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Systems for managing SSF cannot therefore rely on an
economic model based on licenses and fines as well as having
fishers use the same tracking devices, unless that equipment
cost is significantly reduced. This sounds simple, but as you
begin to include smaller categories of vessels, the number
of boats to monitor increases exponentially. Resourcing this
level of management becomes ever more challenging.
In practice, monitoring small-scale fisheries means a flag
state will need to scale from managing a few thousand vessels Credit: Roy D Palmer
to upwards of tens or hundreds of thousands, with their Traditional fishers need to be consulted right from the start in order to ensure
vessel IDs, licenses, time and zones of fishing, catch reports, effective collaboration.
and so on. This will generate an incredible volume of data, A different economic model
far exceeding the capacities of existing systems. Adapting for First, equipment and services for traditional fishers must be
SSF means not just adding more vessels; we must redesign inexpensive and easy to use in order to be a viable solution.
management platforms to pre-digest all that data and present But in addition, we need to think of new ways to finance SSF
it in ways that are actionable for stakeholders and decision- monitoring. Recent technology advances have enabled new
makers. transmitters that are more affordable and better suited to SSF
needs, but who will pay for them? In some cases, an NGO
In addition, small-scale fishers’ everyday work differs or international development agency may step in and pay for
considerably. For example, they may fish any species they the devices. This is good news for the fishermen, but raises
find while using a variety of traditional fishing gears. They questions about the long-term: will the system work when
often fish in groups; many are not full-time fishermen (they the project is finished and the agencies (and their funding)
may also be farmers or raise livestock outside of the fishing leave?
season). They do not necessarily have an expensive boat,
gear or investments to amortise, so they think of their fishing In some areas, we have seen the fishermen’s association play
activity differently. If we simply copy the industrial model, a large role, paying for the monitoring technology for their
regulating things like mesh size of the net, or quotas based on members, or in other cases, governments are choosing to set
a limited list of species, it clearly will not work. up public-private partnerships.
Data collection
Small fishing communities are also very different: in
most cases, their fishing traditions have not changed for The first issue we need to address is the considerable data
generations and are an integral part of the community’s gap in these fisheries, to gain better knowledge about where,
identity. Moreover, the level of education can prove to be a when, and how much they fish. Accurate information is the
challenge. For these reasons, if an external agency comes into first step to taking decisions to protect fishers, food security,
the village to apply a new regulation from the top down, it will and fish stocks. The FAO’s Guidelines for Securing SSF
not work. (www.fao.org/voluntary-guidelines-small-scale-fisheries/
en/) calls for “the establishment of monitoring, control and
A whole new approach is needed surveillance (MCS) systems applicable to and suitable for
small-scale fisheries” and “systems of collecting fisheries data
with a view to ensuring sustainability of ecosystems, including
There are clear benefits to better SSF monitoring, but the fish stocks, in a transparent manner.”
approach must be collaborative. Traditional fishers need to be
involved in developing these systems, getting their feedback To achieve this goal, we need tracking devices adapted for
from the beginning. Not only does this ensure it meets their these vessels, meaning that they be affordable, of course,
needs, but they can also see the benefits. This encourages and at the same time they also collect data automatically,
them to adopt new practices and fosters greater stakeholder requiring no action on the fisherman’s side: just install and
engagement. In other words, we will need to demonstrate then fish. The devices for tracking SSF must also provide a
these benefits to secure local fishers’ involvement, but in secure data chain, be tamper-proof and theft-proof, and able
doing so, those clear benefits will then support collaboration to collect data wherever they fish. For this, a simple GPS or
moving forward. In formulating a possible new approach, smartphone is not enough, because these fishers are often
there are several factors that need to be considered. forced to go far from shore, outside of mobile phone range.

INFOFISH International 3/2020 ● www.infofish.org