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2008
A Report on the Census Study Done for the Fisheries Industry by the Fisheries Division
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
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Abstract
This study examines the results of a census which was done on the fishing industry in the Commonwealth of Dominica to determine the status of the various components and interrelationships which comprises the Industry. The census was directed at collecting baseline data and information from a wide range of actors who impact the industry either directly or indirectly, positively or negatively. The information was collected using a questionnaire and it was administered by trained data collectors and enumerators. The study covered fishers and fishing communities over the entire island. It highlights the perspectives of fisher folk including fish vendors, middle men, part-time and full-time fishers and other investors within the industry, for their views and ideas and the role that they played within that sector. The study identified many concerns of fisher folk as regards the role of Government, issue of subsidies to fishermen, fisheries management, fishermen and fishing boat registration matters and overall governance within the fishing industry in Dominica. The study also identified the various types and quantities of fishing gear used within the industry, types and number of fishing boats used, methods of propulsion employed by fishermen, range of outboard engines available and the extent to which Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) impacted the industry. The census captured some basic demographic information on the fishing industry for use in fisheries management in Dominica. Age, education status, composition of fishers household and dependences were also determined which gave some perspective on the social and economic value of the fishing industry in Dominica. The overall objective of the census was achieved in providing baseline data in terms of geographic location of material and equipment, size of the fishing fleet, personnel involved and services provided by the industry. The information is to be used for providing fisheries management advice to Government and for making informed management decisions regarding the fishing industry in Dominica
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Acknowledgements
The Fisheries Division wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals for their contributions: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which was the primary financial supporter for the survey, the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, especially the Central Statistical Office, for its invaluable advice and other technical assistance and the Establishment Department, the enumerators, the respondents and others who supported this study. The Fisheries Division also wishes to thank Dr. Susan Singh-Renton of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) for her input and guidance.
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T ab le o f Co nt ents
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... IV T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S .............................................................................................................. V G L O S S A R Y ................................................................................................................................ VIII 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N ....................................................................................................................1 1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE FISHERIES INDUSTRY AND THE FIC .............................................................................1 1.2 OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................1 2 M E T H O D O L O G Y ....................................................................................................................3 2.1 PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................................3 2.1.1 The Questionnaires ........................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.2 The Enumerators Manual ................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.3 Selection and Training of Enumerators............................................................................................. 3 2.1.4 The Target Population ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.5 Pre-Existing Data Sources ................................................................................................................. 4 2.1.6 The Pilot Survey ................................................................................................................................. 4 2.2 CENSUS STUDY ..............................................................................................................................4 2.2.1 The Main Survey................................................................................................................................ 4 2.3 POST-CENSUS ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................5 2.3.1 Data Management............................................................................................................................ 5 3 R E S U L T S ..................................................................................................................................6 3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................6 3.2 RESPONDENT ROLES .......................................................................................................................6 3.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS ...................................................................................................7 3.3.1 Sex, Marital Status and Age .............................................................................................................. 7 3.3.2 Household and Dependents .............................................................................................................. 7 3.3.3 Education .......................................................................................................................................... 9 3.4 FISHERS/BOAT OWNERS .................................................................................................................9 3.4.1 Role of Fishers on the Boat ............................................................................................................... 9
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G loss ary
