Access to fish cage aquaculture in the Ping river, Northern Thailand

Aquaculture in rivers and other public water bodies raises issues of access and property rights. Over the past few years an industry has developed around the rearing of hybrid red and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in cages in the Ping River in northern Thailand. In this article we report on a study of how households gain access to river cage sites to farm fish. The findings are based on a case-control study of 400 households, half of which had a history of fish farming and half which did not. Additional information was gathered from qualitative in-depth interviews with 93 stakeholders. Households with good access to farming sites, financial capital, and social networks are more likely to farm fish. Proximity to the river front was a very important factor and operated at a micro-level within villages with river borders. Land and vehicle assets were also associated with fish farming—more so than monthly income levels—probably because they reflect access to credit. Social capital measured as belonging to various kinds of groups was also associated with fish farming, but may have been in part an outcome rather than a pre-requisite. Many fish farmers start through encouragement and invitations by firms or the fisheries department. Sites for cage aquaculture in rivers have characteristics somewhere between a private and a club good: those who don’t live near the river are usually excluded, but rivalry for sites among those who live close becomes an issue with congestion of farms arising from expansion in number of cages or other factors that reduce availability of suitable rearing sites like variability in climate, water flows, water quality, and government regulations