This presentation of the methodology for carrying out a fleet profile has outlined all the skills that have to be drawn upon in this type of work. The means for producing a profile, from the human, financial and time point of view, depend of course on the extent of the task, bound on the one hand by the scale of the fisheries and, on the other, by the skills available to the organization in charge of the profile, and the cost of those human resources. Profiling can be carried out very adequately by only one person (for example within the framework of a thesis) who can undertake the collection, the analysis and the interpretation of data. It is possible to call upon various mechanisms for the collection or the preprocessing of the information, such as involving students within the framework of the school syllabus. Provided there is adequate follow-up, this provides a low-cost means for the collection of information that is difficult to obtain because of nature of the data themselves or their geographical distribution, for example: for investigations of subsistence fisheries (cf. FAO Fisheries Circular N°962, Hosch, G. 2000)
The principal competences necessary for a fleet profile are thus:
- field investigations, which may require the training of personnel to collect information and to transmit and centralize this information;
- capture and preprocessing of information (validation);
- statistical analysis of data;
- restitution of information (dissemination, popularization, public communication).
Such an enterprise requires a project supervisor who will take responsibility for carrying out the various steps presented in this report, from the identification of objectives and planning of activities, up to their completion. (The profile of the Moroccan coastal fleets was partly carried out by the Institut National de Recherche Halieutique which has research and analysis capabilities, having been the beneficiary of regular international assistance to install programmes of research and training for scientists. The typological survey itself was carried out under the responsibility of the Service Technique des Pêches. However external support proved necessary in certain areas, such as data processing).
As an example of the means necessary for a profiling study, the box below illustrates the procedure established in 2000 to produce a profile of non-commercial fishers (subsistence and sport fishing) of a South Pacific archipelago (New Caledonia).
|
An investigation into subsistence and sport fishing in New Caledonian lagoons was carried out in 1999-2000 within the framework of the ZoNéCo (Evaluation of the resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone of New Caledonia) Programme. The objective of this study was to evaluate the requirements of the fishery through an investigation of the population and, more particularly, to estimate the scale of fishing activity, to itemise the fishing methods used, to understand the social and economic impact of subsistence fishing activities and to make clear the perceptions of users concerning lagoon resources and their management. The operation was carried out in several phases:
All of these tasks were carried out by state service providers. The sampling of the New Caledonian population (approximately 200 000 people) was on the basis of polling by quotas, according to ethnic community - Melanesian, European, Polynesian or other - and geographical area). The study aimed to sample 1 000 practicing subsistence or sport fishers. The plan of investigation, including the project resource requirements study and the development and validation of the questionnaire, were carried out through a preliminary consultancy. The questionnaire comprised 54 questions divided into 4 topics: fishing activities, social and economic impact (in respect of the fishery product), perceptions, and supplementary data relating to the administration of the analysis, in particular to check the representativity of the sample compared to the total population (community, sex, age, social and economic category, zone and habitat). The questionnaire survey was implemented by calling upon advanced vocational diploma students preparing for the "management assistant" course at a local senior secondary school. The field work involved 24 pupils, from the 22nd to 27th May 2000, who were sent to all the local regions of New Caledonia (the Northern, Southern and Islands Provinces, and Greater Noumea). The students were monitored by a team composed of their teacher and 4 supervisors. The data was captured and compiled in the weeks following the field work using SPHYNX software. The cost of the investigation included the students' traveling expenses, the production of the questionnaires and report (production of all the frequency tables from the 54 questions and certain cross tabulations) and a grant intended to contribute to a study trip for the students at the end of their course. The statistical analysis itself, carried out by a second consultant, involved multivariate treatment with the aim of establishing profiles of the fishers according to fishery parameters (resources, fishing gear), social and economic variables (related to the products of fishing) and the perceptions of the fishers concerning the environment and regulations. All of the stages necessary to establish the profile of subsistence and sport fisheries of New Caledonia cost a total of 242 000 French Francs (the high cost of living in New Caledonia should be borne in mind when considering relative costs). This consisted of 25% for the planning of the investigation and preparation of the questionnaire, 14% for the administration of the questionnaire, the capture and the pre-processing of data, 52% for the analysis of the data and the restitution of the results (reporting) and 9 % for consumables and general overheads. |
The fleet profile, and thus the classification of fishing vessels in various segments of the fishery, does not constitute an end in itself. Profiling, as has been emphasized on several occasions, depends on the one hand on statistical methods used and, on the other hand, the fishing vessels or units on which the analyses are carried out. Hence it is necessary to set up complementary actions to confirm and validate the resulting profile. The process of statistical analysis in itself fulfils the purpose of an heuristic procedure ("a searchlight for the researcher") that help scientists or managers better grasp the complex phenomenon that is the "fishery system". Those classes whose existence was intuitively obvious will be defined in a quantitative (number of boats) and qualitative (type of boats) sense. Those classes which were not suspected will challenge the assumptions of the people concerned with the objectives of the profile. The hypotheses generated during the interpretation of results will have to be verified eventually by means of new studies.
A profile of the overall characteristics of the fishery, following an initial questionnaire, will be able to provide the foundation for a follow-up study of representative fishing vessels (type-examples or paragons) typifying the various segments defined in the fishery. Such a follow-up on a few cooperative fishers will make it possible to more precisely define the dynamics of the fishery and to address different aims from those of the first profile.
Lastly, the dynamics and the complexity of the "fishery system" require the definition of indicators useful for decision makers. Two types of indicator make it possible to assess trends in the evolution of a fishery:
- indicators concerning the resource
- indicators concerning the system of exploitation
Profiles constitute a first step in exploring these phenomena, and help to define indicators useful for understanding and managing fisheries.
