Measuring seining strategies and fishing success in the Philippines

Determining the degree to which variance in fishing success is a function of variance in fishing strategies is critical for forming appropriate policies for preserving a biologically sustainable level of fishing effort (Hilborn 1985; Durrenberger and Pdlsson 1986). In fisheries management, economists and biologists assume that the amount of fish caught is largely a result of fishing effort. Hence, most policies are designed so as to reduce effort in order to restore fish stocks to either economically or biologically sustainable levels (Acheson 1981:300-301). To the degree that a skipper's skill and/or strategy are what account for variance in fishing success, however, policies intended to reduce fishing effort may fail (Hilborn 1985; Durrenberger 1993).

Owing to the changing nature of the management policies enacted by state regimes and the resources and technology used by fishers, it is not surprising that few fishers are able to articulate detailed strategies in interviews. The large number of variables that skippers consider when they formulate specific strategies inhibits more precise exegesis (Gatewood 1983) and contributes to the persistent mystique or "ideology" of the skipper effect (Palsson and Durrenberger 1990). These difficulties underscore the need to shift the debate away from discussion over whether a skipper's contributions are best understood as individualized skill (Thorlindsson 1988) or as the collective outcome of a larger field of crew and social relations (Pilsson 1994). The study of fishing strategy does not require us to subscribe to the notion of an autonomous skipper, isolated from the influences of his crew, technology, environment and the larger array of political economic influences that surround fishing today. What it does require are more well-grounded, comparative, and empirical studies of what fishers actually do.

We argue that a less contentious and more productive way to analyze factors that contribute to differential fishing success is for scholars and policymakers alike to devote increased attention to variations in fishing strategies within and between fleets over time. Skill itself is a multifaceted phenomenon that is resistant to statistical analysis; strategies, however, are multifaceted phenomenon that can be measured and which may well indicate significant variability in fishing success within a fleet. We expect that variables such as the level of technology in use, the range and type of species sought, and whether one is dealing with commercial household fishers or artisanal fishers will produce different findings regarding the degree to which fishing strategies vary within fleets and account for differential fishing success. Certainly, in many contemporary industrialized contexts, a skipper's actions are influenced by the role of large fish processors, corporate owners, or state-enforced quotas on a boat's catch. While these influences may control or collapse differences in fishing effort within a fleet (e.g., Durrenberger 1997), some strategic choices may still be under the control of individual skippers.