REPORT OF THE  

WORKSHOP ON POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND CHANGE IN

Madras, India, 10-14 March 1997

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Rome, 1997

Population growth in fishing communities is considered an important factor contributing to the over-exploitation of fisheries and to the degradation of the coastal environment. However, little is actually known about population characteristics of fishing communities and fishing communities have hardly been included in population education and other relevant programmes. This was revealed during the preparatory phase of a project on "Strengthening of research and training in population and development dynamics in rural fishing communities", executed by FAO and funded by UNFPA.

The workshop brought together fisheries scientists/socio-economists with experience in demographic and population research on fishing communities in the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Tanzania and Senegal, population experts, representatives of fisherfolk associations and fisheries planning experts and administrators, for the purpose of:

- presenting and discussing the findings of recent studies of population characteristics of coastal fishing communities and their relationship to the level of fishing effort and to the level of exploitation of fisheries resources and formulation of recommendations for incorporation of research findings in fisheries education and training;

- providing advice to countries on designing and introducing special population policies and programmes for fishing communities in support of food security and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources with the ultimate objective of improving the living standards of coastal fishing communities and of enhancing their role in sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and their contribution to food security at national and global levels;

- formulating recommendations for institutionalisation of population research on fishing communities for consideration of demographic and population research findings in fisheries planning and management.

The participants included experts and representatives from the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers in India, the Fisheries Department of Tamil Nadu, India, the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, the British Overseas Development Agency (ODA), the Madras-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, the South Asia Network for Small Fisherfolk Development, the Christian Workers Movement Catholic Centre, the Madras Institute of Development Studies, the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, the College of Fisheries of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, the Central Institute for Fisheries Education in Bombay, the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), the Bureau of Statistics of Senegal, the Coordinator and experts of the FAO Bay of Bengal Programme for Fisheries Management (BOBP), and FAO Fishery Industries Division and Population Programme. The Department of Sociology of the University of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, contributed a paper to the workshop.

The programme was divided into three parts. The first part set the stage through presentations and discussions of papers on broad issues of artisanal fisheries management, the role of population change, and methodological questions.

The second part consisted of presentation and discussion of case studies from the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Senegal on population characteristics and trends of fishing communities and their relationship to the level of exploitation of fisheries resources.

The third and last part of the workshop was spent in two working groups. The first working group formulated recommendations for institutionalisation of population research on fishing communities while the second working group formulated recommendations for consideration of population issues in fisheries policy planning. The second working group also prepared a proposal for an inter-regional technical assistance project on integration of population concerns into fisheries management.

2. PROCEEDINGS

In his presentation, Mr G. Groenewold gave an overview of the history of this UNFPA-funded project, its objectives and work plans and the future tasks to be carried out. The FAO backstopping, among other things, entails the provision of guidelines for research methodology, implementation and curriculum development. The project consists of two phases: a preparatory phase and a main phase of three years.

The preparatory phase research activities consisted, among others, of a desk research study and a needs assessment/sensitisation workshop both carried out during 1993. In 1994, the desk research and workshop recommendations resulted in the formulation of the project document for the main phase of the project. The objectives of the main phase of the project are two-fold. By the end of the project selected regional and/or national institutes should have been strengthened in their capacity to (i) carry out quantitative and qualitative research on population and development dynamics of rural fishing communities and (ii) to impart training in the field of population and development dynamics of fishing communities to staff of fisheries administrations and fisheries development agencies, including NGOs (training of trainers).

At present the main phase is under way and by the end of 1997 the reporting on three research activities should be completed: macro-level desk research, participatory appraisal micro-level research, household sample survey research. In addition, a comparative study will be carried out by FAO based on the studies produced by the institutes. The workshop here in Madras will focus mainly on the reporting of findings of the macro-level desk research and participatory appraisal research. During 1998 curricula, model training materials and programmes will be developed and training of the first batch of staff of fisheries development agencies should be implemented.

Mr Groenewold’s presentation focused on the methodology of the micro-level household sample survey, yet to be implemented by most institutes. Among others things, attention was paid to sampling issues, the content and target audience for the set of survey questionnaires developed by FAO, and the fine-tuning of questionnaire design and computerised data processing. In realizing the financial constraints of the project, he pointed at the relatively small sample sizes, n=200 households in each country.

The observation was made that if a multi-stage sample design is not self-weighting the database generated by the survey must include a variable "weight", to be used in analysis, which contains values for each case record (i.e. household, individual) and which compensates for the fact that households and individuals have different selection probabilities.

In the discussion that followed, questions were raised that addressed the target group of the questionnaires as well as sampling issues, such as why the age-bracket 15 to 49 was chosen for females and 15 to 64 for males. Mr Groenewold explained that this had two purposes: (i) large-scale (fertility and family planning) surveys and censuses already carried out in the countries of the project limit fertility questions to women who are in their reproductive period in life, the project's survey results could then be compared with these survey and census results, and (ii) the proposed age ranges would result in fewer individual interviews per households which conforms to the desire expressed by the teams to limit the number of eligible persons to be interviewed in a sampled household.

The observation was made that households are believed to be heterogeneous rather than homogenous. Mr Groenewold responded that research had shown that the members of a household with respect to most socio-economic variables tend to be more alike when compared to other members in the community.

The question was raised how to determine the optimal sample size. Mr Groenewold responded that optimal sample size is a function of financial resources, time and staff available for the survey taking, the expected variance of main survey variables and the desired precision of means and proportions of survey variables. It was explained that the household sample survey will yield findings which are statistically representative for one coastal district/region/province of each of the six countries.

