Author:
Okeke-Ogbuafor Nwamaka,Gray Tim
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.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Geography, Planning and Development
Cited by
3 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献