The concept of providers of research services or fisheries research is taken in the widest sense of the term, that is, it refers to all the units where teams (biologists, socio-economists....) working for the generation of technologies and/or knowledge in the area of fisheries. This concept, which integrates social sciences, seems to be in keeping with the reality of research institutions considered in this study.
4.1 General situation
4.1.1 Type of institutions involved
Several institutions are involved in the provision of fisheries research services. The number and nature of institutions involved varies from country to country. Generally speaking, the categories of institutions described below provide research services to different users (fishing communities, political decision-makers) (Table 2).
Public research or training institutions
This category of provider groups national research institution as well as foreign institutions the most heavily present being the French Institute for Development Research (IDR). It is to be noted that in some countries such as Guinea, the action of foreign, public institutions like IDR are completely integrated into the national structure.
As regards national research institutions in particular, two sub-categories are noted:
(a) Institutions with an exclusive mandate to conduct fisheries research
This is the situation found in countries like Guinea with the Centre National des Sciences Halieutiques de Boussoura (CNSHB) and the Centre de Recherche Scientifique de Conakry - Rogbanè (CERESCOR), Mauritania with the Institut Mauritanien de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêches (IMROP) (e.g. Centre National de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêches (CNROP)), Senegal with the Centre de Recherches Océanographiques Dakar-Thiaroye CRODT and Nigeria with the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) and the Nigerian Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research (NIFFR).
(b) Institutions with no exclusive mandate to conduct fisheries research
This is the situation found especially in Cameroon with the Institute for the Agricultural Research (IRAD) and Mali with the Institute of Rural Economy (IER). Within such institutions, fisheries research is often only a small part of a mechanism which deals with agricultural research and rural development as a whole.
In addition to national research institutions, several national universities are also involved in the provision of fisheries research services. This situation is true almost everywhere with various degrees of involvement depending on the country.
Apart from these training and research institutions, there is a strong involvement of projects, programmes or development bodies in the provision of fisheries research services. This is the situation namely in Mali with the Office for Rural Development of Sélingué (ODRS) and the Opération Pêche Mopti (OPM), in Mauritania with the Banc dArguin National Park (PNBA) or Cameroon with the South West Development Authority (SOWEDA). In most cases, these bodies or development projects act on behalf of the fishing communities, as spokesmen to express their needs. They also participate in the funding of research and development activities and ensure dissemination of results obtained.
The general analysis of public institutions reveals that the priority given to fisheries research varies between countries. This priority is often a reflection of the status of the institution and especially, the resources allocated by the Government. Box 4 gives two rather extreme situations in Mali and Mauritania.
Table 2. General situation of research service providers in the countries under review
Country |
Type of institution involved |
Service fields covered |
Diversity and capacities of providers |
Aptitudes in development-centred research |
||
Strong points |
Weak points |
Strong points |
Weak points |
|||
Cameroon |
Public |
(a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
Existence of universities taking into account social sciences (sociology, anthropology...). |
(a) Low consideration of fisheries research by the universities. |
(a) Diversity of disciplines represented within the research teams. |
(a) Low quantitative representation of social sciences. |
Guinea |
Public |
(a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
(a) Existence of a relatively large group of scientists working in fisheries
research. |
(a) Low level of involvement of universities in fisheries research (apart
from the work done by trainees). |
(a) Multidisciplinary research teams. |
(a) Poor development of participatory approaches. |
Mali |
Public |
(a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
(a) Several research institutions and development bodies investing in the fisheries sector. |
(a) Fisheries research only represents a tiny part of the total agricultural
research mechanism. |
(a) Existence of a system of research-on-demand with the RCUs. |
|
Mauritania |
Public |
(a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
(a) Existence of a national institution specialized in fisheries research and enjoying substantial financial resources. |
(a) Marginal action of the university in fisheries research |
(a) Initiatives to consider users as partners in research. |
(a) Research Institution designed solely to provide assistance in decision-making
to the supervisory ministry. |
Nigeria |
Public |
(a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
(a) Research institutions possessing wide variety of scientific skills and taking social science specialities into account. |
(a) Inadequate /insufficient financial allocation. |
(a) Some training and updating in the participatory approach for officers
in some co-operation agencies (GTZ). |
(a) Inadequate incentives for training in participatory approaches for researchers. |
Senegal |
Public |
a) Generation of technologies and knowledge. |
(a) Great diversity of institutions active in fisheries research. |
(a) Inadequate human and financial resources at the main institution
(CRODT) - marked weakness in social sciences. |
((a) Participatory approach encouraged through research activities. |
|
Box 4: Priority given to fisheries research Case of Mali Economic value of fisheries
Situation of fisheries research service providers
Scientific skills
Case of Mauritania Economic value of fisheries
Situation of fisheries research service providers
Scientific skills
Sources: National reports, Maritania and Nigeria. 1 US$ = 740 FCFA; 1 US$ = 250 Naira |
Private research or development institutions
This category of provider comprises several actors including:
(a) Non-governmental organizations (NGO); in this category are organizations such as the Centre de Recherche pour le Développement de Technologies Intermédiaires de Pêche (CREDRETIP), International Union for Conservation of Nature (UICN), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Environnement et Développement du Tiers Monde (ENDA TM) and the Association Sénégalaise travaillant sur la protection et conservation des ressources naturelles (OCEANIUM), found in Senegal.
(b) Bilateral cooperation bodies (working through projects); this is the case with GTZ in Cameroon and Nigeria.
International institutions (e.g. IRD)
4.1.2 Scientific skills and type of services provided
The fisheries research service providers incorporate a varied range of scientific disciplines with numbers varying depending on the type and size of the institution. The table in Annex 3 gives an idea of the disciplines available within some public fisheries research institutions and highlights the great disparity between institutions, both in number of disciplines and number of research staff.
4.2 Aptitudes and skills in development research
The aptitude and skills of development research institutions varies greatly depending on the country (Table 2). In all cases there are both favourable and unfavourable factors:
The strong points or assets concern in particular:
(a) The existence of priority areas in fisheries research emerging from strategic research plans that were prepared following a multi-institutional, participatory approach (involving the users).
(b) The existence of frameworks (even informal) for dialogue between the research service providers, the technical ministerial departments and different categories of users. In Senegal there is FNRAA and the CNCPM, Nigeria, NCA and NACCIMA, Mali, CNRA, APCAM and the CRU; or the informal and periodic exchanges between research and technical ministerial departments in Guinea or Mauritania.
(c) The recent transformation of the status of some institutions into public scientific and technical establishments thus permitting greater efficiency in action and promoting the culture of enterprise. This is the situation observed in Senegal with ISRA/CEODT and in Mali with the IER.
The shortcomings on the other hand, pertain to:
(a) The absence of institutional mechanisms Research - Fisheries communities (professionals) - Policies
(b) Inappropriate status (PAE) of some research institutions, which has not permitted the fostering of development-based research (inflexibility in management, poor motivation of researchers to promote participatory approaches to development.)
(c) Inadequacy or even absence of mechanisms for the active participation of users in leading and directing research.
(d) Over-dependence of research institutions on external funding (at least 70 percent in some cases); which does not in some cases enable research to be directed towards concrete development concerns.