Abstract
Though Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been employed in small-scale fisheries (SSFs) globally, they are seldom systematically explored for the ways in which they facilitate equality, democracy and sustainability. Our study explored how ICTs in South African small-scale fisheries are leveraged towards value chain upgrading, collective action and institutional sustainability—key issues that influence small-scale fishery contributions to marine resource sustainability. We held a participatory workshop as part of ongoing research in the town of Lambert’s Bay, South Africa, in collaboration with small-scale fishers and the Abalobi ICT project. We mapped fisher value chain challenges and explored the role of ICT-driven transformation pathways, adopting Wright’s ‘Real Utopian’ framework as the lens through which to explore equality, democracy and institutional sustainability. We found Abalobi’s ICT platform had the potential to facilitate deeper meanings of democracy that incorporate socio-economic reform, collective action and institutional sustainability in South Africa’s small-scale fisheries. Where fishers are not engaged beyond passive generators of data, this had the potential to undermine the goals of increasing power parity between small-scale fisheries and other stakeholders.
Highlights
Small-scale fisheries are essential to the livelihoods of rural coastal communities by providing both food security and employment [1,2]
South African small-scale fisheries remain marginalized with the state chronically under-resourced and unable to adequately cater to their needs
Key reasons are that fishers commonly target low value species [3,4], fisher landing sites are remote and spread across multiple actors [5] making them difficult to manage, and South African fisheries is saddled with the legacies of Apartheid in which traditional fishers remain socio-economically marginalized [6,7,8]
Summary
Small-scale fisheries are essential to the livelihoods of rural coastal communities by providing both food security and employment [1,2]. Key reasons are that fishers commonly target low value species [3,4], fisher landing sites are remote and spread across multiple actors [5] making them difficult to manage, and South African fisheries is saddled with the legacies of Apartheid in which traditional fishers remain socio-economically marginalized [6,7,8]. Beyond employment and food security, small-scale fishing activities are deeply interwoven with local cultural practices and traditions [9], where retention of subsistence catch is commonly used in non-profit exchanges for help with landing tasks or shared amongst friends and family members [10]. For the fishers of Lambert’s Bay, South Africa, fishing practices around ‘Snoek’ (Thyrites atun) and other linefish species have shaped the community’s livelihood and cultural practices over centuries [13], which bear importance on collective action possibilities and the design of interventions [12]
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