Boat/Fishing vessel Boat builder/repairer Boat owner CSO Demersal Enumerator Equipment supplier FD FED FIC Fish Any vessel, boat, ship or other craft, which is used for, equipped to be used or of a type that is normally used for fishing or related activities A person who can build and or repair fishing boats Someone who owns the fishing boat and usually the engine and fishing gear as well. The boat owner may also be a fisher or may only be an investor in the industry Central Statistical Office Fish that are reside on or near the sea floor or reef, such as snappers The person who is charged with interviewing target respondents within the survey A person or establishment which supplies gear or fishing equipment to fishers Fisheries Division Fisheries Enumeration District Fisheries Industry Census Aquatic plant or animal whether piscine or not, and includes any mollusk, crustacean, coral, sponge, holothurians or other echinoderm, reptile and marine mammal, and includes their eggs and all juvenile stages A designated area or location where fish is landed or brought to shore by the fisher after a fishing trip A person who makes a living by harvesting fish from the seas, although persons who own boats but do not fish are also considered to be fishers Searching for, catching, taking or harvesting fish Any equipment used for the purpose of catching taking or harvesting fish Fisheries Liaison Officer Zone. One of five zones into which the island is divided for fisheries management purposes A person who can build and or repair fishing gear Japan International Cooperation Agency Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry A person who can repair outboard engines used by fishing boats Fish that reside and travel in the open water from the mid to the upper water column, such as tuna and dolphin fish Someone who responds to a survey by giving information to the enumerator Any equipment that can aid in ones survival while at sea A person who makes a living by selling fish
Fish landing site Fisher Fishing Fishing gear FLO Zone Gear builder/repairer JICA MOAFF Outboard engine mechanic Pelagic Respondent Survival gear Vendor
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1 In tr odu ctio n
1.1 Overview of the Fisheries Industry and the FIC
The Fisheries Division is the Government agency which has the legal mandate and responsibility for the management of fisheries and other marine resources, and for the overall governance and development of the fishing industry in Dominica. This agency manages the development of the industry based on available data and information and consistent with regional and international undertakings. However, all the data and information necessary for management of the fishery and that of the fish stocks are not always readily available and at best limiting in its content and quality. . A significant fraction of the population of Dominica is located along the coastal areas of the island. There is tremendous economic activity occurring along the coast which includes fisheries, quarry operations, dive tourism, coastal agriculture, and recreational activities as well as significant manufacturing and commerce. Fishing forms a major part of the commercial activity in that zone and is a noteworthy contributor to the social and economic livelihood of many people, especially the rural poor. The coastal system within which the fishing industry operates is a very dynamic one with various users and activities. Some of those activities are complementary to one another, others compete for space and resources while yet others are conflicting and require strategic management interventions. Over the years the fishing industry itself has undergone many changes as it relates to use of gear, fishing methods, changes in size, type and number of boats and movement of persons in and out of the industry. Dominica operates an open access fishery to its nationals where anyone can harvest the fish resource. This, coupled with fishermens reluctance to register themselves and their fishing vessels within the Division registration program, makes it impossible to maintain a proper and updated fishermen and fishing boat registry. This in turn rendered it extremely difficult to determine how many individuals, fishing vessels, and number and type of fishing gear were involved in the fishing industry. This information is critical to the determination of fishing effort and for estimation of the productive capacity and forecasting of production units for the fishing fleet in Dominica. As a result a National Fisheries Census was done. The entire country as it related to persons involved with fisheries, either directly or indirectly, was covered by the census. A questionnaire was developed and used to collect the relevant data. The census was implemented by the staff of the Fisheries Division during the second half of 2008.
1.2 Objectives
The mandate of the Fisheries Division is: 1. To develop the fisheries sector, creating employment opportunities, enhancing food security and generating income for the improvement of the social and economic welfare of all stakeholders. 2. To effectively manage the fisheries resources of Dominica to maintain healthy fish stocks and ensure long-term benefits to all users.
2.1.5 Pre-Existing Data Sources A list of all persons who identified themselves as fishers during the last national census of Dominica (2001) was obtained with the assistance of the CSO. The FD used this list to supplement its existing Licensing and Registration (LRS) records which is a database of all registered local fishers and their vessels. These two sources helped produce the initial list of persons to be interviewed. A literature review was done within the pre-census phase to get a sense for how other such surveys were handled in other Caribbean countries. The Marine Fisheries Census of Jamaica (1998) was an especially great help in this regard. Such literature was used to help develop the questionnaires, manuals and reports. The literature also gave insight into the actual implementation of the survey. 2.1.6 The Pilot Survey A pilot survey was conducted prior to the enumerator training to test the questionnaires prepared for the survey. The pilot was conducted by Fisheries Division staff within the communities of Newtown, Roseau and Fond Cole. About eight persons were interviewed. The pilot provided good insight into the duration of a typical interview and the effectiveness of the questionnaires in capturing the required data. After the pilot various changes were made to the questionnaire.
3 Resu lts
3.1 Introduction
The survey reached a significant portion of the fisher folk community, interviewing a grand total of 878 persons from 52 communities around the island2. These respondents reported on their 444 fishing boats and over 7807 units of fishing gear operating within the industry.
1 17 134 2 236 29 4 4 89
2 2 26 1 47 1 8 18
5 64 119 1 227 59 11 4 70
41 50 51 60 More than 60 Divorced Total 20 30 31 40 Married 41 50 51 60 More than 60 Married Total 31 40 41 50 Separated 51 60 More than 60 Separated Total Less than 20 20 30 31 - 40 Single 41 - 50 51 - 60 More than 60 Single Total 51 - 60 Widow(er) More than 60 Widow(er) Total Grand Total
Male 0.4% 0.6% 1.3% 2.2% 0.2% 3.3% 5.9% 6.3% 12.7% 28.4% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1.9% 2.6% 2.5% 9.6% 17.4% 15.7% 9.5% 6.0% 60.6% 0.1% 2.5% 2.6% 96.4%
3.3.2 Household and Dependents On average there were 3 (3.39) persons living at the household of the respondents. The maximum number of persons to any one household is 15. A total of 2766 persons reside at the households of the respondents. See Figure 4 for more information.
