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Closing Loopholes with the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in Lake Victoria, Tanzania

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The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines

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

Abstract

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses a serious challenge to fisheries governance as it does not go away easily despite various efforts to combat it. The persistence of IUU fishing is a threat to securing sustainable small-scale fisheries, as it affects ecosystem health, food security, and viable livelihoods, and can worsen poverty conditions in the fishing communities. Thus, unless addressed, this problem may impede the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines). Knowing why IUU fishing occurs and persists is the first step to addressing the problem. Following interactive governance theory, this chapter draws on studies conducted to identify characteristics of the fisheries systems that give rise to IUU fishing in small-scale fisheries in Ijinga Island, Lake Victoria. The key findings indicate that the social system of Ijinga Island is highly diverse, complex, and dynamic, and is thus very difficult to govern. The governing system is also not as capable as it must be to combat IUU fishing due to the lack of interactions between responsible authorities at different levels, governing actors, and small-scale fishers. Studies also show that small-scale fishers of Ijinga Island differ significantly in their perception about IUU fishing problems when compared to government officials. This disparity contributes to making IUU fishing a wicked problem. Based on these findings, we conclude with some recommendations about how SSF Guidelines can be used to address the IUU fishing problems identified in the study, and thus fisheries governance challenges.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter has been produced with the contribution of institutions and people worth mentioning. First, we thank the fishing communities in Ijinga island, Magu district for their willingness to provide information used here. Second, we also thank the fisheries staff at the landing site and district level for their logistical support. Lastly, we thank the Too Big To Ignore (TBTI), a global partnership for small scale fisheries research, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for financial support (Grant # 895-2011-1011) to conduct the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), P. O. Box 475, Mwanza, Tanzania

    Joseph Luomba

  2. Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology, University of Dar-es Salaam, P. O. Box 35064, Dar-es Salaam, Tanzania

    Paul Onyango

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

    Ratana Chuenpagdee

Authors
  1. Joseph Luomba
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  2. Paul Onyango
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  3. Ratana Chuenpagdee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph Luomba .

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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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Luomba, J., Onyango, P., Chuenpagdee, R. (2017). Closing Loopholes with the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. 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_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55074-9_25

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