Workshop on Social Feasibility in Small-Scale Fisheries Development. BOBP/REP/5
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The definition of small-scale fisheries used at the workshop was the definition put forward at the Expert Consultation on Small-Scale Fisheries Development (Rome, 1975) - “Small-scale fisheries are labour-intensive and are conducted by artisanal craftsmen whose level of income, mechanical sophistication, quantity of production, fishing range, political influence, market outlets, employment and social mobility and financial dependence keep them subservient to the economic decisions and operating constraints placed upon them by those who buy their production”. In defining social feasibility, it was generally agreed that a project is socially feasible if its benefits reach the intended beneficiaries. Presentations by workshop participants of the socio-economic status of fishing communities in the Bay of Bengal region showed that they live in overcrowded houses in villages in the coastal areas, exposed to floods, fires and storms. Their income and educational levels are low, as is thei r status in society. Drinking water is hard to come by, basic sanitation facilities are non-existent. Some of the fisher-folk are migrants, some are temporary occupants of land, some hold short-term leases, some are tenants, a few are owners. The power structure in the fishing villages is related to the ownership of such assets as land, houses, boats and fishing gear. The fishing communities have little or no political power, are strongly influenced by religion, and tend to be highly superstitio us. Women from the fishing community are not active partners in actual fishing operations, but they do play an active role in fish marketing and processing.