Number of Respondents
Household Size (number of persons living in the home of the respondent) (4b) Household Size by zones Household size Respondents (%) Avg. Min Max 28.76% 3.48 1 10 6.85% 3.38 1 10 20.07% 3.34 1 15 16.28% 3.44 1 13 28.03% 3.29 1 10 100.00% 3.39 1 15
2074 persons are dependent on the respondents. These are persons who rely on the respondent as a provider and may or may not reside in the same household. On average, there are about 2 dependents per respondent, with the maximum number of dependents for any one respondent being 18 persons. See Figure 5.
Figure 05: Dependents of respondents: (a) Distribution by respondents, (b) Dependents by zones (5a) Distribution: Dependents by respondents 200 Number of Respondents 150 100 50 0 0 1 2 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 16 18 Number of Dependents (number of persons depending on the respondent) 3 4 134 175 142 103 102 70 35 20
3.3.3 Education Regarding education, 78% of respondents had at least a primary school level of education. Secondary or high school education was attained by 15% and 4% reached tertiary level education at the college or university level. Only 3% reported having no education whatsoever. See Figure 6.
Figure 06: Respondents by education level Respondents by Education Level
College 3% University 1% None 3% Secondary/High 15%
Primary 78%
3.4.2 Income from Fishing Regarding income from fishing, only 2% of fishers said that they have no alternative source of income. Figure 8 shows that about 39% gained all or most of their income from fishing-related activities, 26%
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Figure 32 shows that although 49% of the fishing fleet comprises of 2-man-crew vessels, 23% are manned by a single person.
3.4.3 Fisher Registration About 72% (or 539) of fishers interviewed declared they were registered and 28% said they were not registered. See Figure 9. Refer to Figure 2 for the total number of respondents who were fishers.
Figure 09: Fisher registration status Are you a registered fisher? No 28% Yes 72%
3.4.4 Fishing Activity and Fishing Distance For those persons who do go out to sea, it was observed that they fish on average for 4.19 days a week. The bar chart at Figure 10 shows how often persons fish per week.
Figure 10: Fisher Activity: Number of Days fished weekly Number of days fished weekly 25% Responses (%) 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Number of days per week persons go to fish 5.6% 13.5% 18.2% 17.6% 19.4% 15.7% 10.0%
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The average distance fished from shore is 19.23 miles although a large group of fishers (35%) operate within 9 miles. The maximum was 75 miles. There were claims from persons that they could go over 100 miles out to sea. Figure 12 shows this distribution.
Figure 12: Fisher Activity: Distance fished from shore Distance Fished from Shore 40% Responses (%) 30% 20% 10% 0% <10 10-19 20-29 30-40 >40 Distance (miles) 17.57% 14.76% 8.08% 34.27% 25.31%
3.4.5 Fishing Gear About 70% of all gear utilized by fishers are hook and line type gear, while 23% are pots and 7% nets. See Figure 13 for more details concerning gear and how it is distributed among the fishing population.
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Line
Net
Pot
3.4.6 Fish Aggregating Devices Regarding Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), 2.79 FADs are lost annually (see Figure 14). Almost 64% of respondents said that they used FADs at some time, most of which said they used FADs at least once a week (26%). Just over 36% reported to never using FADs as part of their fishing activities. See Figure 15.
Figure 14: FADs Lost Annually by Fishers FADs Lost Annually 10 Number of FADs Lost per Fisher 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0% 10% 20% Responses (%) 24.5% 30% 40% 0.6% 0.6% 1.9% 1.3% 3.2% 7.1% 11.0% 20.0% 29.7%
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With regard to conflicts on FADs, 25% of respondents said they never witnessed a conflict. Of those fishers who did witness conflicts on FADs, 51% reported to witnessing local piracy, 20% witnessed foreign vessels fishing off FADs in local waters, 16% witnessed some form of vandalism to FADs and 13% witnessed the entanglement of fishing gear. The chart at Figure 16 shows this.
