Note from the editor,
This unavoidably delayed issue contains three contributions.
In the first article, “Diminishing sustainability of traditional fishing practices in Siquijor Island, central Philippines”, Abner A. Bucol, of Silliman University, describes changes in traditional fishing practices. The author, now a formally trained marine biologist, is also a local fisherman of Siquijor Island. As a result, this article is based on his own experiences and observations as a fisherman, supplemented by his recent interviews with local fishermen, combined with information that derives from formal marine science. The author suggests that full-time and authentic local fishermen, “who clearly possess rich indigenous ecological knowledge, should be involved and consulted (not just informed) in any conservation effort such as in setting up of a marine protected area.”
The second article, entitled “Repackaging colonialism: Good governance, democracy, globalization and cognitive platitudes as assumed basic values in tropical small-scale fisheries development,” is an essay written by the editor. This essay argues that a continuity of colonial era attributes and models characterizes the post-colonial period, although their presentation and vocabulary has been adapted by the use of inoffensive blandishments such as “good governance”, “democracy” and an associated suite of terms and concepts that serve to undermine the sovereignty of tropical nations and which are dished-up within a neoliberal framework. The historical roots of the issue and the rationale provided by modernization theory are summarized, and exemplified by pre-existing fisheries credit institutions, and the myth of open access in small-scale fisheries. “Globalization” is examined as “global governmentality”, or the purposeful manipulation of international institutions to maintain the global management role of Western nations.
Finally, there is a brief article, “Memories of sawfish fisheries in a southwestern Atlantic estuary” by Vinicius Giglio, Osmar Luiz, Marta Reis and Leopoldo Gerhardinger. The authors examine a former mangrove fishery, based on the local ecological knowledge of a small sample of elderly men, all of whom specialized in catching sawfish. This succinct article provides a useful contribution to the information on a once-widespread, but now severely-threatened species.
Kenneth Ruddle
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Contents
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Traditional #36 (pdf: )
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