Three broad aspects of the development process can be distinguished: (1) improvement in the standard and the quality of life; (2) social progress in terms of equity and rights of the individual; (3) techno-economic betterment in terms of improved conditions and value of production and supply. All three aspects must be borne in mind when development programmes are planned for fishing communities.
In some communities the mere provision of one or two essential facilities or items of equipment is all that is needed to make a “development breakthrough”. There are cases on the record where an all-weather road, a bridge or another means of access to a market was all that was needed to start a spontaneous development process in a fishing community. In other cases, a successful demonstration of a new technology was sufficient to activate dormant capital and initiative.
Unfortunately, in most cases, the situation is more complex and more than one bottle-neck is impeding progress. Therefore, to be successful, programmes must address themselves to all essential limiting factors in a well coordinated manner. Such programmes are called integrated programmes.
Two basic forms of integration are generally recognized. Projects or programmes dealing with the fisheries production chain, from resource management through capture, processing and marketing, and including associated elements such as boat-building and repair facilities, are called vertically integrated.
Horizontally integrated projects would, in addition, mobilize resources and coordinate efforts outside the fishery sector itself, aiming at such things as the improvement of water supply, health and welfare services for the community, or the improvement of various agricultural activities and related services. In villages where fishermen or their relatives and neighbours are also farmers, part of the fishermen's catch can be used as fodder or fertilizer, the fishery centre's generator can provide electric power to the village school and other institutions, joint mechanical workshop and transport can be organized, etc.
One problem which arises with the horizontal integration is that it is more difficult to plan and coordinate, because more institutions, authorities and offices are involved. However, the root problems affecting fishing communities are unlikely to be seriously tackled unless equal attention is given also to non-fishing needs in the community and to creating an environment in which social progress and self-reliance can be achieved. Often, such environment is created only through considerable struggling and bargaining for social justice. To sum up, in most cases, both vertical and horizontal integration are required before any sustained progress can be achieved. The vertically integrated production chain is the economic engine which can help establish and maintain the horizontally organized aspects of community welfare.
The long-term objective of an integrated development programme for small-scale fisheries should be the gradual built-up of a well-organized and a self-reliant fishing community. The fishermen would have available all the facilities they required to operate efficiently. They would all have access to credit and to supplies and services for their operational needs and to markets for their products on a socially and economically attractive and equitable basis. Technical advice and assistance would be on call. The numbers of active fishermen would be controlled by the community and the technology they use would be geared to the available and accessible resources. Associated industries and new occupations would attract surplus manpower. Basic social services would be available, including appropriately scaled health and welfare services, schools, clean water, power supply and, as this build-up progresses, additional amenities may evolve such as various shops, recreational facilities and other long-term needs.
Given the necessary time, initiative, resources, and good will, this is not an overly ambitious nor unrealistic idea. It finds its parallel in the many small, well-organized fishing ports and fishery centres in countries with long-established and well-developed fisheries. From small beginnings, possibly starting off as a sheltered or beach-landing area, or a location which offered access to a good market, these small ports have, through successive generations, developed to their present levels of importance and prosperity. As the earlier communities settled and stabilised, permanent structures such as jetties, buildings, and stores replaced temporary substitutes. Industrious and progressive residents constructed better roads, introduced improved equipment, and opened up new markets. The local industry expanded and enterprising craftsmen and businessmen moved in to serve the fishermen and their families by establishing fish processing plants, boatyards, equipment stores and general shops. At the same time, voluntary and elected community and municipal authorities, often dominated by the fishing folks, were established. Social services developed in the communities, through either voluntary effort and contributions, local levies and taxation, or were enforced by the regional or national government. This was a long process of continuous evolution, change and diversification, mainly determined and initiated from within the fishing communities themselves.
The lines along which these successful fishing ports developed represented spontaneous but well integrated development providing for the wide variety of social and operational needs of the communities.
One should not forget, however, that where such successful development took place, in addition to the initiative, diligence and perseverance of the local people, favourable objective conditions must have existed which enabled such progress to be achieved. These might have been abundant natural resources, good and easily accessible markets, general social and economic development in the country, influx of capital eager for opportunities, etc. Unfortunately, the present conditions in the developing countries are often less favourable; this is perhaps the main reason for the stagnancy in many of the small-scale fishing communities.
Therefore, the launching and successful conclusion of the process of development in rural fishing communities in the developing countries must, in most cases, be accompanied by the deliberate creation of favourable conditions. The reasons why such conditions are presently not usually occurring spontaneously in the Third World are beyond the scope of this Guide. But where these favourable conditions do not now exist, they can often be created by governments, assisted where necessary by international development agencies. The governments must commit themselves to programmes of intensive and long-term support involving credit, extension, and provision of basic infrastructure. They should encourage the establishment of fishermen's institutions and organizations aimed at self-reliance and better representation.
A main reason for the difference in the area of production between wealthy small-scale fishermen in developed countries and poor ones in developing countries is that the latter lack equitable access to reasonably favourable terms to markets, facilities, services, equipment, know-how, supplies and credit, which are basic to small-scale fishing in developed countries.
In developing countries, they have to pay more for the same equipment, spares, and services, if at all available; they have to wait longer for the execution of their orders while having at their disposal only very expensive (if any) credit, and often their share in the price paid by the consumer for fish is less.
The result is not only low economic performance but also a low level of consumption and poor social and community services which characterize the lives of most fishing folk in the developing countries.
An integrated programme for the development of small-scale fisheries should be designed to reduce or eliminate some of the handicaps which prevent or obstruct their progress towards improvement of their working and living standards.
There are three basic options for raising small-scale fishing communities in developing countries to a level of internal organization and access to credit, services and facilities comparable, at least to some degree, with those prevailing in developed countries.
One might possibly let them develop on their own, as did fishing communities in the already developed countries. The only snag is that such historical development, even if successful, might take centuries.
Another way is to support selected individual projects, as identified for and by selected participants (“target”) groups, with the hope that such projects may cause breakthroughs in stagnant situations and be followed by accelerated development along a wider front.
The third option is aimed at development in the fishing community of services, facilities, organizations and institutions needed for the community's self-reliant well-being. All these when integrated within a framework of a flexible “master-plan” - an organic expression of the community's long-term development objectives - represent this option which is called, among other names, community fishery centre (CFC for short). This option is described in the following sections.
