par Serna Rodriguez, Karen 
Président du jury Stiers, Iris
Promoteur Koedam, Nico
Publication Non publié, 2022-01-28
Président du jury Stiers, Iris
Promoteur Koedam, Nico
Publication Non publié, 2022-01-28
Mémoire
| Résumé : | The decline and collapse of fish stocks is a worldwide issue that threatens the oceans and people. Sri Lankan Fisheries are not the exception. The use of destructive fishing practices is behind the potential side effects of fishing activity. Part of the solution is to foster the use of fishing practices that cause minimal impact. Line-based methods have been recognized as meeting most of the sustainability requirements regarding gear use. To avoid the degradation of fishery systems, a transition is needed. Transformative change is highly dependent on the willingness of fishers and the government to change. Management strategies are the means to achieve sustainability. The effectiveness of those strategies highly depends on the support of the affected actors. Implementing participative approaches that include fishers’ perceptions contributes to achieving this support. In 2020, a total of 99 marine commercial fishers, mainly from the coastal subsector, were interviewed across the main provinces of Sri Lanka. Their perceptions were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Their answers evidenced instability of income and inequities in earnings. A majority was willing to change under two conditions: income security and market demand. It means that in order to change their current net-based tactics, fishers need fishing practices that harvest species with sufficient market demand, the catch of which assures them ideally higher income. The transition should be a gradual and careful step-by-step process, where the Government leverages the fishers' willingness to change with strategies such as interventions in the market channels, sustainability incentives and traceability. |
