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Market-resource Links and Fish Vendor Livelihoods in the Upper Zambezi River Floodplains

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Abstract

This paper examines small-scale fish vending in a southern African floodplain from two perspectives: as a link between natural resource use and consumption, and as a livelihood in itself. We used a combination of observation, surveys and semistructured interviews in a market in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, to determine sources of fish, preferences and constraints to vending, average investment and profit, as well different routes into fish vending and perceptions regarding vending. Most vendors come from fishing households, but their stock is often an accumulation of purchases from other fishers. There is little evidence of formal arrangements between fishers and vendors, yet most adapt to the highly variable natural and social environments of the region. Although all vendors ranked selling fish as their most important livelihood activity, a wide range of investment and profit exists among individuals. Our findings indicate that fisheries management proposed for the area must be developed with a careful understanding of how changes in access and use will affect vending livelihoods.

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Notes

  1. We thank Martin Smith for suggesting this possibility in vendor behaviour.

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Acknowledgements

The research for this article was made possible through funding from the International Research Development Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada, Duke University, The World Wide Fund for Nature and USAID-Southern Africa. Our thanks go to the fish vendors and fishers of the Upper Zambezi for their openness and patience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, 309 Gladfelter Hall, Philadelphia, PA, 19122-2585, USA

    James G. Abbott

  2. Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA

    Lisa M. Campbell

  3. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Private Bag 2116, Mariental, Namibia

    Clinton J. Hay

  4. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, NO-7485, Trondheim, Norway

    Tor F. Næsje

  5. Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization, P.O. Box 1625, Jinja, Uganda

    John Purvis

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  1. James G. Abbott
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Correspondence to James G. Abbott.

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Abbott, J.G., Campbell, L.M., Hay, C.J. et al. Market-resource Links and Fish Vendor Livelihoods in the Upper Zambezi River Floodplains. Hum Ecol 35, 559–574 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9102-5

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