2. Assessing Governability of Small-Scale Fisheries

This chapter presents interactive governance as an analytic perspective in small-scale fisheries research. It serves as an introduction to the conceptual framework that chapter authors apply and describes the overall research questions raised in this book. A key concept that will be elaborated is governability, which was also central to other books on interactive fisheries governance preceding this one (Kooiman et al. 2005; Bavinck et al. 2013). Given the diversity, complexity and dynamics that characterize small-scale fisheries at various scales, and the multitude of concerns that are associated with them, the governance and governability of small-sale fisheries is a challenge worth exploring. We argue that there is no standard answer to the many problems facing small-scale fisheries globally but governance solutions must always be attuned to the particularities of the sector and circumstances within which they exist and operate. The governability assessment, as outlined in this chapter, is developed to assist the researcher to locate the problems and opportunities and thus address the complex issues and demands in small-scale fisheries governance.