Record Details

Income distribution and inequality among fishers and fish traders in two small-scale Kenyan coral reef fisheries

ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

Field Value
Title Income distribution and inequality among fishers and fish traders in two small-scale Kenyan coral reef fisheries
Names Wamukota, Andrew (creator)
Brewer, Tom (creator)
Crona, Beatrice (creator)
Date Issued 2014-07-07 (iso8601)
Note presentation
Abstract Since the mid-1960s fish production has become increasingly market-driven with actors downstream in the commodity chain increasingly determining the price of fish. Previously, it has been shown that fishers' incomes tend to be low in both developed and developing countries and that linking fisheries to global markets causes income inequalities. Research has also shown that although many factors affect the sustainability of any individual fishery, income inequality and the struggle for food security are significant contributors, particularly in developing countries. Despite awareness of the link between poverty and resource exploitation, the distribution of benefits derived from fish trade remains poorly understood. This study, carried out in five small-scale coral reef fishing communities along the Kenyan coast, sought to explore this link and in so doing found that both fishers and traders engaged in a more globally integrated fishery received higher incomes. There was no evidence that greater global market integration causes higher income inequalities within a fishery, an indication that linking local fisheries to global markets has potential positive income effects. We recommend disaggregated analyses in future studies of fishery income distribution in order to properly inform interventions within the context of specific fishery resource and respective market characteristics.
Genre Presentation
Topic Fisheries Economics
Identifier Wamukota, Andrew, T. Brewer and B. Crona. 2014. Income distribution and inequality among fishers and fish traders in two small-scale Kenyan coral reef fisheries. In: Towards ecosystem based management of fisheries: what role can economics play?: Proceedings of the Seventeenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, July 7-11, 2014, Brisbane, Australia. Complied by Ann L. Shriver & Melissa Errend. Corvallis, OR: International Institute of Fisheries.

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