Abstract
The Elephant Marsh, a wetland in Southern Malawi, is important for small-scale fisheries. It is managed by local institutions, which are not formally linked to any state institutions. This paper uses qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to examine factors for sustainability at 24 fishing villages around the wetland using a hypothesis that “If strong local institutions (with or without government support) exist in an environment where resource users take collective action, and there is no or minimal conflictive interference, small-scale fisheries become sustainable”. It was revealed that the sustainability of small-scale fisheries management at Elephant Marsh relies heavily on the strength of local fisheries’ committees. Future interventions on fisheries management at the resource should, therefore, pay particular attention to protecting and (re)building collective social capital, especially in the leadership of fisheries committees.
Highlights
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) support the livelihood of over 180 million people in developing countries [1]
The present study focuses on analysis of success and failure factors for sustainable SSF in at the Elephant Marsh Fishery using crisp set qualitative comparative analysis
The preceding literature review (Section 2) has indicated that these success and failure factors should at minimum include: (i) the collective social capital of the fisheries committee; (ii) the collective social capital of the fishing village; (iii) the presence of government agents and their influence; (iv) how the chief of the village is involved in fisheries management; and (v) the overall status of the fishery in terms of sustainability
Summary
Small-scale fisheries (SSF) support the livelihood of over 180 million people in developing countries [1]. Despite their relative importance, studies on the management constituency of SSF in developing countries are limited. Most of the well-known studies have been done in developed countries where SSF are scarce [2,3]. Due to background developments, such as population growth, rural poverty, climate change, and market forces, the exploitation pressure on SSF is likely to increase. In such scenarios, Hardin [4]
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