lobster fishers’ job satisfaction differs in three countries in the Caribbean and how these differences can be explained by looking at the national governance arrangements