Mr Marcoux’s presentation focused on selected research activities that provide a background to the present workshop as they illustrate the relevance for population issues to rural development policies.

Following the World Population Conference and the World Food Conference, both held in 1974, FAO engaged in a series of research and training activities linking population and agricultural development issues.

In 1975, an international seminar was held to review "population, food and agricultural development" issues and to identify research needs. It recommended country case studies and comparative analyses (including sub-country areas) to observe actual linkages; studies on relations between nutrition and (i) productivity, (ii) fertility; studies on population-supporting capacities of lands; labour use, in particular trade-offs between production and employment-oriented strategies; food demand projections; and relationships between rural development patterns and demographic change at the micro-level.

A series of studies was then commissioned, leading to the publication of monographs between 1977 and 1978.

A study showed that the population problems of developing countries are "rooted in agriculture", that they are not solved by urbanisation as often occurs in LDCs, i.e. without much economic transformation, and that one must address the question of agricultural development strategies, i.e. seek what type of socio-economic transformation is most conducive to demographic transition. Based on available evidence, it is suggested that more equitable income distribution (asset redistribution et al) and improved education and work status for women - all leading to better health, nutrition and productivity - would be more efficient than mere output growth strategies to start breaking the population-poverty vicious circle.

Another study reviewed the experience of Kerala, where mortality and fertility has declined despite stagnant incomes. It identified improvements in public health and education as the approximate causes, but also detected that access to land ownership had been an incentive for agricultural households to plan family sizes.

A third study examined the interactions between nutrition, wages and productivity levels in the process of agricultural development.

A synthetic study then reviewed the "possible planning uses" of knowledge available on population-agriculture linkages. Summarising: Planners usually account for population change, but exogenously. Even in that limited framework, more should be done, especially by the way of desegregating the population variable (by age group, sex, socio-economic category, labour status, food consumption pattern agro-ecological zone, etc.) depending on the issue at hand. This means that information is needed on the dynamics of various groups of population.

The most important policy development would be to formulate agricultural/rural policies that influence population change in the direction desirable according to population policy; this entails knowledge on the reactions of demographic behaviour to economic stimuli. Again this knowledge will be more available or obtainable for homogeneous sub-groups. Decentralised planning will help improve the linkage between economic and population policy. Finally, "integrated" policies at the decentralised level will be the best instrument to tackle natural resources and environmental issues.

Mr Marcoux summarised the evolution in FAO research priorities noting that there has been a gradual shift in focus from macro issues to micro linkages between population change and economic behaviour, and there has been increasing attention to specific sub-sectors and population groups (often defined by the resource use and environment problems which they share).

In the discussion that followed the main question raised was on "causality": How can one determine e.g. which factors were responsible for the decline of fertility observed in the famous Kerala State study? Mr Marcoux noted that one cannot really hope to prove cause-and-effects in social studies, but rather to document statistical "associations" between socio-economic development variables (e.g. improved public health and education) and population variables (i.e. fertility decline) in a manner that is convincing enough for policy makers.

These associations emerge from analysing information from a number of quantitative and qualitative studies conducted over a number of years. The qualitative studies record the views and perceptions of the people on the changes observed, which provides strength to the associations found in quantitative studies. Those views on the explanation of changes in socio-economic and viz. population variables should be used more often by policy makers and planners.

A joint presentation by Dr K.C. Chong, Project Co-ordinator and Mr Rathin Roy, Senior Communications Officer of the BOBP, provided a broad overview of remaining unresolved issues and problems confronting the fisheries sector. Dr Chong pointed out that fisherfolk have been the subject of the many studies and government intervention in terms of assistance to improve their welfare. He expressed the expectation that the results of a regional survey and comparative study which is being undertaken by BOBP will yield valuable information and insights to guide policy formulation and evolve guidelines for fisheries management systems as well as for actively involving fisheries resources users as fisheries managers.

Dr Chong also suggested that the establishment of community "learning and earning" centres in fishing villages can go a long way forwards mobilising and organizing the fisherfolk to decide for themselves what they perceive as their problems and how they should resolve them instead of decisions being made for them.

Mr Roy indicated that stakeholder approaches developed by BOBP include information gathering from and by stakeholders in order to know the dynamics of fisheries and fishing communities and to identify appropriate methods to manage fisheries in specific areas. In the above development process stakeholders themselves are involved in designing management plans and solving problems, through awareness building, consultation and negotiation.

In the discussion following the presentation, it was noted that in developing countries open access regimes are being increasingly "privatised" through encroachment and that in many cases, entitlements are not clearly delineated. If the boundaries of fishing grounds are not legally defined, however, it is difficult to establish fisheries management schemes.

It was also highlighted that the lack of users’ rights systems bring forth conflicts among fishermen as the intrusion of outsiders in the fishing ground becomes continuous. The existence of migratory fishermen exacerbates problems as it makes it difficult to establish boundaries.

It was also indicated during the discussion that certain patterns of resource users rights might be established depending upon local traditions on property rights. In some countries, for example, forest land users can get entitlements from authorities as foresters. In the Philippines, the lease of fish ponds can be made available to fish farmers for a total of 25 years with a payment of 50 peso per hectare per annum.

The meeting was informed that the concept of community learning centres as pursued by BOBP does not mean setting up new physical facilities or institutions, but utilising the existing facilities in the communities (e.g. temples, community halls) for the purpose of awareness building, problems solving, consultations, etc. Development of mobile community learning centres is also being envisaged.

