When is resilience sustainable? A critical analysis of the challenges facing English small-scale fishers, and their varying responses"

Abstract

This project concerns itself with current marginalised state of the English small-scale commercial marine fisheries sector, known more commonly as its “Under-10 metre fleet”. The last 40 years have been a period of turbulence for the UK's fishing industry, during which the English under-10 metre fleet and its local fishing communities have come under particular pressure. If this continues, it could impact the long term viability of the fleet, which in turn could be an economic, social and cultural disaster for many isolated and deprived coastal fisheries communities. This research used qualitative data obtained from 112 key informants to fulfil four objectives: first to investigate the drivers underpinning the fleets vulnerability; second to examine the three resilience strategies used by the fleet to deal with these threats and the factors which led different communities and individuals within these communities to choose different strategies; third to evaluate the viability of these strategies and the extent to which communities have successfully taken charge of their own destinies; and fourth to assess what steps could be taken by governments to support the sector, and whether such steps lie in local, bespoke responses or national strategies. This study contributes to the growing literature on the marginalisation and vulnerability of small-scale fishing communities around the world. It is vital that the current wave of global support for small-scale fishers is properly harnessed and this study will hopefully help in this task.