Fisheries Development in the Third World:

The Role of International Agencies

CONNER BAILEY
Allhrirtl Utli\vrsit>,. AlIrrDtrttlu
DEAN CYCON
Woods Hole Occnt~ogrrrpl~ic Ittstit~~tiot~. Alrr.S.Srtc’ltlr.vl’tt.~
MICHAEL MORRIS”
Clettlsotf Utzil’c’rsity, Sollflr Ctirolit~rr

I INTROI~UCTION its products (most notably shrimp 2nd tuna) and

national policies supported by inti‘rn;itional
The introduction of new pl-oduction tcchnol- donor agencies rncouragccl the introduction of
ogie3 ha5 transformed the fax of rural coni- ne\v c~lpit;ll-ilitensiv~ fishin, ~7wchnolo~ies. These
munitit’s throughout the world. but nowhere has &velopnitxts have had ;I profound <ffect iipi
the impact been so profound a5 in the clcveloping the welfare of small-sc;& fishing cc~mmunities
nations of Asia. Latin America. and Africa. The throughout the ~vorlcl. This paper etsplores the
vast majority of rural ducllcrs in the clt2veloping nature of internation~ill)’ hponsorsd fisheries
worlcl live at or near the margins of esistence. devcloIxllcllt efforts and sll~gcst5 nt’ceswrc
Well-meaning t‘fforth to improve incomes and changtx in prosr;mi cmphasih to lessen rather
stancl;!rtl.s of living among thcsc rural producer5 than incrc’ax the structural problem> and polic!
frquwfly hinge on technological innovations distortions which characterize the fishcries sector
designed to incrt‘xc‘ procliicfivity. This in most Third World countries.
production-oricntcd apprwich to rural clwelop-
ment. symbolized by the “Green Revolution.”
often has Icd to increasing int’qu;ditics of income
and wealth between farming regions and within
farming communities (e.g., Blair. 1‘971: Cohen.
1075: Griffin. 197-l).
Although the impacl of the Green Revolution
on farming communities ha> attracted consider-
able interest. far Ic‘ss attention has been paid to
parallel and nearly simultaneous changes affect-
ing the fisheries sector in many Third World
mitions. Over the past 20 years. a combination of
espandinp export markets for high valued fishcr-
 I231 \\OKLD DEVELOP\IES’I

-.
’ E\IPLO1’\lENT ASD NCTKITION

As ;I biologically rt’nt’wablc’ raourcc‘. fisherics

stocks art‘ vulncrablc: to odors\-l’loit~itioii, I I1
many parts of the tlcveloping world. fi\hcrit22
rcsourcc\ alwxiv have reached or csced_xl
maximum biolog~callq sustainable !iclds (FAO.
IWlc). Whcrc fishcries rcsourcc‘5 already art’
fully c\ploitfcl. comp,etition bct\\ccn fishermen
often rcwmblcs ;I “zero-5iini ~alllc” \\.IlL‘l-c‘
3. \‘ALUL’ AND L3‘f IIC‘S tecf~nological ;idv;ilit;igcs elijo\ccl h! ccrt;iili ilid-
vidu;il\ or group ha\c ;I direct 1icgatii.c effect on
Current effort3 to ;iid ~ni;~ll-x~~lc fi\hcriiicn tlic and inconic of other\.
catch pdrticularly the
often arc Iaudahlc iii intent. hut frcqucntl~ have millions of 5niallkale fkhcrmen (Bdllcy. I’M).
;I wrioiis ncgatike impact upon the livc‘b and In the contest of an open ;ICCCS~ rcwurcc’. the
welfare of iritli\iclud fidicrmcn and the economic result of this process is ;I d~,];rc.lo rc;illocation of
future of rural fihhiiig communitic5. A majoi ;I~CCM favoring the minority which limits the
obstacle tcl dc\~cloping ;I ratiomil. x~ci;~llv- ability of the majority to cari1 ;idcqudtc inconic\
conxious fidicries tlcvclopmcnt 5tr;itegy rcstilts from tratlition~il purwit5.
from the prcwiw of three major actors involved Fihhcrics development effort5 which focus
in these effort\: Iocal fishing commuriitic5. exclusively on protluctioii-ori~nt~~l tcchnologia
natiumil fishcrio policymakcr5. ~inrl inter- thus raise wrious ethical probkm~ :t5sociatt‘cl
nxtionai assist;ince agcncia. Each ha5 ;I rlihtiiict with distributive jwticc. 7% r‘ ~al.7ital-intciisi~~
vduc profile that affect5 its pcrcqtions of the nature of purse scincrs. tram, Iers. and other
need for and dirc‘ction of change. highly effective modern fishins technologies prc-
Paralleling the approach taken during the clucks aII but the wtxllthv few from benefiting
Green Revolution. intci-n;ition;iI assistance pro- from this form of dsvetop~~~nt. Throughout the
grams in fihherieb tend to cmphasizc prodtiction- tlevcloping world, the introduction of nt‘vv fishing
orient4 technological wlution\. htorc frrquent- technologies. sponwrd b> international donor\
Iy than not. these prodtl~tion-ori~iit~~l wlucs arc and impl~mentd by national agencies within
5har4 by policymakers within dcvcloping na- drveloping countria, is ha\ ing ;I direct negatiw
tiom. \vho obtained their current positions b) impact on harvests and incomes of millions of
receiving dvancd education and training in small-scale fid~ermcn unable to compete on
institutions of more ecorioiiiic;il~y advanced equal terms nith those quippd wih more
countries. Further. thcsc policynakers are influ- modern boats and fishing scar (Bailey. 1982.
cnccd by certain axiiomic and political rcalitics 19S-lb. 19Sh: Seal. I’%?; Smith. 1979): Thomson.
uithin their own countric’s. including the nwd to 19SO). Bv promoting the ux of highI\ productive
increase export earnings and the political power technoloiic‘s without simultaneously~ strcngthen-
of wealthy indiduals or groups in ;I position to ing institutional capacities to manage and allo-
 FlSltEKIES DEI’ELOPXIENT IS -I‘FlE TtllRD WORLD 1171

