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Furthering the Implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Strengthening Fisheries Cooperatives in Sri Lanka

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The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines

Part of the book series: MARE Publication Series ((MARE,volume 14))

Abstract

This chapter proposes that fisheries cooperatives can play an important role in furthering the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) in Sri Lanka. These organizations have a long history of supporting the fisheries sector, both in northern and southern Sri Lanka, with strong contributions to fisher wellbeing and the functioning of the value chain. Their involvement in resource management, however, is still relatively minor. The authors evaluate the performance of cooperatives against the outcomes of the South Asia consultation on the SSF Guidelines (November 2015). They argue that while fisheries cooperatives in Sri Lanka have many weaknesses, they are uniquely positioned to aid the small-scale fisheries sector. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for improving the performance of cooperatives.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Representing nearly 87% of the fisher population operating 90% of the fishing fleet.

  2. 2.

    For more information on harbour-based, multi-day fishing, see Amarasinghe et al. (2005a).

  3. 3.

    Field studies of a research project titled “Tangled in their own (safety) nets- Resilience, adaptability and transformability in small scale fisheries in a world fisheries crisis”, a project initiated by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK. (2012–2015) 2006 (Resilience Study).

  4. 4.

    Today, the term wellbeing is often used in policy statements and in theories of development. In simple terms, wellbeing as used by us borrowing from Gough and McGregor (2008) is a combination of “what a person has” “what a person does with what he has” and “how he feels about what he has and do”. “Wellbeing is a state of being with others, which arises where human needs are met, where one can act meaningfully to pursue one’s goals, and where one can enjoy a satisfactory quality of life.”

  5. 5.

    Any good or service which people use at present or in the future has a value because people are ‘willing to pay’ for it.

  6. 6.

    Identification of diverse values that exist in lagoons and their ranking was done using a five point Likert scale by officers of the Department of Fisheries, based on their knowledge and experience.

  7. 7.

    Fishing cooperatives were able to borrow from state banks under various loan schemes and disbursed such funds through their own programs, earning income in interest.

  8. 8.

    Field studies carried out in 2006 in the southern province to assess work associated with post tsunami re-building of the fisheries sector revealed that, proper assessment of damages, beneficiary selection and livelihood assistance had been effectively carried out in areas where there existed well-functioning fisheries cooperatives.

  9. 9.

    With an increase in the scale of operation, unit cost of marketing would fall.

  10. 10.

    Cooperative Unions in the Northern Province have apparently been more successful in marketing local, high-value catches on the Colombo market than cooperative unions in the south.

  11. 11.

    Since many cooperatives today have become ‘savings societies’ and banks (Idiwara Banks), even-non fishers are members.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka

    Oscar Amarasinghe

  2. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Maarten Bavinck

  3. University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

    Maarten Bavinck

Authors
  1. Oscar Amarasinghe
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  2. Maarten Bavinck
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oscar Amarasinghe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Svein Jentoft

  2. Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    Ratana Chuenpagdee

  3. Development and Knowledge Sociology Working Group, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research – ZMT, Bremen, Germany

    María José Barragán-Paladines

  4. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy

    Nicole Franz

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Amarasinghe, O., Bavinck, M. (2017). Furthering the Implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Strengthening Fisheries Cooperatives in Sri Lanka. In: Jentoft, S., Chuenpagdee, R., Barragán-Paladines, M., Franz, N. (eds) The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines. MARE Publication Series, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_18

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