• Overfishing, demographic research and artisanal fishing communities: nailing the issues - Presentation by Ms C. Sharma, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, India.

In her paper, Ms Chandrika Sharma, Programme Associate of the International Collective in Support of Fish Workers, emphasised that it is the proliferation of destructive fishing technology, misguided government policy, degradation of coastal areas, as well as inappropriate property right regimes in fisheries, that are fundamentally responsible for overfishing, and are therefore the 'ultimate' causes. Population growth in fishing communities, can, at best, be seen as a 'proximate' factor in resource degradation. She pointed out that for effective resource management, the 'ultimate' causes for resource degradation needed to be dismantled.

It was also emphasised, that to the extent that population is an issue, it is best addressed by enhancing women's autonomy and status within the community, and that the population issues should be seen as the right to determine and make reproductive decisions in the context of fulfilling secure livelihoods, basic needs and political participation. In this context there is a need to improve the access of fishing communities to basic services, and to protect their access to resources for a secure livelihood. It was pointed out that these objectives are best met under community-based systems of management, which recognise the role and rights of women.

Finally, it was suggested that demographic research in fishing communities, presently inadequate, needs to be conducted within a framework which recognises and addresses the above issues. A special emphasis needs to be placed in the collection of data regarding the status and autonomy of women in the fishing communities.

During the discussion following the presentation it was suggested that over-exploitation of fishery resources has been caused mainly by industrialised fisheries in the North, not by small-scale fisheries in the South. It was also suggested that it would be useful to conduct case studies on costs and benefits of fishing operations by types of fishing craft and gear combination in relation to resource exploitation in order to get a clearer picture of the economic role of small-scale fisheries in relation to the level of exploitation of fisheries resources.

Other interventions highlighted the need to investigate not only techno-economic aspects of fisheries but also socio-economic aspects of fishing communities and population issues in relation to the carrying capacity of fisheries resources. The need to identify and support alternative employment opportunities for fishers was also emphasised.

It was stressed that population issues needed to be studied in order to design more appropriate policies for the fisheries sector, which may include the desegregated data of fisherfolk population, i.e. full-time, part-time and occasional fishermen. It has been found generally difficult to acquire such data in developing countries.

A question was raised as to how rural women can be effectively involved in resource management. It was noted that in reality women are already overburdened with daily household activities and they have never been involved in resource management. With a view to facilitate the participation of women in resource management efforts, it was also necessary to design interventions which reduce the time and effort required for daily survival tasks, such as fetching water and firewood. Representatives of BOBP indicated that BOBP would be interested in taking up this issue as part of project activities in the future.

In reply to these queries it was pointed out that FAO had implemented a very successful UNFPA-funded project for women of fishing communities in two Provinces of the Philippines from 1990 to 1994 which had considerably enhanced women’s social and economic role and their participation in decision making at family and community level, which included the participation with regard to management of fisheries resources at the level of the local municipality. Regarding time use patterns and their changes as a result of women’s enhanced economic and social role, the project had shown that other household members, including male household members, take over tasks previously carried out by women who then spend more time on economic and social activities.

Finally, it was suggested that population issues and problems in fisheries should be analysed in an objective manner. The problems in coastal resources management are unique for different areas and we can not generalise the causes and solutions to these problems.

In his presentation, Dr Hotta described current management practices in developed and developing countries, requirements for effective fisheries management implementation and the key elements to be met for successful implementation of community-based fisheries management (CFM).

He then presented a case study on Hamana Lake clam fishery management in Japan which showed a typical pattern of the evolution of CFM. The key elements included (i) establishment of territorial use rights, (ii) creation of cohesive fishermen's organizations at community level, (iii) provision of economic incentives to fishermen to enhance their eagerness to participate in management plans, (iv) integration of concepts and regulations of CMF into the national framework of fisheries legislation to legally protect artisanal fishermen, (v) decentralisation of management authority to local level, (vi) creation of a co-ordination body external to the persons concerned for management authorities, and (vii) strengthening linkages between research institutes and community organizations.

In the discussion following Dr Hotta’s presentation, the question was raised as to how effectively enforcement can be carried out to prevent illegal fishing during closed seasons and in closed areas including poaching under CFM regimes. Dr Hotta replied that when fishermen are involved in the design of management plans, a high rate of compliance can be expected as the rules are agreed upon by themselves. Besides, CFM brings the merit of cost effectiveness since surveillance is undertaken by fishermen.

It was noted that in Japan, fishermen have to be members of fisheries co-operatives to be entitled to fish in the waters adjacent to communities where fisheries rights are established. Therefore the great majority of fishermen are members of fisheries co-operatives.

Fishermen are qualified to be members of co-operatives if they go fishing more than 120 days a year and have residence in a fishing village.

During the discussion it was highlighted that management measures in Japan are implemented taking into account two important aspects: resource conservation and fish prices. For this purpose, a ban on fishing one or two days a week is widely carried out. In order to strengthen the bargaining position of fishermen, not only exclusive harvesting, but also collective co-operative marketing is encouraged to ensure that channels of sales can be controlled by the fishermen.

It was also emphasised that fishery regulations should evolve with the change of biological, social and economic conditions of the communities and management bodies should be flexible enough to frequently amend regulations to adjust to the current needs of communities.

Exclusive right systems in Japan, which also limit new entry to fishing even from among co-fishermen, has enabled the level of exploitation of coastal resources to be maintained at a sustainable level. Sea ranching schemes have contributed to enhancing the productivity of waters, as well.