ate finite resources among competing users. 5. TECIINOLOGIC.\L INNOVATION AND

international development aaistance agencies CHANGISG V.-\LUES
are contributing to 3tructuraI problem> and pol-
icy distortions which pobe serious threats to the New technolopies being promoted hh inter-
majority of those employed in the fisheries national donors. rather than being value neutral.
sector. carry with them a hobt of values and asumptions
regarding prefsrred social organization. uealth
distribution. and the division of labor. The
introduction of new technologies is begInning to
impose ;I new set of values with profound
implications for individual small-scale fishermen
and their communities. Often the mo>t immedi-
4. TRADITIONAL TECI INOLOGIES AND ate effect is that economic \ulurs begin to take
RESOURCE USE RIGHTS precedence over others \vhen fishermen become
dependent upon purchased inputs (fuel. nylon
Gear and boat tvpcs generally are the product netting) and need additional cash to repay loans
of longstanding relationships bet\vren fishing for new boats. en$nes. and nets.
communities and the resources upon which they This process can be i!lustrated in the case of
dtzpend (Alesander. lY75; Berkes. lY77; Cycon. Indonesia, where Collier et (11. (lY7Y) document
lYS6: Firth. 1966: Panayotou. lY,Sl). Social what happened when the need to increase cash
structures of fishing communities are inextricably incomes to meet mounting obligations trans-
bound up with these relationships. and mirror the formed traditional distributive values. Fishermen
values of the communities relative to social who had allowed orphans and other poor com-
organization. power and prestige. distribution of munity members to take a few fish for their own
wealth and income, and the division of labor. consumption grnduallv disallowed this practice.
Local technologies have evolved over time to fit Where previously fishermen were content to
the needs of the community for food. yet often market their catch through local petty traders
are sensitive to the location and relative abun- who served nearby rural communities. the need
dance of fisheries resources. Small-scale fishing to maximize earnings led to a shift to big
communities often have complex. traditional buyers supplying urban markets bvhrrr prices
resource use rig.h.ts that rrgulatc temporal and were higher. As ;I result. local residents lost
spatial aspects ot hsherics esploitxtion and there- an important source of gainful employment. and
by promote indigenous forms of resource agricultural communities in the immediate
manqement predicated on sustainability of har- hinterland found it increasingly difficult to obtain
vests over time rather than on short term and afforcl the fish which provided their main
economic gain (Christy, IYS?; Cycon. IYS6; source of animal protein.
Johanncs. 1Y78; Pollnac. 1953). The concept of Introduction of new fishing gear without
traditional resource use rights explicitly draws consideration of loc:tl socioeconomic conditions
attention to issues of resource allocation and can have significant adverse impact. Introduction
provides an ethical basis.. grounded in historic of nylon nets caused tremendous disruption of
usage, for establishing policies to guide fisheries the well-developed system of traditional propert>
management and clcvelopment efforts. rights and community regulation in Brazil (Cor-
Traditional fishing technologies are inestri- dell. lY7X). Because the new gear was too
cablv linked to the values of local fishing com- expensive for the local population. businessmen
mun’ities, and shape predictions and behavior purchased the nets and hired fishermen on a
affecting ;I wide range of social and economic salaried basis to conduct the fishing. The salaries
relationships. These values often mitigate the were not enough to allow fishermen to save
harsher aspects of purely economic factors by towards purchase of their o\vn equipment. and
assuring xcess to locally avail;tble resources (e.g. many fishermen lost control of their traditional
fish) and by promoting rcdistributive mechan- resource use rights.
isms based on gencralizrd or other forms of The literature of Third I!‘orld fisheries con-
reciprocal relationships supported by tradition tains numerous additional cases where technol-
and community social sanctions (Collier cl (II., ogical innovations have had a negative impact
197’)). Local technologies also tend to be labor on small-scale producers (e.g.. Bailey, 1982:
rather than capital intensive and provide emptoy- Emmerson. 1975, 1YSO: Smith. 1979). Technol-
mcnt not only for fishermen but for those in such ogical change is not. in itself, a bad thing.
supporting services xs boat building. net making. Small-scale fishermen themselves constantly are
marketing, and fish processing. engaged
