Governance in a beach seine fishery: a case study from Lake Victoria, Tanzania

Modesta Medard,Kim Geheb,Paul Hebinck,Han Van Dijk

doi:10.1186/s40152-016-0051-3

Modesta Medard, Kim Geheb + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40152-016-0051-3

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Abstract

Beach seine gear is one of the prominent fishing gears in Nile Perch fishery. Before Nile Perch was introduced to the lake, beach seines the species targeted with beach seine were Tilapia, Bagrus, Haplochromis, Protopterus and Labeo. In 1994, beach seines were banned in Tanzania and by 2004, this particular regulation and others, were harmonized and applied to the entire Lake as a result of implementation of Regional Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing on Lake Victoria. The paper describes research findings on how the Nile Perch (NP) beach seine fishery is organized in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. The paper is guided by the following research questions: How is the Fisheries Department in Tanzania trying to govern the fisheries of Lake Victoria? How the beach seine fishery is governed in reality? What are the drivers for its continuity despite the ban? What are the counter-tendencies at local level and how and why do they emerge? We argues that it is the markets and associated graft – that drives coordination between the beach seine fishery; and the networks that depend on individuals’ network motivations – to get money, that together shape the fishery’s management and governance.

Highlights

Tourism is growing globally (UNWTO 2019), including in coastal communities once dominated by fishing livelihoods (Cheong 2005; Fabinyi 2010; Papageorgiou 2016; Su et al 2016)
Coastal tourism has been supported by the growth of middle-class tourism markets, promoted by governments who regard it as an important avenue for economic growth and backed by environmental organisations who regard it as an alternative, more environmentally sustainable livelihood than fishing (UNWTO 2019; White and Rosales 2003)
Drawing on extended ethnographic fieldwork from the Philippines, this paper examines the transition from fishing to tourism and the consequences for one coastal community

Summary

Introduction

Tourism is growing globally (UNWTO 2019), including in coastal communities once dominated by fishing livelihoods (Cheong 2005; Fabinyi 2010; Papageorgiou 2016; Su et al 2016). I argue that land tenure serves as the crucible by which the costs and benefits of tourism for fishing livelihoods are forged. I focus on how land tenure mediates tourism costs and benefits for coastal communities previously more engaged in fishing. The Philippine Water Code, introduced in 1976 and based on an 1866 Spanish Law (Valdez 2018), states: The banks of rivers and streams and the shores of the seas and lakes throughout their entire length and within a zone of three (3) meters in urban areas, twenty (20) meters in agricultural areas and forty (40) meters in forest areas, along their margins are subject to the easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, floatage, fishing and salvage. Low-income coastal residents in the Philippines tend to hold weak land tenure

Methods

Discussion and conclusion

Compliance with ethical standards