Sources of formal and informal credit

TABLE 28

Sources of new vessels

Development financing was a major catalyst of the iceboat expansion in Barbados, but such funds have not been as readily available for the expansion of the longline fleet. Credit unions and cooperative schemes supporting fishery enterprises are less common, but loan schemes for rural development have also been accessed by fishing interests(Barbados).

There was little information on the role of informal lending in fishery development. Where available, information suggests that informal loans were relatively small, primarily for gear or engines. As the dependence on formal credit increases with the scale and investment of the enterprise, loan applicants need to be more sophisticated in their business planning and management in order to be successful. This requirement tends to favour investor-owners, especially those doing other business with the lending institution. In addition, the conditions of lending may influence patterns of vessel ownership at larger sizes. However, it may be politically unacceptable for loans not to be accessible to ordinary fishers, despite the valid rationale for excluding applicants that do not meet financial criteria.

This makes it even more important that sound technical support and screening accompany lending for highly technical harvest operations such as longlining. As financial institutions do not usually maintain technical specialists on staff, good linkages between them and the fisheries authority are vital for appropriate pelagic fleet expansion.

TABLE 29

Sources of formal and informal credit

^a Jones (1989).

^b Fisheries Division has a revolving loan scheme with no interest, but repayment is low and the scheme now has little funding. There are some local schemes in agricultural banks and the grassroots People’s Cooperatives Bank; however, fishers generally have difficulty meeting the conditions of these institutions. Owners of larger vessels access funds from commercial lending institutions. Informal systems include family loans and overseas remittances, but there are few self-financing group systems (called “meetings” locally).

Training of fishery workers

Training of fishery workers is an important component of fisheries development. Investment in human capital must accompany that in physical capital if small fishery enterprises are to be competitive in a globalized economy. Basic training in small-boat handling, seamanship, navigation, outboard operation and maintenance, etc. have long been offered by fisheries divisions in many countries, or by specialized institutions in a few countries, e.g. the Caribbean Fisheries Training Development Institute (CFTDI) in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Maritime Institute in Jamaica (Table 30). Similar training has at times been offered overseas, particularly to fishers in smaller countries whose fisheries divisions lack the capacity to offer such training.

More recently, as larger, more technologically sophisticated vessels such as longliners enter the fishery, there is a need for crew that can operate and maintain electronic equipment such as radios, radar and GPS. There is also a greater variety of hydraulic, electrical and mechanical equipment to operate and maintain. Even among small-scale fishing units, greater recent emphasis on safety at sea leads to increased use of electronic equipment that requires training.

Another area that has demanded increased training is quality. Quality specifications under the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system for fish to be exported require that fishers and processing plant workers be trained in the methods and procedures for meeting these criteria.

A few decades ago, when shrimp fishing was important in the region, there was subregional cooperation to establish economies of scale for training.The same may have to be considered for the more highly commercial and larger-scale pelagic operations if there is to be coordinated expansion on a wider than national basis. Hands-on training through apprenticeships was one of the key factors in the introduction of swordfish longlining to Barbados. In the early days, US vessels and captains operated from Bridgetown, either for transshipment or for the transfer of skills to nationals on local vessels. With more political emphasis on the freer movement of CARICOM nationals between countries, it is conceivable that training can be achieved through a regional apprenticeship programme. A task for the fisheries authorities would be to identify master-fishers or “highliners” for this role and to assess its cost-effectiveness compared with more centralized training.

Profiles of the main groups of fishers

In many CARICOM countries, fishers have consistently been viewed as belonging to the lowest economic levels. Fisheries developments such as those leading to larger and/ or more technically sophisticated vessels have led to some reduction in the perception of fishing as a “ragamuffin, barefoot” industry. This should, in turn, lead to increased attractiveness of the fishing industry as a career. Furthermore, larger vessels provide more comfortable, safer working conditions than small-scale ones and also require higher levels of education to operate the equipment.

TABLE 30

Training fishery workers

As the profile of pelagic fishers changes to one more typical of a skilled, technical labour force, it is possible that divisions within the harvest sector may be sharpened according to vessel or gear type. Small groups of elites may arise as less sophisticated fisheries and fishers become second class. This may be a good thing as far as it causes more fishers to aspire towards and pursue the elite status through greater attention to training and professionalism. However, the distinctions may also have negative consequences for cohesion and cooperation within the small fisheries subsectors of these countries. In Grenada, signs of this are becoming evident and are contributing in a limited way to constraining the supply of bait for pelagic fishing (Table 31).

Levels of dependency on the fishery

The level of dependency on the fishery is of three-fold interest in the management and development of large pelagic fisheries. High dependency on fishing indicates that management measures involving limited entry or other forms of effort control will be difficult, as it indicates that there may be limited alternatives for displaced fishers.

From a second perspective, high dependency on fishing speaks to the level of importance that government should attach to sustainable development of the fishing industry. A common complaint is that governments undervalue fisheries and fisheries authorities at all levels and do not strive to ensure sustainability. There is a widely shared perception that there will always be some resource to sustain fishing, regardless of positive or negative intervention. The comings, goings and fluctuations of migratory pelagics may fuel this perception.

^a Nagassar (2000).

Third, high dependency extends into the development of allocation criteria. According to the Fish Stocks Agreement, dependency on fisheries by coastal and developing states should be a consideration in determining access. In this instance, dependency needs to encompass social and cultural dimensions as well as relative economic importance, because the dollar value of these small fisheries is not significant in comparison with industrialized countries whose dependency is actually less.

Reported dependency varied considerably among countries, more or less in proportion to the relative importance of large pelagics in the overall fishing industry (Table 32). Throughout CARICOM there are numerous communities, usually but not always rural, that are highly dependent on fishing, whatever the species.

Employment alternatives for fishers and others in the pelagic fishery

The extent to which there are employment alternatives for fishers and other operators in a fishery determines the social and economic feasibility of fishery management approaches that limit access. Responses indicate that the availability of employment alternatives varies widely among countries. There is plenty of evidence to indicate that fishers involved in pelagic fishing avail themselves of alternative employment during the pelagic off-season.^[21] However, this seasonal switching does not necessarily mean that fishers can be excluded from fishing without economic hardship. The fishing season may be an important component of their annual income. Similarly, in rural areas fishing may often be a component of a multi-occupational lifestyle that may be unsustainable without the opportunity to fish. There appear to have been few comprehensive examinations of the extent to which fishers could be permanently absorbed into other forms of employment (Table 33).

TABLE 32

Levels of dependency on the large pelagic fishery

Estimates of fishery value

Estimates of the value of a fishery are fundamental to determining the level of investment in management that can be justified. Even simple estimates based on landings multiplied by average prices can be valuable guides. While the need for this information was widely recognized in the responses given, estimates of the value of pelagic fisheries were not readily available in many countries (Table 36).