The livelihoods approach and management of small-scale fisheries

An approach to poverty reduction in low-income countries known as the ‘sustainable livelihoods approach’ is applied to understanding the strategies of artisanal fisherfolk confronted by fluctuating fisheries resources. The livelihood approach is explained, and the insights it provides into conventional fisheries management policies in developing countries are explored. It is argued that both state-led management and some of the newer, community or territorial use-rights approaches, if predicated on an incomplete understanding of livelihoods, can result in management directives incompatible with both resource conservation and the social and economic goals of management.