The operation of a CFC will depend to a large extent on the ownership pattern of its components which, as already mentioned before, may be private, cooperative, company, community, or government. Whatever the ownership, however, a CFC is essentially a group of facilities and services for the fishermen which should be equally and equitably accessible to every fisherman.
Since in most cases the establishment of the CFC and its various components would be financially assisted by a government and/or other outside agency, this accessibility to all fishermen can be assured by the conditions of this assistance. Examples of conditions which might be stipulated include:
the services of each component of the CFC are accessible to every member of the community;
the charges for these services and the prices for any merchandise supplied cannot be excessive and could be put under control of a special committee or some other organization or institutio
the fishermen may pay for any services and merchandise in kind with their catch;
fishermen have priority over other clients, where it comes to mechanical and other repairs, space for storing fish, equipment, beaching boats and essential supplies. Where a facility is rented out to a mechanic to operate a mechanical workshop, a fishermen's broken engine will be repaired before a taxi or a motorcycle.
Fish can be sold by auction to fish dealers with the auctioning carried out by a fishermen's organization, a commission, or specially appointed civil servants. There may also be individual selling of fish to smaller or bigger fish dealers. In a market hall with stands where fishmongers sell fish to the public, space ought to be reserved for fishermen who may wish to sell their own fish directly to the consumer. On other other hand, because of tradition, employment policy, and other reasons, some governments or communities may insist that fishermen's business is to catch fish but not to sell it.
In any case, where the CFC has a terminal for landing, storing and distribution/marketing of fish, fish storage should be available to both the fishermen before they sell their catch and to fish dealers after they have bought the fish. Thus, the fishermen can keep his fish (dried, iced or refrigerated) until he can sell them at a good price. On the other hand, the middleman, cooperative, etc., can keep their fish stored until transport is available and the market is right.
In many countries reserved services and facilities may exist in the neighbourhood or communities of artisanal fishermen who nevertheless are denied, cannot afford or choose not to use these services and facilities. Such are, for example, fishing companies' sites where only the company's own vessels are serviced, some cooperative services and installations only accessible to the members, government controlled enterprises and fish collection centres which are, in fact, accessible to fishermen only when they are prepared to deliver their fish at prescribed prices and conditions.
In some cases, as a result of government policy, because of local topography, or other reasons, reserved components might have to be incorporated in the CFC. It should be possible, however, to make them at least partly accessible to all fishermen through special arrangements such as, for example: prices for cooperative supplied equipment and services are higher for non-members; those who do not deliver fish at integrated enterprises pay more, or cash, for services rendered, etc. In this way the fishermen are free to choose the manner in which (or whether at all) they want to use the various services and facilities.
Whether CFC components are owned or operated by state, private, or cooperative enterprises or individuals, their operation and management is up to their operators, who, whenever necessary, should be assisted by FDU workers and experts. Where the CFC is the product of a government and/or donor supported development programme, and the land and the buildings are publicly owned, the separate operators may be given much of the facilities, equipment and seed money through the programme on a contractual basis.
It is important that such contractual arrangements, generally signed between the commercial operators, the government and the community, include control and supervisory measures which will enable a committee, or another auditing body to prevent mishandling and overcharging. Every contract should be provided with “teeth”, such as that the community or the government may revoke the contract of a dishonest or inefficient operator. Where the operator is a cooperative or another fishermen's organization, or a government institution, the persons in charge must frequently be subject to outside audit, preferably by elected fishermen's representatives supported, when needed, by professional accountants.
As in the case of financial schemes, credibility would be one of the main factors affecting the success of the CFC operation. Therefore, every feasible means should be used to build up the fishermen's confidence in the CFC's institutions. One way to prevent or reduce stealing and cheating is to have the handling of fish and money so designed and organized as to make any transgression very difficult. This could include weighing-at-landing arrangements, “fish lockers” within the general storage facility, daily market and price reporting, cash handling in a manner best fitting the local conditions (this may mean immediate, direct payment in cash in one place and cash handling only through bank (or other) accounts in another), and many other, locally designed and suitable arrangements.
Where CFC components are owned or operated by one single body, be it government agency, a cooperative, or a company (trading-station style) all efforts should be made to prevent any unnecessary bureaucratisation of the CFC relations with the fishing folk. Participatory supervision and direction by the people themselves could be the best protection against such an eventuality. Even a private or government-owned company could be forced to accept such supervision, if it is built in the contractual arrangement through which they obtained the right to operate a facility, provide a service, or build on public land (see Organization Chart: Participatory supervision of CFC operations).
Where the lease or rent of a facilities includes any mechanical equipment, a strict supervisory mechanism, possibly with the technical assistance of the FDU, should be arranged. It is a fact of life that more often than not privately owned equipment and facilities receive better care and maintenance which prolongs their service life, than equipment and facilities which are not owned by their operators. Good technical supervision, however, and contactual “teeth” may improve the situation very much. This is one of the reasons why the CFC programme insists so much on the long-term technical assistance through FDUs, especially where public and cooperative operators prevail.
In this context, the planners might be reminded of the option of hire-puchase schemes. Where CFC components are rented or leased out to commercial operators, individual, firms, or cooperatives, the terms of the agreement might include the option of the operator to become the owner of the facility or equipment, after certain financial conditions have been fulfilled, and after he has proved his skills and honesty. No doubt that the operators, who hope to become in due time the owners of the equipment and facilities they are operating, would have an additional incentive to give them the proper care and maintenance.