Figure 16: Conflicts on FADs Conflicts on FADs Entanglement of fishing gear/equipment 13% Vandalism of FADs 16% Foreign fishing boats on local FADs 20%
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Responses (%)
3.4.8 Reason for Fishing The primary reason persons gave when asked why they became fishers was that they always wanted to become a fisher. The second most popular reason was because there was a history of fishers in the family of the respondent. See Figure 18 for all the reasons given.
Figure 18: Reasons for Persons Becoming Fishers Reasons for Persons Becoming Fishers To always have fresh fish To take care of my family Its a good business To make money Not qualified for another job There was no other job available at the time There is a history of fishers in family Always wanted to be a fisher 0% 20% 40% 60% 0.3% 1.2% 1.8% 2.1% 5.0% 11.1% 49.9% 66.9% 80% 100%
Responses (%)
14
Responses (%)
Figure 20: Training Fishers Would Like to Do Training Fishers Would Like to Do Record Keeping Fish Processing Fish Handling and Quality Use of FADs Knot-Making First Aid Fishing Gear and Methods Sustainable Use of Marine Resources Small Business Management Outboard Engine Repair Navigation Safety-at-Sea 0% 20% 40% 60% 44.9% 48.9% 49.5% 50.1% 50.3% 53.9% 55.3% 55.5% 56.3% 60.7% 66.9% 67.3% 80% 100%
Responses (%)
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20%
40%
60%
Responses (%)
Figure 22 shows which factors have a positive impact on the operations of fishers.
Figure 22: Factors Impacting Fishing Operations Positively
Positive Impacts
Fuel availability and cost Finance/credit access Weather Migratory patterns of fish Non-fisheries occupations Facilities at landing site Equipment access/availability Populations of fish Crew Boat(s) Engine 0% 2.6% 16.0% 16.0% 19.3% 20.0% 23.6% 24.1% 25.9% 27.2% 27.8% 30.2% 10% 20% Responses (%) 30% 40%
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Responses (%)
3.4.12 Record Keeping Only about 28.5% of fishers keep records of their business. Of that number, 71% said that they keep expenses of their operations, 49% keep records of the amount of fish they land and their fishing operations and 72% keep records of fish sales or income. See Figure 24. Figure 25 shows that 73% of all fishers gave no reason for not keeping records. About 6% said that keeping records was not important to them and 21% do not keep records because they do not know how to.
Figure 24: Records Kept by Fishers
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3.4.13 Loans Regarding the difficulty of accessing loans, there was an almost equal distribution of responses for whether access was manageable, difficult or easy (see Figure 26). About 59% of fishers have never taken a loan before. Of those who took a loan the main reason for which they took the loan was to acquire an engine, with the second top reason being to acquire a boat and the third, fishing gear. See Figure 27.
Figure 26: Loans: Difficulty of Access to Loans Difficulty of Accessing Loans
Manageable 34%
Difficult 34%
Easy 32%
Figure 27: Loans: Acquired Equipment Equipment Acquired Via Loan Boat repair Safety or navigation equipment Fishing gear Boat Engine 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 0.4% 2.1% 29.1% 61.2% 86.1% 100%
Responses (%)
About 51% of respondents reported that they sourced loans from credit union type lenders. Another 32% of loans were from the development bank; almost 14% came through small business enterprise lenders and 11% from commercial banks. See Figure28.
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Responses (%)
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Regarding age of the fleet about 53% of the fleet was reported to be at or less than five years. 28% of the fleet is between six and ten years. The remaining 18% is over ten years. The bar chart shown at Figure 30 shows the distribution.
Figure 30: Boat Owners: Age of the Boats in the Fishing Fleet Age of the Boats in the Fishing Fleet 60% Boats (%) 40% 20% 0% 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-26 53.5% 28.2% 9.6% 5.5% 3.2%
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Boats (%)
3.5.3 Crew There is an average of 2.3 crew persons per fishing boat. Figure 32 shows this finding and also provides details on the overall distribution of crew by boats.
Figure 32: Boat Owners: Boat Crew Crew by Fishing Boat 4 and above 10% 3 man crew 18% 1 man crew 23%
3.5.4 Engines by Horse Power and Make The majority of engines are within the 10 to 49 HP range. Figure 33 has the details.
Figure 33: Boat Owners: Engines by Horse Power
Engines by HP range
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Engines (%)
3.5.5 Cost of Operations As the main investor in the fishing business the boat owner usually has the responsibility of managing the cost of operations. The cost of operations is shown below by trip (Figure 35) and by month (Figure 36)4.