The meeting was also informed that in some parts of Pulicat Lake in South India, a management scheme is being considered, to be jointly implemented by fishermen's co-operatives and the Fisheries Department, under the Five Year Plan starting in 1997. The role of the Fisheries Department will be to carry out artificial seeding of penaeus monodon, establishment of sanctuaries, establishment of closed seasons, etc. It was mentioned that awareness building to impart the sense of rights and obligations to fishermen is important.

The session was concluded with the remark that there is an apparent need for introducing management measures to restrict gears, vessels, etc. in the light of the limited carrying capacities of local resources. A high rate of population growth will have a negative impact on the state of resources and in this context it was suggested that governments should take initiatives in strengthening their decisions by regularly conducting fisherfolk household surveys which included population aspects as well as stock assessment.

• Fishers and fisheries: population concerns and sustainable natural resources management - Presentation by Mr A. Marcoux, FAO Population Programme.

In his presentation, Mr Marcoux first defined the importance of population variables in dealing with fisheries policy. One aspect is the possible role of population growth as a factor in the depletion of local artisanal fisheries (on a larger scale, economic growth and changes in food and industrial demand may have been more important). Another, more generally relevant aspect, has to do with the socio-demographic characteristics of the fishers’ population. The structure of the fisheries sector is an important part of the context that policy makers must consider, since policies - especially those geared to limit the exploitation of fisheries resources - are bound to have a definite impact on fishing populations via the employment factor.

Unfortunately, the information available to policy-makers in this area is as yet insufficient. In many countries the numbers of fishers are hardly known, and the characteristics of fishing households with regard to size, structure, livelihoods and economic strategies are even more elusive. Interesting local studies of fishing communities do exist, but these rarely provide sufficient coverage to form a basis for national policies. Results of an analytical review of the literature on this score, conducted by the UNFPA/FAO project, were recalled.

The presenter indicated possible applications of better knowledge on the population dynamics of fishing communities: (a) in the design of population programmes, stressing the benefits to be derived from a better notion of family structures and the economic rationale of demographic behaviour; and (b) in fisheries policy making, underlining the need to anticipate the impact of alternative policies on the employment in the various sub-sectors and the corresponding populations.

Finally, in relation to the latter he described what kinds of studies would facilitate sound fisheries planning and improve its outcome from the viewpoint of people’s livelihoods and sustainability of resources. These would include:

During the discussion following Mr Marcoux’s presentation, various issues were reviewed which are related to securing statistical information on fisherfolk. Information was given on census data existing in the countries represented that could conceivably be further exploited. Such data generally exist, at least for recent censuses (after 1980), but access to them often is administratively complicated and this discourages potential users. It was underlined that bodies concerned in the fisheries sector would find it valuable if a procedure was defined in advance so that the next census would collect and process appropriate data in the format they need; this should be a recommendation of this workshop.

With regard to the varying definitions of fishing, it was suggested that FAO, through its advisory work for the 2000 World Census of Agriculture, could take the lead towards a harmonisation.

Another suggestion was to look into possibilities for developing a demographic simulation component in existing or future bio-economic models.

In general there was agreement on the need for international assistance in the development of good statistics on fisherfolk, at least in South Asia.

It was also said that the habit of building new sets of data to support specific political decisions, undermines the credibility of statistics. There should be pressure, primarily from the public, and critical attention from the professionals, so that official figures are reviewed and discussed and ultimately improved in quality.

The first of a series of papers that reported the of results of the macro-level desk research and the participatory appraisal research was presented by Dr Md Rezaul Karim, Director, Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Bangladesh.

Dr Karim provided statistics indicating the importance of the fisheries sector for the economy, as a source of employment and as one of the most important food sources for the people of Bangladesh. Fish accounts for 75 percent of the nation's animal protein consumption in Bangladesh. Of the 120 million people living in Bangladesh in 1993/94, about 1.3 million were active fishermen and of these 566,000 were reported as marine fishermen.

Over the period 1984-1994, the number of fishermen increased by 116,000 and the share of marine fishermen of the total number of fishermen in Bangladesh slightly increased from 38 percent to 41 percent during that period. Data for the decade prior to 1984 was unfortunately not available. Dr Karim suggested that a possible reason for the increase in the number of fishermen in Bangladesh was that landless people have moved into the fisheries sector in general and particularly into the marine fisheries sector.

The presentation then focused on marine fisheries. It was explained that the particular location of Bangladesh, bordering over a length of 483 km the shores of the Bay of Bengal in the north, favoured fish production. With the help of various maps and tables, Dr Karim gave an overview of the main fishing areas, surface areas of various sea depth zones, time series of density of marine fishermen per square km, fish production and its growth by type of fisheries, time series of changes in fish catch and population size and time series of fish catch per fishermen.

Various problems in the fisheries sector were identified such as a limited area where marine fishing can be carried out; increase in demand for fish due to population increase; increase in numbers of marine fishermen; and over-exploitation of fish resources.

The increase in the number of marine fishermen resulted in a decline in the fishing area per fisherman. While the overall fish production per capita increased in the period 1984-1994 from 7.8 kg to 9.2 kg, the marine fish catch per fishermen remained almost constant at 450 kg per fisherman/year over the same decade.

The importance of inland capture fisheries, and even more of inland culture fisheries, increased considerably during the decade. In 1994, marine capture fisheries accounted for about 23 percent of the total fish production, almost all of which came from small-scale, artisanal fishermen. The recent increase of mechanisation in the marine fisheries sector resulted in an increase in employment opportunities, as crew members, for under-employed traditional fishermen.

