When Fish is Water: Food Security and Fish in a Coastal Community in The Dominican Republic

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Author
Stoffle, Richard, W.
Affiliation
Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, University of Arizona
Issue Date
2001
Keywords
Buen Hombre, Dominican Republic
Fisheries
Coral Reefs
Global Change

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Collection Information
This item is part of the Richard Stoffle Collection. It was digitized from a physical copy provided by Richard Stoffle, Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please email Special Collections, askspecialcollections@u.library.arizona.edu.
Publisher
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Description
The purpose of this report is to help fisheries officials better understand the cultures of small - scale fishing communities. By doing so they will be better prepared to develop more successful management policies and practices, and to help people in such communities to have more decent lives. The paper discusses cultural characteristics of small-scale fishing communities that are particularly important for fisheries officials to understand. Methods which might help fisheries managers to obtain trustworthy and reliable information about fishing cultures in an ethical manner are also suggested, including methods for rapidly acquiring important information while working within tight budgetary and time constraints. Recommendations appearing near the end of the paper provide guidance concerning how the foregoing objectives can be achieved, underscoring the importance of sustaining small –scale fishers' rights of access to fisheries resources while making their cultures integral considerations in fisheries- management policies and practices. Buen Hombre is one of six case studies of contemporary small -scale fishing communities from distinct world -culture regions are annexed at the end, richly exemplifying many of the issues discussed in this report The essay written by Richard Stoffle is about the people of Buen Hombre, a small coastal fishing and farming village of about a thousand people located on the north coast of the Dominican Republic near the Haitian border. It is found on pages 219 – 245. The people of this village deal with the normal and abnormal problems of change. These changes are sometimes global and sometimes local. Changes occur in their climate, economy, and their environment. The people of this village prepare for and accommodate to these changes by (1) promoting a conservation ethic and (2) limiting access to their marine resources. When they are successful, fish -based food security issues are ameliorated. This essay discusses food security issues as these were faced by the people of the village of Buen Hombre from 1985 to 1995. While this is a very small segment of time, many changes did occur and these illustrate key temporal and spatial processes. Short-term changes in the economy and climate are common for coastal peoples who must constantly adjust their adaptive strategies to survive. The full reference for the entire report is: McGoodwin, James, R. (2001). Understanding the Cultures of Fishing Communities: A Key to Fisheries Management and Food Security. Rome, Italy: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations; FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 401.
Additional Links
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/Y1290E/Y1290E00.HTM
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