- . in technological adaptation and innova-
6. INTERNXTIOS.-iL AID TO SOUTHEAST IVith the a\si\t:tnze of foreign donors, the
.-\SI.AN FISHERIES governments of St>uthcat XGa are becoming
increa5inglv successful in exporting fidieria pro-
Southsat Asi:! ih ;I rapdl) developing region ducth. Bet&xn IY70 and IW). for ~sxnple. the
exhibiting man! af the problem\ associatt‘d with tot;il v;tlut of t’sporf\ from Th~iil;~nil. Indonesia.
fisher& cl~velopm~nt in fhc Third World. Pri- >lalaysia. Singapore. and the PhIlippint iii-
mary among thee are: ( 1) widrspread poveq creased from S7l million in lY70 to SY73 million
nmonp the majority of fishermen. who operate in IYSO (Floyd. IYSJ). ?.loreover. during this
small-scale boats and pear with limited produc- period ail increasingly high proportion of all fidi
tive capacity; and (2) ovrr-esploitatiori of man! Ian&d in these cwntries \v;is exported. primaril)
coastd fishcrie. trj which thcsc SIIIIC small-scale to Japan. the United States. and Western
fishermen are limittxl by their twhnolopy. These Europe. During the period 197(GiO. export
problems arc rclattxl and. Japite limitations of v0Ii11iic expressed as ;I percentage of total
individual fishermen. their numbers are suffi- production nearly tripled to I-!.?“;> (Floyl.
cientlv great to r\;ploit the rcsourct‘ at. near. IYS-I).
or in sonit’ castes. beyxicl biologically sustainabk The rapid grwvth of export-oricnfed fisheries
limits. in Southeast Asia paws immediate probkms for
In g<rwral. to incrcxw significantly fisheries small-scale fishermen, cspwidlv in areas where
lancling~ in Southeast Asian waters, it will be commercial trawling for shrimp has been intro-
ntxcss;tr\ to dc\ote greater attention to offshore diiced. Shrimp arc most ~iburiclant iii diallou
rt’sourct‘;. which art‘ less intensely exploited. To coastal waters where small-scale fishermen opcr-
accomplish this objective. polic)makcrs within ate. The encroxhmcnt of commcrci;iI trawlers
both intt’rn;ltion;il and n:itioii;il ilgCllCit3 have into their traditional fishing gwiiiid~ has ilcga-
given pricli-itv to development ofcal~it~il-iiit~iisiv~ tivcly affcclctl the catchcq ;~iicl incomes of small-
commt‘rcial ‘fishcrIes. Bet\vccn 107s and 1’951. xxle fi5hermcn. \vho find themscl\~c3 unable to
the ~0vcrniiicnI~ of Thailand, Indonesia. compete with the more cft’cctlve tr:i\+Ic‘rs (Bailey.
MaI;tysi:t. 2nd the Philippines rcccivecl over $590 lYS-I;i. 1986). Increasingly. competition ha given
million in fisheries aid. SS’!,, of which was for way to violent conflict a5 wiaIIkalt2 fishrrmcn
capital invchtment (FAO, IYSJa). The Asian fight to retain accc’ss to local rewurces. The
Dcvclopment Bank md the World Bank have uncontrolled use of commercial trawlers has
bwn the major multil;iteral donors in this field. incrcasccl pressure on biologically rcne!vablc
while Japan has bwn fhc dominant bilateral fishcrics resources to such an extent as to caux
donor. Topcthcr. thcx three donors account for total landings to decline in both \+eight and
76% of total fixhcrics aid to Asian countries \aluc. Thus. small-scale fishermen are competing
(FAO. IYWI). on unequ;~l technical terms for ;L declining
hlost of these funds hw2 been to enlarge and resource. This threat to ;I \ulnrr;thle rewurcc has
upgrxk commercial fishing fleets. and to con- sc‘rious implications for domestic con5umer5 in
struct commercial fishing ports and associated the region. where fish is the only afforclablc
shore-tad facilities. A common goal of projects source of high quality animal protein for the
by these donor\ has been to increase fisheries majority of the population.
exports (Asian D~\elopmcnt Bank. IYSO; FAO. Trawlers have opt’rafd in Southssst AG for
10S-1~: Sfcir-\l’ouni\ and Donaldson. IYS?). Com- at Icast 50 years. but only during the past two
parati\cly ~L’N financial raoul-cc’\ hare been daxcles haw they playd ;I significant role in
espcw_icd 011 ta_+inologic~rI or infra5tructural regional fisheries. The modern era of trawling is
development for the small-scale subsector. Thib directly related to the development of strong
preference for commercial rather than small- international demand for shrimp. f ligh price>
scak fishcries d~v~lopmrnt is based on the offered in Japan and ofher highly ckvctopcd
debatable perception that capita-intensive fish- nations provided the ntxcssary stimulus for Ioc;kt
ing technologies ;trc‘ more ax~nomically efficient entrepreneurs. Foreign technical and financial
(see Smith. Paul!. ;mcl illinrs. 1’953; Thomson. asistancc hastened this process. Owr the past 20
IYSO). Similarly. the choicr hetwcen devctoping years, the German Agency for Technical
fishcrics for domestic or export markets is Cooperation has provided governmcnrs in the
 FISIIEKIES DC\‘ELOPIlES-I 1.X I tlE I’tfIKD \\OKLD I’_.<