Although fish production per capita and per fishermen have been gradually increasing in Bangladesh, it was concluded that per capita consumption of animal protein, of which three-fourths consists of fish, is still very low.

Population growth was mentioned as an important factor explaining the increase in fishing effort and over-exploitation of fisheries resources in the past and the speaker identified it as the main obstacle to resource conservation and sustainable development. Poaching by foreign fishing boats was mentioned as another important factor which contributed to the over-exploitation of fisheries resources.

The speaker also stressed that more detailed studies on fish population and stock assessment of various fish and prawn species were needed to identify the extent of effects that certain factors have on decline of fish stocks in the coastal waters of Bangladesh.

Concluding his presentation, Dr Karim drew attention to the fact that the up-ward trend in economic development combined with population growth had resulted in increases in fish and meat prices. The latter had now become beyond the reach of the poor which constitute about 60 percent of the population of Bangladesh.

In the discussion that followed the question was raised as to which other factors could have contributed to the increase in production of fish other than the increase in the number of fishermen. Dr Karim responded that another factor was the increase in productivity, measured in terms of the catch per unit of effort. The latter was brought about by the introduction of mechanised fishing boats, more efficient types of fishing gear, motorization of traditional fishing boats and extension of fishing time.

The observation was made that the paper emphasised an analysis of the fisheries sector development and did not sufficiently link this to demographic and social factors. Also the paper does not report on the perceptions that fisherfolk have on various socio-economic and demographic issues that were studied in the participatory appraisal research carried out by his team. Dr Karim acknowledged this and explained that the analysis of the findings of the participatory rural appraisal had just been completed. He promised to incorporate these aspects into the final version of the paper.

Dr Karim then supplemented the information contained in the paper by explaining that fisherfolk, mostly of lower Hindu caste, tend to have more children than other rural dwellers and that their age at marriage is lower. The income of fishermen in Bangladesh, however, was higher than that of other rural dwellers such as landless agricultural labourers.

Illiteracy was described as being higher among fisherfolk than among other rural dwellers and school enrolment of fisherfolk children was lower than one would expect based on the availability of primary and secondary school facilities.

As far as generation-specific differences are concerned, Dr Karim pointed out that the younger generation tends to favour more the nuclear family living arrangements which may indicate a possible breakdown of traditional joint family structures.

It was also explained that although officially banned, the dowry system among the Hindu fishermen still prevailed in practice and was now perceived as a problem as Hindu fisherfolk women do not inherit at all from their parents whereas Muslim fisherfolk women do have a 50 percent entitlement. The continuation of the dowry system was seen to have a negative effect on efforts that try to improve the status of rural (fisher)women in Bangladesh.

Another important aspect mentioned by Dr Karim was the finding that fisherfolk in Bangladesh, because of their poverty and lack of livelihood security, do not seem to be much concerned about the future since they had to be more concerned with day-to-day survival. This was the case in spite of the awareness of fishermen in Bangladesh of the decreasing size of the fish caught and the increase in efforts required to catch the same amount of fish of before.

In the discussion it was further observed that the increase in per capita catch, in spite of high inflation, and increases in the price of fish, could also be interpreted as an indication of an increase in the purchasing power in the population.

The paper was presented by Dr Carlos C. Baylon, Associate Professor at the College of Fisheries at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. Dr Baylon commenced his presentation by pointing out that the population of the Philippines increased by 31 percent between 1970 and 1980 and by another 26 percent during 1980-1990.

For rural dwellers, the growth was 21 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in these two decades. The exodus of rural dwellers to urban areas seeking a job was mentioned as the main factor explaining the low population growth rates in rural areas.

The population of fishermen grew dramatically during the 1970-1980 period (126 percent) whereas the growth of the fisherfolk population was only 6 percent during the 1980-1990 period. Dr Baylon mentioned that this large discrepancy may indicate that during the first decade fishing was still perceived as a promising occupation, attracting many newcomers in the sector, whereas during the second decade fisheries was no longer providing a good source of income for artisanal fishermen (refereed to as municipal fishermen in the statistics).

Over-exploitation resulting in depletion of fisheries resources and diminishing financial returns in relation to fishing efforts may also be an important factor explaining the lower growth rates in the number of fishermen in recent years. Dr Baylon pointed out that the rise and fall of tuna fisheries in the Philippines during the 1970-1990 period largely illustrates this trend.

The decline in the growth rates of the capture fisheries sector was reflected in much lower production growth rates during the 1980-1990 period compared to those in the 1970-1980 period. The declines observed were partly attributed by Dr Baylon to the destruction of fish habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves.

The participatory appraisal research revealed that artisanal fishermen are aware of the fact that fishing resources are becoming depleted and they relate this to lower catches. They also perceive declines in fish catch to be related to increases in the number of fishermen, destruction of fish habitats and the encroachment of commercial fish fleets in the fishing waters of artisanal fishers.

In the discussion that followed the question was raised whether it is known what the extent of mangrove destruction is in the Philippines. Dr Baylon replied that the loss of mangrove is estimated to be 70 percent of the original area, in spite of the fact that mangroves now fall under central government protection laws. It is also estimated that loss in fisheries production is around 800-1300 kilograms per hectare of mangrove loss. Building activities for new settlements, wood cutting and pollution and the creation of fishponds were mentioned as factors affecting the decline in mangrove forests.