Figure 35: Boat Owners: Cost of Operations (Per Trip) Item Bait Crew Food and water Fuel Gear Ice Oil Average $28.19 $82.99 $24.93 $254.40 $132.68 $27.53 $39.47 Min $2.00 $5.00 $5.00 $4.40 $10.00 $1.00 $1.80 Max $200.00 $300.00 $150.00 $800.00 $600.00 $250.00 $300.00
Figure 36: Boat Owners: Cost of Operations (Per Month) Item Boat loan repayment Engine loan repayment Maintenance Repayment of Fishing Gear Transportation Average $440.57 $392.94 $412.06 $225.00 $122.69 Min $100.00 $150.00 $20.00 $200.00 $5.00 Max $2,000.00 $1,250.00 $5,300.00 $250.00 $500.00
3.5.6 Catch Distribution and Returns Overall, it was determined that 88% of all fish caught was sold or otherwise used for some type of gain by the fisher/boat owner. About 12% of fish was given away free or without any sort of returns back to the fisher/boat owner. Normally this is to family or friends within the community or to persons who
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These values can vary greatly as each fishers operation is unique, requiring different gear, boats (sometimes multiple boats) and crew. Also, it may be possible that fishers declared prices based on a single prominent trip and not their average cost per trip, as expected. This can account for some of the high values.
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3.5.7 Repairs Generally gear will require repair annually. See Figure 38.
Figure 38: Boat Owners: Frequency of Repairs. The percentage of fishers who repair their boat, engine or gear and how often they do so. Frequency At least once per year 17.46% 8.66% 6.77% 32.88% Grand Total 39.92% 35.05% 25.03% 100.00%
3.5.8 Suppliers The majority of fishers get supplies from Roseau or Portsmouth. See Figure 39.
Figure 39: Boat Owners: Suppliers off Fishing Gear and Equipment Where Fishers Buy Fishing Gear and Equipment Supplier in another community Supplier in respondent's community From overseas Supplier in Roseau or Portsmouth 0% 20% 40% 60% 2.8% 11.6% 46.4% 73.6% 80%
Responses (%)
3.5.9 Duty-Free Concessions Over half of respondents received duty-free concessions from the Government of Dominica. Concessions are given to fishers based on registration status and the nature of the item being imported for use in the industry. See Figure 405.
This data is not reflective of only investors, but all fishers operating within the industry.
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No 56%
3.6.2 Fish Sold by Vendors Most fish is sourced from FLO Zone 1. See Figure 42. Refer to Figure 1 for a map of FLO Zones and landing sites.
Figure 42: Fish Vendors: Source of Fish Source of Fish for Vendors Zone 5 18% Zone 4 14% Zone 3 15% Zone 1 50% Zone 2 3%
Fish prices usually remain the same for 65% of vendors when they travel to other communities. See Figure 43.
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3.6.3 Fish Transportation and Spoilage Most vendors (81%) said that they do not throw away fish due to spoilage. See Figure 44. In the cases where fish is lost due to spoilage, 84% of vendors reported that this occurred only once a week (Figure 45).
Figure 44: Fish Vendors: Does fish spoilage occur? Do Vendors Throw Away Fish Due to Spoilage? Yes 19%
No 81%
Figure 45: Fish Vendors: Frequency of fish spoilage Frequency of Fish Spoilage for Vendors Every time 3% 1 - 3 times a week 13%
For every incidence of spoilage an average of 26.45 lbs of fish is lost. See Figure 46.
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Most vendors hire a vehicle to transport their fish. See Figure 47.
Figure 47: Fish Vendors: Transportation of Fish How Fish is Transported by Vendors Wheel Barrow 4.6% Uses own vehicle 21.5% Bus 5.5% Co-operative Vehicle 0.5%
Most vendors store their fish in an ice box or cooler with ice during transport. See Figure 48.
Figure 48: Fish Vendors: Storage during transport of fish How Fish is Stored by Vendors During Transport Wet Cardboard Basket In a bucket, crate or pail In an ice box or cooler without ice On the floor of the vehicle In a bucket, crate or pail with ice Covered with banana leaf, crocus bag or tarpaulin In an ice box or cooler with ice 0% 0.4% 0.8% 4.1% 5.3% 9.3% 14.2% 16.3% 67.1% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
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99.4%
3.6.5 Record Keeping Over 80% of vendors keep no records of their sales. See Figure 50.
Figure 50: Fish Vendors: Records of Sales How Many Vendors Keep Records of their Sales? Yes 19%
No 81%
3.6.6 Time Spent vending Over 90% of vendors usually sell their fish within a few hours. Generally fish is sold within a week. See Figure 51. In reference to daily vending, 44% of vendors said that their fish is sold within 2 to 4 hours (Figure 52).