region technIcal and sclrntific support in the inno\aticm 0 I1 communitb xxzial structure
areas of boat and gear Jaiy and in conducting (Emmerson. lY75, IYSO). The ethical dimension>
exploratory fishiny surveys. The .-\si;in Develop- of pr[,~uction-oricnt~~ fisherich devslopmcnt
ment Bank financed construction of tra\\lerc to strategies supported by intcrn;itionaI donors ;Irr
be operated by an agency of the hlalavGan c’vt‘n more sharply drawn Lvhcn. as ib frequent11
government during the mid-1970s. The \i’orld the casr‘. the aim of such effort5 is to encourapk
Bank provided credit fxcilitirs to the Bank of increased export earnings from the fisheries
Indonesia for construction of trawlers during the sector. FAO commodity studies show that
mid- to late lY7Os. The J:kp:mes~ restrict4 their several developing countries bvith disturbing
Investment in trawlers to the c\tahlishment of levels of undernutrition among their populations
private joint venture enterprises. but on a gov- also conduct ;i booming business in fisheries
ernmzntnl level hate providecl technical and exports (FAO. IYS-lh). Export of readily avail-
financial support for ;I \vide rang2 of projects, able protein sources. with consequent denial to
including tuna fisheries and develqxiirnt of local populations. raises serious ethical consid-
major fishinp ports equipped for export trade. erations about the form and substance of intrr-
Official Japanese assistance often is linked to the national aid and national implementation ot
granting of permission to Jqx111ese distant-water development strategies. A fundamental ethical
fishermen to operate within the jurisdictions of question is posed by this form of development:
recipient nations (FAO. IYS-la). should the United States. or other international
Clearly there is a need in many Third World donors, he promoting a system that serves to
countries for increased capacity to exploit inhibit ;I developing nation‘s ability (or desire) to
offshore resources. Ct2ner;illy. efforts in this provide food for its own people’?
direction require c~ipital-intcnsiv~ fishing tcch- Major financial resources of both international
nologies. Our primary concern is that these donors and national governments arc being
technologies, once introduced. have not been expended to increase production within the
used in offshore fishing grounds. but rather in fishcrics sectors of developing nations. For the
co;lst;d waters where mar:nt’ resources art: most most part these efforts are well intentioned.
conccntrkited. Inevitably, this has Icd to compcti- 1lowevcr. they often fait to meet their goals and
tion (and sometimes violence) hetwecn commcr- give rise to unintended negative conscquenccs
cial and small-scale fishermen. through failure to recognize the inherently value-
Even where commercial fisheries cl0 not di- laden nature of the scientific principles and
rectly affect the interests of small-scale fishcrmcn tcchnulogies applied. In the absence of such
or thrcatcn rcsourct sustainability. the emphasis understanding, neither international donors nor
placd on this form of development results in ;I natiorxil policymakers within developing coun-
skewing of dcvclopmcnt benefits in favor of a tries have sought to incorporate local values into
rclativc few. Less obviously. the emphasis given the planning process.
to commercial fisheries is dctrimcntal to small- Maintaining local community traditions and
scale development because the most able govern- valut‘s through isolation from developmental
ment staff usually are assiyied to worl; on proccsscs may be neither possible nor necessarily
internationally sponsored prolects. Work in the dcsirxhle. It is clear, nonetheless. that incorpor-
artx of small-scale fidieries dsvelopment is It‘ss ation of community values relating to resource
prestigious and may offer fewer opportunities for allocation 2nd income distribution. among
profe5siond advancement. International donors others. might provide ;I basis for sound project
have contributed to this diversion of attention design and a sustainable development proctx.
away from the problems of small-scale fisheries Failure to do so all too frequently has skewed the
but just 2s easily can reorient sectoral dtzvdop- benefits of development into the hands of a few
mcnt by shifting their own funding priorities and/or has ted to local resistance to dcvclopment
towards programs emphasizing small-scale fishrr- projects initiated by international and national
ia and rcsourcc manapcment. agencies (Emmcrson. 1975, IYSO).