The observation was made that dynamite fishing and other destructive fishing techniques had become very popular in rural areas of the Philippines and what is being done to reverse this development?

Dr Baylon explained that the Philippine Government has passed legislation which delegated responsibilities to maintain and sustain the natural environment to provincial governors and mayors of barangay’s (i.e. municipalities, villages, communities). Delegating such responsibilities to the municipal level authorities was believed to contribute to the successful eradication of most of the dynamite fishing and other destructive fishing methods.

Another question addressed the perceptions of rural fisherfolk youth: is fisheries considered as a promising occupation? Dr Baylon responded that during the last decade youth were leaving rural areas and also the fisheries sector in search for better paid jobs in urban areas or abroad. During the Marcos Regime the emigration of Filipinos was even promoted by the government to release the country of perceived population pressures.

The question was raised whether gender aspects were also incorporated into his analyses. Dr Baylon responded that at the macro level little is known on the participation of women and their constraints in rural development. Only during the last years has attention been paid to this issue by development programme developers, data collectors, analysts and policy makers. Another question addressed the possibility and feasibility of incorporating population concerns into fisheries policy and planning in the Philippines.

Dr Baylon pointed at the influence of the Catholic church in his country but confirmed that there must be scope to interweave population concerns and programmes in the policy making, planning and management of the fisheries. He referred again to the proposed new laws to decentralise decision making and accountability for management of natural resources to the municipal level.

Dr Baylon believed that under the new municipal laws, population programmes, reinforcing the national population policy, could well be integrated, at least synchronised, with programmes that aim to manage in a sustainable way the municipal natural environment and fisheries resources.

However, this integration or synchronisation could only be a realized if municipal level authorities were truly committed to this and were prepared and interested to play a leading, activating and motivating role.

Mr Mohamed. Noh Kusairi of the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, presented an overview of the population characteristics of the Malaysian population in general and the fishing population in particular. The second part of his presentation was attributed to the overall observations by the focus discussion groups expressing the views and perceptions of fisherfolk on their livelihood.

The presentation started with an overview of the various demographic characteristics of the Malaysian population as a whole. The population of Malaysia currently stands at 18.4 million with a growth rate of about 2.6 percent between 1980 and 1991. This growth rate is a reversal of the declining growth rate of around 2.5 percent between 1970 and 1980. Mr Kusairi attributed this to the new population policy which was formulated in the mid-eighties. The statistics that were presented mainly addressed Peninsular Malaysia and not East-Malaysia.

Mr Kusairi stated that the bulk of Malaysia’s population resides in Peninsular Malaysia. Of the total population of 18.4 million, 14.1 million (76.6 percent) are living in Peninsular Malaysia. From the census data, the fishing community of Peninsular Malaysia is estimated to be around 63,600 or 0.45 percent of the total population in Peninsular Malaysia.

The figures indicate a minor decrease in the number of fishermen in Peninsular Malaysia compared to 1980 when there were 67,000 fishermen. The figure is still higher, however, than the 1970 census estimate of 61,500. Mr Kusairi also pointed out that about 60 percent of all fishermen in Peninsular were of Malay origin while the remaining 40 percent were of Chinese origin. While the Malay fishing communities were concentrated on the East Coast, the Chinese fishing communities were prevalent on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

From the Department of Fisheries in Malaysia, the number of fishers in all of Malaysia (including Sarawak and Sabah) was reported to be 80,000 in 1994. About 65.4 percent of these fishers are located in Peninsular Malaysia.

From the evidence of trash fish landings and catch per vessel, fish stocks are showing signs of over-exploitation, especially in the inshore areas and on the West Coast. While it is generally agreed that mangroves attribute to the productivity of the fisheries sector, the evidence presented indicated that mangroves areas have been declining.

The participatory appraisal research with (Malay) fisherfolk resulted in the following observations. First of all it was perceived by all fisherfolk (young, old, male and female) that the number of fishers was still increasing and that the average age of fishers was decreasing.

On their socio-economic status fisherfolk observed that life for them has become easier than it was 10-20 years ago but the absolute rise in income has been diminished by a general rise in the cost of living.

Fisherfolk in the selected community perceived their occupation as very hardworking and as a last resort employment. The older fisherfolk did not want their children to follow in their footsteps. This is in contrast with the other selected community for participatory appraisal research where farmers said they wanted at least one person to continue their farm business.

Fisherfolk clearly perceived that there was a decline in the resources they exploited. To obtain the same catch now it takes more effort and more specialised nets, targeted towards specific species.

As far as attitudes and perceptions with regard to demographic characteristics are concerned it was found that fishing communities are similar to rural farming communities. Fisherfolk, for example, perceived six to be a good average family size while five was found too small and seven too large. The farmers’ community had a preference for a slightly lower family size.

There was also only a slight difference between the farmer and fishing communities regarding the preferable age for marriage. Fishers said men should marry between the ages of 23 and 25, while the women were supposed to marry between the ages of 18 and 22. The farming folk had a preference for men between 20 and 25 and women between 18 and 20 years of age.

Both groups said they would welcome any gender for their new-borns although a son would be really appreciated. Mr Kusairi explained this was caused by the Muslim tradition where inheritance and the line of the family runs along the male line.

Many subjects were touched in the discussion that followed. One of the first questions was whether the population growth can be directly linked with the decrease of mangrove areas. Mr Kusairi explained that because of an urbanisation process the main causes had to be found in the expansion of aquaculture in the coastal areas and the deforestation caused by charcoal producers rather than by population growth among the fishing community.

