Abstract
Sustainable fishing includes the socioeconomic status of fishers. We combined empirical quality of life (QOL) and subjective lived experiences methods to explore the social sustainability of artisanal fishers in five fishery collectives along the coast of Jalisco, Mexico, where the average daily income is slightly above the poverty level. The QOL scores were also related to annual catch and incomes within each collective. A QOL index is used in this study that combines importance and achievement ratings scores; the results are indicative of an acceptable QOL for fishermen. The concept of lived experiences, incorporating aspects of life relating to Mind, Body, Work and People was explored through interviews with 12 fishers. The QOL data revealed that family and friends are important indicators related to positive QOL reported by the sample, while economic indicators were not important. Although four of the five collectives perceived that the future looks worse than the present and past, there was limited correlation between catch or income and QOL. However, while the lived experiences exercise in part supported the QOL findings, in that People was the most important dimension for almost all of the fishers interviewed, negative economic gaps related to poor catches and incomes were prevalent in the Mind and Work dimensions. The findings suggest that to understand the socioeconomic component of sustainable fisheries, both of these approaches should be considered, as they can illuminate different aspects of fishers’ lives that need to be considered during the development of fisheries’ management policies.
Highlights
Fishing is an important economic and social activity that humans have practiced from the time of prehistory wherever access to water is available
All individuals included were males, as women collaborate in fishing near-shore but are not registered as members in a collective organization
The high positive reported quality of life (QOL) indicators of family and friends, coupled with the high importance placed on People by 11 of the 12 fishers interviewed in the lived experience exercise, suggest that family and community are priorities and fishers chose their fishing locations based on these variables rather than by other items such as fishery infrastructure or other potential income sources that might offer better financial situations
Summary
Fishing is an important economic and social activity that humans have practiced from the time of prehistory wherever access to water is available. Fishing promotes human wellbeing by contributing to cultural needs, for example, for the Amazonian ritual Yakwa When they go back, they perform an exchange of food between humans and spirits that lasts for four months), and as a food supply, besides providing other social benefits [1]. The cooperative movement was strengthened in recent years in Mexico, as a response to the difficulties imposed by the neoliberal model) These coastal fishermen’s cooperatives are mostly rural organizations characterized by the use of traditional fishing gears and methods, such as gillnets and hooks [2]. How might this relationship manifest in poor, rural, coastal artisanal fishers? In addition, how satisfied are they with their lives related to their personal values and life expectations?
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