Thursday 6 February 2025, 10.30am (SAST)
Venue: NRF-SAIAB Lecture Room
Zoom Registration link:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/VbEv_SGOQ5CMbWsJEQCM8w
Passcode: 800483
by Vusi Mthombeni– Honorary Research Associate, NRF-SAIAB
Freshwater Ecologist, Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT)
Evaluating perceptions of co-management on small-scale fisheries in the Wild Coast of South Africa
Over-exploitation of fisheries resources is a problem threatening the sustainability of small-scale fisheries (SSF) worldwide due to government top-down management. Participatory management such as co-management is gaining attention. Co-management is complex and has yielded different outcomes in different countries due to different socio-economic, socio-political and socio-cultural conditions. This study, therefore evaluated stakeholders’ perceptions of co-management of SSF in the Wild Coast. Eleven participants from government, academia, non-profit organisations and fishers from four sites were sampled for semi-structured interviews using questions formulated from the themes derived from the literature. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. All respondents understood co-management as a partnership involving stakeholders for the management of SSF and they indicated that they would recommend co-management. Different perceptions included benefits of co-management; and adequacy of the government’s interventions to involve communities in decision-making. Benefits of co-management exceeding cost suggested its viability. This study therefore recommended the implementation of co-management.