Figure 51: Fish Vendors: How Much Time is Spent Selling Fish? How Quickly is Fish Sold? Sold within 3 days 2% Sold by the next day 6%
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4 - 6 hours 22%
2 - 4 hours 44%
Zone 2 2%
Zone 5 57%
3.7.2 Time in the Industry Most boat builders have at least 10 to 20 years working in the industry. See Figure 54.
Figure 54: Boat Builders: Time Working as a Boat Builder Time Working as a Boat Builder
Responses (%)
32.9% 23.5% 11.8% 2.4% 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-50 2.4% >50
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Figure 56: Boat Builders: Customers Last Year Boat Builders: Number of Customers Last Year 10 - 20 7% 5 - 10 11% More than 20 5%
3.7.4 Income About 73% of respondents said that they gain less than half of their income from their boat building/repairing activities (Figure 57). Only 4% said that they received all or most of their income from the activity.
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3.7.5 Boats Built About 78% of respondents stated that they are capable of building keel-type boats. Figure 58 shows the types of boats respondents can build.
Figure 58: Boat Builders: Types of Boats Built Types of Boats Built by Builders Canoe 17% FRP 5%
Keel 78%
3.7.6 Jobs The cheapest boat type to build was the canoe with an average cost of about $4000.00 for constructing a new boat under 20ft to $6000.00 for a new boat above 20ft. Figure 59 shows the cost for various jobs by boat types for sizes of under 20ft and above 20ft.
Figure 59: Boat Builders: Average Cost of Jobs Boat Types and Jobs Boat Repair Canoe Building a new boat FRP Building a new boat Boat Repair Building a new boat Keel Fibre Glass Paint Under 20 ft $150.00 $4,055.56 $20,000.00 $150.00 $6,446.15 $333.33 Above 20 ft $150.00 $6,300.00 $30,000.00 $150.00 $9,555.56 $600.00 $366.67
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Boat builders generally had little trouble getting paid for work done. About 78% said that they had no problems getting paid. See Figure 62.
Figure 62: Boat Builders: Getting Pay for Work Done Boat Builders: Trouble Getting Pay for Work Done? Yes 22%
No 78%
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Zone 5 76%
3.8.2 Time in the Industry Generally, gear builders/repairers seem to have worked 10 to 30 years within the industry (Figure 64).
Figure 64: Gear Builders: Time Working as a Gear Builder Time Working as a Gear Builder 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 25.0% 24.0% 27.1%
Responses (%)
11.5% 11.5% 1.0% <10 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-50 Time (Years) >50
3.8.3 Customers Gear builders tend to work mainly for themselves as seen from Figure 65. About 35% have customers from within their own community.
Figure 65: Gear Builders: Origin of Customers Gear Builders: Origin of Customers All over Dominica 17%
Outside of Dominica 1%
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About half 5%
None 7%
3.8.5 Gear Built The fish pot was the most common gear type built/repaired as shown by Figure 67. Second were the gill net and then the beach seine.
Figure 67: Gear Builders: Types of Gear Built/Repaired Types of Gear Built/Repaired Surface long line 7% Gill net 28% Beach seine 17% Bottom long line 8%
3.8.6 Jobs Typically, gear building/repairing jobs are complete within 20 days. See Figure 68 for more details.
Figure 68: Gear Builders: How Long it takes Gear Builders/Repairers to Complete Certain Jobs Job Build a beach seine Build a fillet net Build a fish pot Build a long-line Number of Days for the Job 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-50 8.33% 0.00% 8.33% 0.00% 8.57% 5.71% 8.57% 0.00% 6.56% 0.00% 3.28% 1.64% 0.00% 0.00% 7.69% 0.00% Grand Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
About 94% of respondents said that they had no problems getting paid for work done. See Figure 69.
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No 94%
Zone 5 59%
Zone 4 34%
3.9.2 Time in the Industry Not many, only 9.2% of mechanics, have less than 10 years working in the industry. See Figure 71.
Figure 71: Engine Mechanics: Years Working as an Engine Mechanic Time Working as a Mechanic 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 29.3% 21.5% 9.2% 10.9% 29.1%
Responses (%)
<10
10-19
30-40
>40
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3.9.4 Income About 19% of respondents said they make no income from engine mechanic activities, with 14% saying that they make all or most of their income from these activities.