There were some questions about the reasons why so many young fishermen entered the fisheries sector although the job was not perceived as a high status job. Mr Kusairi clarified this by stating that young people had no other opportunities and were only qualified to fish.

A participant added that the situation in Bangladesh is very similar to this. Another participant made the comment that not everywhere is fishing regarded as a last resort livelihood (e.g. India) and further emphasised that the influx of young fishermen might be caused by boat owners of mechanised boats who only hire young people as crew members.

When the bad living conditions aboard these ships were mentioned, Mr Kusairi mentioned the effort the Government of Malaysia takes in research on boat design to enhance the living conditions aboard deep sea vessels.

A question was raised as to whether the findings of the studies carried out so far could be used by policy makers. Mr Kusairi confirmed their basic use. A participant noted that data provided by a Rapid Rural Appraisal in Maharashtra was indeed used by the Government for policy making.

Another question raised was whether fisheries policy makers really needed to pay attention to population characteristics. In response to this question it was pointed out that many population characteristics can be linked and integrated in the planning process and used for sustainable fisheries management. An example was given of two demographic changes which had been revealed by the studies carried out so far, e.g. the fast increasing number of young fishing crews in connection with the development of deep sea fishing and the fast growing average age of in-shore small-scale fishers who fish the heavily exploited in-shore resources.

It was suggested that a policy response to these developments should include the introduction and/or improvement of properly integrated life/accident insurance programmes and pension schemes in the fisheries sector which should be tailored to the needs of special target groups identified by demographic and socio-economic studies.

Dr Ratna Tewari, Senior Scientist, Central Institute of Fisheries Education, started her presentation with a description and analysis of the Indian fisheries sector and the Indian coastal resources. It was estimated by the Government of India that in 1996 more than 5.9 million people were directly or indirectly involved in fishing, fish processing, marketing and other related activities.

A glance at the marine landings of India during the last 44 years (1951-1995), revealed a tremendous growth in marine fisheries production. From a meagre 534,000 tonnes in 1950/51, the production had gone steadily up to 2,707,000 tonnes in 1995. However, only a marginal increase has been registered in recent years.

As far as the sources of production were concerned, Dr Tewari explained that the pelagic resources contributed on an average 61.87 percent to the total marine landings in 1982 while their share declined to 46.75 percent in 1994. The contribution of demersal catches to the total marine capture fisheries production considerably increased from 38.13 percent to 53.25 percent during this period.

The increase in demersal catches was explained by the fact that with increasing market potential for shrimp, bottom trawling expanded considerably.

Dr Tewari also pointed out that the present fishing fleet comprising traditional as well as mechanised boats and offshore shrimp trawlers were mainly fishing within inshore areas, particularly for demersal species.

Motorization after the sixties, mechanisation after the seventies, changes in gear material qualitatively (from cotton to nylon) and quantitatively were seen as having given a boost to Indian fisheries production. Fishing capacity, fishing time, area of operation, storing capacity onboard, etc. have increased manifold. The number of mechanised boats almost doubled between 1982 and 1994. The fishing grounds, however, remained the same during this period.

On the subject of human resources, Dr Tewari said that the India Census (1977-1987) revealed that though the total fisherfolk population has increased over the years, the percentage of active population has decreased from 27.64 percent in 1977 to 18.65 percent in 1987. She pointed out that a detailed comparison of the changes in the number of fishermen over the last two decades was yet to be finalised.

Furthermore, Dr Tewari explained that the majority of fisherfolk still follow the traditional occupation of fishing although a trend towards higher occupational mobility has been noted. The occupational pattern of fisherfolk families was changing as multiple survival strategies are being followed. The rise in the cost of living and uncertainty of catch has forced fishers to look for alternate sources of income. The trend of occupational mobility could be especially observed in areas around the cities.

Despite the changes in times and technological advancement, the work role of men and women has remained relatively unchanged, even though some positive changes have been noted in the income, health, education and awareness level of fisherfolk.

Dr Tewari further stressed the damaging effects of domestic, industrial, agricultural and navigational activities on the coastal resources. Awareness among fishers is present but fisherfolk do not know how to address these problems.

In Maharashtra the participatory appraisal research lead to the following observations: The fishers and their children are inclined towards education but lack other job opportunities to gain from it. It was perceived that the socio-economic status of the fishing communities in general has improved over the last decade. The fisherfolk have access to better health facilities and thus may live longer. They are also opting for smaller families.

In this respect it is worthwhile mentioning that even the older members of the fishing families in Maharashtra are in favour of smaller family sizes. And they actually have fallen. Dr Tewari mentioned that the majority of the fisherfolk do not use any modern family planning methods except for female sterilisation. She found it astonishing to note that hardly any fisher used traditional methods of family planning.

At the beginning of the discussion, one of the participants proposed to incorporate available data from the National Sample Survey into the report which was assumed not available. The first question asked was whether fishing families have an explanation for a their own instigated decrease in family size. Dr Tewari replied that the reason they give is that family sizes are decreasing mainly because of the rising cost of living.

The question was raised whether there was a relationship between the mobility of fishers during the monsoon season and demographic characteristics. Dr Tewari replied that during the monsoon there was no fishing at all and people stayed usually at home without having any income in this so called closed season.

Finally the question was asked how socio-economic and demographic data can be taken into consideration by the Indian Government in their broad policies (5-year plans). It was noted that there are many possibilities to use demographic and socio-economic data to properly and efficiently allocate funds and facilities to the districts which have the greatest needs.

