The Influence of Socio-Economic Factors on Small- Scale Fisheries Management: Case study of Ca Mau province – Viet Nam

Abstract

The objectives of Viet Nam are to develop fisheries industry and sustainable utilization of fishery resources. That target are detail in the Decision 1445/QĐ-TTg/3013 on the master plan for fisheries development of Viet Nam 2020, vision 2030. The marine ecosystems of Viet Nam located in Southeast Asia characterized by tropical regions with abundant marine living resources. There are 2,080 fish species identified, 130 species of which considered as economically important species. However, recent researches have shown that there is a serious decline in fish resources, as well as fish habitat especially in inshore areas. CPUE has declined by the last few decades, from 1.1 tonnes/Hp/year in 1985 to 0.35 tonnes/hp/year in 2003, and 0.31 ton/Hp in 2008. The decline in marine living resources is not only in the CPUE, but also in species composition and size of captured fish. Low value species predominated, while high commercial value species declined dramatically (RIMF. 2009). The decline of fishery resources results in poor management and overall fisheries management strategy. Recent researches as input to management decisions mainly focus on resources, ecosystems as well as CPUE, etc. Socio-economic studies were ignore or abandoned. Therefore, this research aims to study and analyze the socio-economic factors affecting the small-scale fisheries management consequences of Ca Mau province, in Vietnam. Data used for this study cited from the database of the CRSD-projects that have been conducting in Viet Nam. The results of thesis show that, in Ca Mau province, the number of households has land used for cultivation accounts for 20.07%, households have land used for aquaculture 10.4%. The lack of arable land for cultivation and aquaculture means that there is no alternative livelihood for fishing households. It makes fishers dependent completely on fishing activity. Most fishermen are poor in per capital income for the month was 0.031 USD. Income from fishing areas accounts for 85.28% of total income of fishermen. Culture, as well as habits, are closely link with fishing activities that make them unwilling to change into other jobs. Moreover, the proportion of people trained is still relatively low, accounting for 14.22% of the total number of employees. Most of them trained in the areas related to fishing such as the captain, chief engineer, or fishing techniques. Thus, they have few career options, except marine fishing. The number of fishing boats in Ca Mau province is 4,703 units. Small-sized fishing vessels with capacity of less than 50 HP make up a high proportion (49.67%), are mainly operating in inshore waters. This has made the fishery resources near the coast increasingly severely degraded These factors make big impact on the consequences of small-scale fisheries management and reduce the effectiveness of management.