Figure 73: Engine Mechanics: Income from the Activity Mechanics: Income from the Activity
All or most 14% About half 10% None 19%
3.9.5 Engines Worked On Yamaha and Johnson engines are the most popular make of engine worked on by mechanics. Most engines are under 40HP.
Figure 74: Engine Mechanics: Engines Worked On Engine Make Evinrude Johnson Mariner Mercury Yamaha Grand Total Engine Horse Power (HP) Range Under 40 Above 85 40 - 85 HP HP HP 2.44% 1.22% 0.00% 14.63% 10.98% 3.66% 9.76% 4.88% 1.22% 6.10% 1.22% 0.00% 20.73% 15.85% 7.32% 53.66% 34.15% 12.20% Grand Total 3.66% 29.27% 15.85% 7.32% 43.90% 100.00%
3.9.6 Jobs Figure 75 shows the average cost of various engine mechanic jobs. About 70% of respondents tend to complete jobs within a week (Figure 76). With regard to getting pay for jobs, 75% of mechanics reported that they have no problems with their customers (Figure 77).
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Figure 76: Engine Mechanics: Time Taken to Complete a Job Mechanics: Time to Complete a Job
1 month 6% 1 - 2 weeks 18% More than 1 month 6%
Figure 77: Engine Mechanics: Getting Pay for Works Done Mechanics: Trouble Getting Pay for Works Done? Yes 24%
No 76%
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Zone 4 22%
Zone 3 34%
3.10.2 Type of Establishment The most common type of equipment supplier establishment observed was the marine supply store, which accounted for 67% of responses. See Figure 79 for details.
Figure 79: Equipment Supplier: Type of Establishment Equipment Supplier: Type of Establishment
Agriculture 11% General hardware retail 22% Marine supplies store 67%
3.10.3 Price of Supplies Figure 80 shows a list of some items and the average selling price as offered by equipment suppliers around the island.
Figure 80: Equipment Supplier: Average Price of Items Supplied to Fishers Items Anchor Artificial bait Buoys/Floats Diving Glass Dock Line Engine Parts Fibre Cloth Fins First Aid Kits Flare Guns Gloves Hooks Average Price $185.00 $3.67 $111.35 $45.00 $40.00 $50.00 $15.00 $125.00 $24.25 $220.00 $17.64 $34.31 Items Lead weights Life Vests Lines Nets (per ft.) Oil/Lubricants Plugs Rain Coat Reels Rods Ropes Swivel Wire mesh Average Price $2.20 $39.99 $73.18 $4.40 $15.50 $15.00 $72.55 $10.33 $80.00 $634.29 $26.75 $2.10
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4.3 Demographics
The survey showed that the fishing industry in Dominica is male dominated with 96% of stakeholders being men (Fig. 03) and the other 4% females; with females being mainly involved with fish vending activities. Among the male population 60% were single. Only about 30% of fisher-folk families were married. Of all persons interviewed it was observed that the number of persons per fishermans household ranged from 1 to 15. Over half of the respondents indicated that their household size is between 1 to 3 persons (Fig. 04). The other respondents had household sizes of 4 and above with very few beyond 10 persons per household. It was also observed that 2074 persons were directly dependent on the 878 respondents as far as providing food, shelter, clothing, education and health care was concerned. Dependents ranged from 1 up to 18 persons in a family (Fig. 05). However most fishers had between 1 and 3 dependents while 43% of respondents had between 4 and 10 dependents. This indicated that a significant proportion of fishers have greater domestic responsibilities than initially perceived. There is also a direct economic dependency by boat builders/repairers, fish vendors, equipments suppliers and outboard engine mechanics who also rely on the fishers for their own livelihood. The survey also highlighted the greater benefit to be derived from the compartmentalization of the roles in the industry in order to realize greater economic, social and productive potential. It was noted that 32% of fishers sold their own fish (Appendix 2) and did not require any middle men. However such operations do not lend to the optimal productive outputs of fishers who engage in the individual vending of their catch as such time would be better spent fishing thus increasing his production and economic returns. Based on the very strong social interactions which surrounded the fishing activity it was noted that up to 12% of the catch was given away (see section 3.5.6 of this report) to friends and family without any cash returns to the fisher. This practice contributes to the high level of insecurity and dependence exhibited by many fishers as a significant component of his revenue base is lost through this hand-out practice. If addressed such fishers would be better positioned to servicing their commitments including loans, maintenance of equipment and personal and family welfare among others.
