Abstract
Both large and small-scale producers continue to operate in aquaculture, even if frequently the economic pressures on small fish farmers are immense and some branches of aquaculture (such as salmon rearing) have tended to organise on an ever-larger scale. How small producers have survived in Irish rope mussel aquaculture is the question posed in this paper. Based on 18 months of ethnographic study in the West of Ireland’s Killary Harbour, the contribution that formal and informal cooperation has made to the persistence of small-scale mussel production is assessed. Although formal and informal forms of cooperation are by no means the only conditions of the persistence of small-scale production in the Killary site, they are shown to have critically improved the survival chances of individual producers and of groups of producers. What is also shown is that informal cooperation has significantly eclipsed formal cooperation since 2000.
Highlights
Aquaculture production has grown significantly in the last decade and comprises approximately 50% of the world’s supply of consumable fish (FAO 2012)
The expansionist tendency of capitalism might suggest a continual concentration of capital in aquaculture, and such a tendency is evident in salmon farming in Ireland and elsewhere
A contrasting path, very evident in rope mussel farming of the sort found in Killary Harbour (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006), is distinctive for being small in scale
Summary
Aquaculture production has grown significantly in the last decade and comprises approximately 50% of the world’s supply of consumable fish (FAO 2012). The expansionist tendency of capitalism might suggest a continual concentration of capital in aquaculture, and such a tendency is evident in salmon farming in Ireland and elsewhere. In addition to the element of local control, what distinguishes small-scale aquaculture is the use of relatively small in-shore boats, low-cost farming technologies, limited amounts of capital investment and a heavy dependence on the producer’s own labour and that of family members (FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2012). The first path, in keeping with capitalism’s expansionist tendency, has seen aquaculture develop along large-scale lines. Salmon farming, where a relatively small number of highly capitalised producers have historically dominated the industry (Phyne 2010; Ruddy and Varley 1991), exemplifies the large-scale path. A contrasting path, very evident in rope mussel farming of the sort found in Killary Harbour (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006), is distinctive for being small in scale
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