Remaking the Future Studies of Global Small-Scale Fisheries; Bibliometric Analysis Findings Between 1965 and 2020

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) have long been recognized as critical to many facets of human life. SSF-related bibliometric studies have focused on specific topics, including marine protected areas and sustainable utilization. Since SSF is associated with numerous dimensions of life, a comprehensive bibliometric study is required. This study aims to analyze and visualize state of the art in SSF research using bibliometric analysis on articles published between 1965 and 2020 obtained from the Scopus database in August 2021. Harzing's Publish or Perish, VOSviewer, and Microsoft Excel software were used to fulfill the objectives. The findings indicate that SSF research, more prevalent in the areas of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, grew slowly from 1965 to 1997 before increasing. Initially, the publication themes were bio-ecological before associated with management concerns and evolving into a more socio-economic tone. With an average of 35.75 citations per year, Allison and Ellis's 2001’s article was the most cited paper. In terms of total publication, Brazil and The University of British Columbia were the most productive countries and affiliations (210 and 42 articles, respectively). SFF's future research should prioritize local fisheries ecology and resources assessment, as well as addressing cross-disciplinary issues such as socio-ecological system resilience. Collaborations between authors from different countries and institutions are also more expected.