Small Scale Fisheries

The small scale fisheries sector is the oldest and most important part of the marine fisheries economy of the world. It accounts for a substantial part of the world fish production. It provide employment for millions of fishers directly engaged in fishing activities, including rural aquaculture, and for millions more working in fisheries related activities such as fish processing and marketing, boat building and net making. Small scale fisheries are scattered along riverbanks, estuaries, seashores and around lakes, often away from mainstream economic, social and political developments. In some areas, their development continues to be severely hampered by the lack of infrastructure such as roads and communication facilities. They are extremely exposed to natural calamities like floods, inundation, sea erosion and storms. As a consequence of he diversification  and seasonality of their activities, many small scale fishers show high geographic mobility and may migrate over hundreds of miles. The sustainable development of small scale fisheries is desirable for a balanced social, economic and regional development in coastal and rural areas. This book provides a wealth of simply presented and illustrated information on small scale fisheries. Interested readers will include fishery managers, both governmental and non-governmental; instructors and students in fishery management; development organisations and practitioners working on small scale fisheries; and fishers and fishing communities that wish to take responsibility for managing their own resources.