Abstract
This paper analyses the myriad perceptions about coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone expressed by respondents in 66 interviews conducted in 2017 and 2020 during two periods of fieldwork in two coastal communities (Tombo and Goderich). Most of these perceptions focused on the respondents’ explanations for the dire state of the coastal fisheries, and often these explanations sought ‘scapegoats’ to blame. Our findings are that the main ‘scapegoats’ were foreigners, industrial trawlers, artisanal fishers, fishers’ unions and the government. Other interpretations focused on the respondents’ recommendations for restoring the health of the coastal fisheries, and our findings here are that the main ‘panaceas’ were coercion, sensitisation, and co-management. In discussing these findings, we came to the conclusion that both the identification of scapegoats and the search for panaceas were unhelpful ways of understanding and alleviating the problems facing Sierra Leone’s coastal fisheries because they polarised and over-simplified the issues, sowing divisions between the stakeholders, thereby reinforcing and prolonging the crisis. A more fruitful approach is to look for ways of forging links and establishing partnerships between the disparate players, especially between the government and community organisations.
Highlights
The coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone are immensely important to the welfare of many thousands of inhabitants [1,2]
Many respondents framed the causes in terms of ‘scapegoats’ whom they blamed for the crisis, and the remedies in terms of ‘panaceas’ which they looked to for rescue
Summarising the findings of the paper, we discovered five kinds of scapegoating and three types of panaceaing in two coastal fishing communities in Sierra Leone
Summary
The coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone are immensely important to the welfare of many thousands of inhabitants [1,2]. This study sought to examine the controversy from the inside, investigating the perceptions held by the people themselves who are engaged in the fisheries, including fishers, administrators, and community leaders. Extensive fieldwork was carried out in two of the largest coastal fisheries communities in Sierra Leone—Tombo and Goderich—during 2018 and 2020, when over 200 interviews were conducted, 66 of which were selected for analysis. These 66 interviewees provided many different perceptions about the deteriorating condition of the coastal fisheries, focusing on the causes of the decline and on possible measures to arrest it. In our examination of the transcripts, we analysed these framings of ‘scapegoats’ and ‘panaceas’, discussed their limitations, and noted how some respondents sought to replace scapegoating and panacea-searching with healing and toleration
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