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85% of engines employed in the industry are Yamaha outboards (Fig. 34)
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4.9 Vendors
Most vendors are fishers who sell their own fish at their landing site (Fig. 41). There was a very small group of vendors who actually purchase fish for retail and acted as middle men (about 8%). When vendors travelled elsewhere to dispose of the fish, transportation cost was normally incurred as a result and the price of the fish would be expected to increase. The survey results showed that only 11% of vendors increased their price, 65% maintained the same price, while 24% of persons actually decreased their price (Fig. 43). Although no reason was given for this it is presumed such decrease could be due to poor quality of the fish being sold after having kept the product without ice for significant periods. It would appear that vendors were not making a profit when they attempt to distribute fish to other communities or that the landing price was already high enough to absorb the added cost of transportation. This is noteworthy as it was established that 68% of vendors actually hired a vehicle to sell their fish (Fig. 47). Eighty four (84%) of respondents claimed that they experienced some loss of fish due to spoilage at least once per week (Fig. 45), and 54% experienced more than 20lbs of fish loss due to spoilage per week and in some cases up to 100lbs per week (Fig. 46). This is very significant and a cause for concern as persons could be losing considerable revenue after a hard fishing day. Further investigation is required to determine the full extent of this problem and more education and post harvest handling training programmes is needed to help improve on this situation. Another area that could assist with this situation is the enforcement of regulations requiring the vending of fish only at designated vending facilities. This will ensure that vendors do not have the fish exposed to the elements where it can get contaminated and spoil more rapidly. The current situation is very worrying as it potentially poses a health risk to the fish-eating populace. It was observed that more than 67% of vendors transported fish on ice for sale to the public (Fig. 48). Considering that most fish was sold within 2 to 4 hours when displayed for sale (Figs 51 and 52), the great loss indicated above seem to come from fish not being iced at sea. Therefore, more emphasis needs to be placed in that area and it is recommended that all boats built after 2009 are fitted with ice boxes. Training programmes need to be done with both the fishers and the vendors to help them
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5 A ppendi ces
5.1 Appendix 1: Map of Fisheries Enumerator Districts (FEDs)
FED 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
Communities Delaford, Veille Case, Thibaud, Anse Du Me Calibishie, Woodford Hill, Wesley Marigot Carib Territory (Atkinson, Salibia, Bataka, Sineku) Castle Bruce, Tranto, Good Hope, San Sauveur, Petite Soufriere Rosalie, La Plaine, Delices Petite Savanne, Fond St. Jean, Stowe, Grand Bay Scotts Head, Soufriere Pointe Michel, Loubiere, Newtown, Roseau (RFC) Pottersville, Fond Cole, Canefield, Massacre Mahaut, Jimmit, Tarreau, Layou, St. Joseph, Mero Salisbury, Batalie, Coulibistrie, Colihaut Bioche, Dublanc Portsmouth TaneTane, Toucari, Cottage, Clifton, Capucin
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Codes:
BB BO ES F GB OEM RF V Boat Builder/Repairer Boat Owner Equipment Supplier Fisher Gear Builder Outboard Engine Mechanic Retired Fisher Vendor
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5.3.2 Keel These are also small open vessels; however they are built with marine ply over a skeleton frame structure with a keel for a backbone. Currently, these boats are built with a coating of fibre-glass for reinforcement (called fibred keels). Keel boats generally fall between 15 and 25 feet in length but can be shorter or much longer. Keel boats are able to operate much further out at sea than canoes. They carry bigger outboard engines and thus are able to venture 25 miles to sea or more. Ice boxes are built into some boats for the storage of fish. Pelagics are the main types of fish targeted, although they are considered multi-purpose or multi-fishery.
5.3.3 Fibre-glassed Reinforced Plastic (FRP) These boats are similar in size and scale of operations as the keel boats. They are usually built using a mold and often called pirogues. FRP boats sometimes carry ice holds or ice boxes, like keels, and are seen to be more stable in rougher seas. They are also safer and more hygienic boats to work on as they
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5.4.2 Nets Nets are nylon-mesh devices used for ensnaring fish. Unlike the fish pot, which is passive, nets are active gear as they are usually used to en-circle schooling fish. In some cases fishers throw rocks into the water to scare fish into the net where they can be ensnared. This gear is usually used on canoe vessels near the coast targeting coastal pelagic such as jacks, mackerels or sardines.
5.4.3 Hook and Lines Hook and line gear come in many varieties. The two main varieties are hand lines and long lines. This gear is used for catching both pelagic and demersal fish.
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