Pinning our hope on the seas' : conservation, resource depletion and livelihood in a Philippine fishing village

This thesis is an ethnography of small-scale fishers on Cebu Island in the Philippines based on 16 months fieldwork. The fishers are situated in a rapidly changing environment characterised simultaneously by resource depletion and efforts at conservation. The thesis critically examines the impact of a community-based coastal resource management project on the fishers. Depletion of coastal marine resources is a world-wide problem. Over the last few decades this has led the Philippine government to introduce a range of regulatory legislation in an attempt to place fishing on a more sustainable basis. Impoverished small-scale fishers face two major threats to their livelihood: the local government's attempt to increase the number of marine protected areas that ban any access to resources in the declared areas, and the impact of poorly controlled commercial fishing. This thesis illustrates how the small-scale fishers are the ones bearing the brunt of these measure in a situation leading to their marginalisation. The thesis questions the conventional image of the 'fishing community' in costal resource management projects, which usually assume the community to be largely homogenous in resource use practices and socioeconomic standing, with uniform interest in the sea space and its marine resources. By describing the social complexity and the day to day reality of this Cebu fishing community, the importance of a better understanding of the 'fishing community', for improved resource management is demonstrated. This research describes how the small-scale fishers perceive and act from a socio-political, socio-economic, and cultural perspective in relation to conservation as realised in a municipality - and NGO-run resource management and livelihood security project. Despite a sense of powerlessness and resignation about their inability to change the situation in order to have their livelihood needs recognised, the research highlights how the small-scale fishers creatively manoeuvre through these obstacles to secure their living. Being powerless in the local political sphere, these small-scale fishers have no option but to act opportunistically to secure a viable livelihood by collaborating with illegal commercial enterprises and undermining MPA implementation. It is argued, however, that their often' opportunistic responses, while ensuring their short-term survival, generally do so at the cost of long-term security. The thesis begins with a discussion of the importance of understanding both the use and the management of marine resources at the local level as well as issues regarding the social complexity of the fishing community. A general overview of the history, natural environment and social organization of the village is provided. This is expanded by an analysis of fishing activities and the significance of fishing in the household economy of the villagers based on a survey of 180 coastal households and 12 months of daily fish-catch records for 20 fishers. Subsequently, the thesis focuses on the fishers' interactions with the MPAs and illegal commercial fishers in order to examine their responses to these livelihood threats. First, the history of the establishment of the MPAs is outlined and then the powerlessness of small-scale fishers in the policy-making process is highlighted. This is followed by discussion of the actual implementation of the MPAs as characterised by constant compromise by both the fishers as well as by those implementing the MPAs. The relationship of the fishers with the large illegal commercial fishers is examined and the way in which the small-scale fishers' antagonism became contained through the commercial fishers' social network and economic activities is explored. The development of this seemingly contradictory alliance with the commercial fishers is examined. The thesis concludes by discussing the important points for improved coastal resource management from the perspective of both conservation and social justice