7. ETf4ICAL DIhlENSIONS OF FlStlEKIES S. POLICY IMPLICATIONS

POLICY
The primary responsibility for establishing
Profit-oriented fisheries development strat- Third World development priorities must rest
egies promoted by international donors and with policymakers of individual nations. This
national policymakers rarely consider local com- said. it is obvious that bilateral and multilateral
munity values and the impact of tcchnoiogical assistance agencies must bear part of the respon-
aycncw an. hwevcr. play an important role in
promoting full consid~r~ition of all variables
through selective rocarch (e.g.. on industrk
structure, conirnunity org,knirativn. and resource
rnana~emcnt). supportin, 17 effort3 that are few
ihk not onlv on technical and txonomic proun&.
but also \vhich art‘ mciallv raponsihlc in prwid-
ing ;i broad distribution of development benefits.
There is evidence that many Third b’orld
policyiiabers art2 becoming increasingly recrp-
tive tu the ned to balance the soint’tinit‘z
computing gnls of fisheries dewloprnent. rt‘-
sw ret‘ I1l~IIl;l~elnent. and distrihutlve quit>
(Smith. 1979): indeed. at least oiit‘ dtxeloping
nation (Incloncsin) has taken the lead in thib
direction hy iinposin, cr xi ;dmost total ban on all
commt‘rcial trawling to halt resource deplrtion
and protect the traditional resource ue rights of
smd-scale fishcrnwn (Bailey, 19S-h. l!X%).’
FISt1ERIES DE\‘ELOP\IEST IU ItIE I’tllRD L\ORLD 12-5

I‘h~~mwn, I>.. “Conllict u ithln the lishinc Industry.”

/C‘I.,4R,I/ .A’r.\s>Icl~er. \‘<,I .3. No. 3 (196)) pp. _%4.