It was pointed out that knowing the various population characteristics (e.g. population density, house sizes, employment patterns of household members, age structure, etc.) in relation to level and methods of exploitation of fisheries resources can help in selecting and prioritising areas for allocation in housing and fisheries extension programmes such as in support of coastal aquaculture development, motorization of traditional fishing craft, social welfare programmes, health education, alternative employment programmes, etc.

It was also suggested that one should be specific in one’s recommendations to make policy makers aware of the need to integrate population characteristics into fisheries policy planning. Firstly, one should identify the concerned Government programmes, agencies and NGOs that have an impact or influence on population aspects. Secondly, in preparing plans, committees should be established for a more co-ordinated planning with representatives from fishing communities and other concerned parties.

Finally the importance of integrating and linking extension services to fishing communities regarding economic activities with other major issues such as health, family planning, education and post harvesting technologies training was emphasised.

It was observed, however, that in Tamil Nadu, integration of the above activities by female extension workers, an activity started earlier by BOBP, seemed to have seized operations. It was remarked that this integration of activities worked well in Malaysia where an efficient control system seemed to check and balance the various levels of administration involved.

The presentation by Mr Sidy Gueye of the Directorate of Statistics of Senegal was in two parts, one on the demographic characteristics of Senegal and the other on its fisheries sector.

In Senegal, population growth had been accelerating up to 1976, when it stabilised at a high rate (2.7 percent); yet mortality has declined (the crude death rate in 1988 was down by one third from its 1960 level); but fertility has remained high. The total fertility rate has decreased, mostly because of the rising age at marriage; but from seven in 1978 it declined only to six in 1992. Fertility decline was minimal in rural areas.

The age structure is very young: the proportion of those aged under 20 rose from 50 percent in 1960 to 58 percent in 1995.

There have been marked changes in the geographical distribution of the population, characterised by a rapid growth in the capital area (Dakar). The fishing areas of Saint-Louis and Thies have been affected by a significant amount of out-migration.

The incidence of poverty is relatively high; more so in the rural areas (37 percent) than in urban areas (13 percent). Population policy priorities are a better geographical distribution of population, better access to health and family planning services (contraceptive prevalence is very low), assistance to older persons and improvements in women's status.

With regard to fisheries, Senegal has a significant coastline (over 700 km) and a solid tradition (per caput consumption is high: 30 kg/year). Fisheries hubs are Saint-Louis and the Mboro/Cayor group (Thies). Fishing is a traditional activity of two ethnic groups (Lebou and Serer/Nominka) but some diversification is now taking place.

Fishing still is largely artisanal (more than 70 percent of landings and 60 percent of catches). The population of fishers has kept growing (albeit slowly) to over 50,000 in 1995. The numbers of both artisanal and industrial boats seem to oscillate with only a slight growth trend.

During recent years the sector seems to have difficulty maintaining the previous growth in its output. This is explained partly by the economic difficulties of management. The devaluation of the sub-regional currency unit (Franc CFA) has led to sharp increases in prices of inputs (craft, engines, fuel, etc.).

Nevertheless exports of fresh and processed products have kept growing in view of the need for foreign currency, but this has restricted domestic supply.

In the discussion, it was asked whether population growth had had an impact on the state of fisheries resources. Mr Sidy responded that while detailed information on the level of exploitation of fisheries resources was not available it seemed that the fishery resources of Senegal were fully exploited and that fishing by foreign fishing vessels under licences as well as the increase in the number of Senegalese fishermen had both contributed to the full exploitation of fisheries resources.

In this context it was observed that the present policy of Government of providing subsidies to the fisheries sector may be unwise. It was assumed, however, that it was unlikely to continue in the context of structural adjustment policies which were presently implemented in the country.

It was noted that the policy of providing subsidies to the fisheries sector must have played an important role considering the high level of per caput consumption and the strong role of artisanal, domestic fishers in relation to industrial foreign fleets. It was also noted though that the pressure from external fishers is concentrated on some species (tuna, shrimp) which are now becoming scarce.

A question was also posed as to why this and other macro studies presented during the workshop had not undertaken to analyse demographic differences between fishing and non-fishing household from DHS data as foreseen in the study protocol. In Malaysia the sample of fishing households was too small for statistical significance. In the Philippines the consultant demographer could not have access to the data. In Senegal the comparison will still be made as the data are available to the author.

A presentation by Messrs. K. Rengaraju and Jalaluddin R. Shaick of the fisheries department of Tamil Nadu concluded the workshop proceedings.

The presentation gave an overview of the fisheries sector of the state and of the various development programmes which were being implemented by the State Government. These included technological support and training programmes such as the ones for motorization of traditional fishing craft, promotion of coastal K.C., stocking of open water bodies, etc. as well as financial and social security and welfare programmes, e.g. credit/subsidy schemes, housing programmes, accident and life insurance and pension schemes.

It was also explained how the Department of Fisheries was involved in the collection of fisheries statistics, in the monitoring of the level of exploitation of fisheries resources and in the implementation of fisheries regulations and fisheries management measures.

Two working groups were formed to prepare recommendations. Those were presented and adopted in the concluding plenary session on the last day.

Working Group I prepared recommendations for the institutionalisation of population research on fishing communities.

Working Group II prepared recommendations for consideration of population issues in fisheries policy planning.

The workshop recommendations as adopted in the plenary session is shown below.

1. National and State Governments should reaffirm the responsibility of selected central bodies (such as Department of Fisheries) to undertake research on fishing communities and to disseminate research findings.

2. The designated responsible bodies should: