17. Government management arose during the colonization and post-independence period and largely substituted any previous forms of the traditional management of fisheries that existed. Government institutions such as Ministries, Departments and Research Institutes were, until the 1990s, largely centralized and operated as command and control structures.
18. The experts recognized that government management of small-scale fisheries could be effective in policy formulation, setting up the legal frameworks for management and as a focus for building capacity within the fishery sector. National fisheries authorities and research institutions were a means of providing for the enactment of laws and regulations through the processes of Government.
19. However the command and control style of management was largely ineffective for the management of small-scale fisheries. In an economic environment of low government funding and high operational costs, national fisheries institutions found it difficult to cope with understaffing and a deteriorating skill base. The nature of small-scale fisheries with large numbers of operating units widely dispersed across marine, riverine or lacustrine zones present insurmountable problems of enforcing management regulations. This ineffectiveness of government management results in dwindling fish stocks and marginalization of the income and livelihood of small-scale fishers.
