St. Georges Bay
Ecosystem Project Survey
Report to
those fishermen who participated in the
survey
- INTRODUCTION
- THE
DISTRICT SURVEYED: METHODS
- 1)
ATTACHMENT TO FISHING COMMUNITY
- 2)
FISHING HISTORY and PERSONAL BACKGROUND OF
RESPONDANTS
- 3)
EXPERIENCE WITH HARVESTER
ORGANISATIONS
- 4) LOCAL
KNOWLEDGE EXPERTS IDENTIFICATION
- 5) OTHER
FINDINGS AND WORK TO BE DONE
- 6)
SUMMARY OF GENERAL COMMENTS
Introduction
The St. Georges Bay Ecosystem
project (GBEP) is intended to do several kinds of
research for a number of groups involved in the St.
Georges Bay fishery. This research project is headed by
the Interdisciplinary Study for Aquatic Resource
Programme (ISAR) of St. F.X. University. Its intent over
the next few years is to provide fishermen, academics,
civil servants and other interested parties with analyses
of the social economy, management and biology of St.
Georges Bay.
The survey we carried out last
July was one of the first initiatives of the project. The
purpose of this survey was the identification of local
knowledge experts. We asked fishermen whom they
considered to be especially knowledgeable about the
fishing grounds. Fishermen we called were exceptionally
helpful. They took the time to answer our questions and
answered them with care. From their answers we compiled a
list of names of those whom fishermen feel to be "expert"
about local fishing grounds within St. Georges Bay. These
individuals will be interviewed in the next stage of the
research. We are confident that our list will represent
effectively the area's collective wisdom on the
fishery.
The District Surveyed:
Methods
The nine "ports" in the research
area extend from Lismore, Pictou county to Mabou Mines,
Inverness county.1
From a list of all 304
current lobster license holders, we selected 174 by
random sample from all nine ports. The survey instrument
was pre-tested on twelve persons associated with the
fishery. Surveys were conducted by telephone between July
14 and July 22, 1998 with some call backs extending into
mid August.2
The response rate to the fifteen minute interview was
73%, or 128 completed surveys.3
This is a very high rate of response for this type of
survey. The questionnaire had five sections: 1)
attachment to fishing community, 2) fishing history of
respondents, 3) experience with harvester organisations,
4) personal background, and 5) local knowledge experts
identification.
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1) ATTACHMENT TO FISHING
COMMUNITY
There is a strong attachment to
fishing as a way of life. Ninety six percent (96) feel
"part of the fishing community" they fish out of and
given the suggestion that each could "live their life
over", eighty three (83) percent of the fishermen
questioned would go into fishing again. They are more
divided on the question of whether people "help each
other out" more than the past or less than the past. The
majority (80 persons or 63%) feel that people help each
other about the same while minorities of twenty two and
twenty four are respectively pessimistic and optimistic
about the development of community support over
time.
With respect to the future
the questionnaire posed three scenarios when advising a
child to go into "the present day fisheries" the first
was for someone entering fishing "starting from scratch",
the second "had financing for a boat and all the
important licenses" and the third "inherited a boat with
only a lobster license". Eighty percent (80% ) of the
respondents would probably not or definitely not advise a
child to go into fishing if they had to start "entirely
from scratch". This stands in contrast to the advice they
would give a young person considering the third option
"if they could inherit a boat and a lobster license".
Here, seventy seven percent (77%) would probably or
definitely (48%) advise entering fishing. The second
option combines "financing" and the "future" in the
climate of present day fisheries. There is ambiguity in
the question and interviewers made no attempt to resolve
it. Financing was not defined and could mean "bank" loans
which would imply collateral or could mean available
capital and the view of the future could also vary.
Twenty three percent (23%) would definitely advise a
child to enter the fishery if they "had financing for a
boat and all the important licenses" but an additional
48% would "probably" so advise.
Taken together these
questions on "scratch", "financing" and "inheriting"
suggest that fishermen view start up capital as an
important factor in advising children who might wish to
enter the fishery but aside from this issue of
capitalisation they indicate a high level of satisfaction
with fishing.
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2) FISHING HISTORY and
PERSONAL BACKGROUND OF RESPONDANTS
A composite picture of the
fishermen of St. Georges Bay may be garnered from the one
hundred and twenty eight persons surveyed. The one
significant trait of the fishery is the "traditional"
character of the enterprise. Sixty three fishermen began
fishing with their fathers and seventy eight percent
(78%) now live and fish out of the community wherein they
were born. With respect to "grounds", eighty nine percent
(89%) report that they "have always fished the same
lobster grounds". The years spent on those grounds range
from as few as four (4) to as many as fifty six (56)
lobster seasons.
On the water the
significant portion (50% of the sample) who began fishing
with their fathers were preceded by and today remain in
constant touch with relatives. Sixty per cent (60%) of
the sample claimed grandparents in the fishery and sixty
five percent (65%) claimed uncles as fishermen while a
full eighty eight percent (88%) reported fishing in some
combination of fathers, sons and brothers. Only thirty
one percent (31%) reported fishing with some combination
of wife, daughter, sister, mother and forty two percent
(42%) reported fishing with in-laws. All told this
represents a level of family enterprise consistent with
traditional household production and very much at
variance with contemporary workplaces. In any claim which
in future might identify "traditional" rights for inshore
fishers it will be worthwhile to elucidate further this
pattern of extended family fishing.
While the youngest license
holder in the survey was twenty three and the oldest
seventy nine, forty nine (49) is both the median and the
average age. Respondents fished on average for twenty
seven (27) years in total and during the 1997 season
fished an average of eighteen weeks (18). This was also
the median with a range between no weeks and thirty six
weeks fished. Landings are species specific. Most lobster
landings are spread out among the nine ports but for
thirty nine percent of the one hundred and twenty eight
fishermen only four ports accounted for lobster landings:
Lismore (14) Arisaig (13), Cribbon's (12) and Murphy's
Pond (11). In contrast, eighty nine fishermen landed
herring mainly at Lismore (42), Arisaig (13) and Pictou
Landing (13) and of the one hundred and seven reported
landing groundfish they were principally at Murphy's Pond
(24), across the bay at Ballantynes (20) and at the
bottom of the bay at Bayfield (10).
The fishermen surveyed
demonstrated some enthusiasm for developing fishery
related skills. Fifty five percent (55%) had returned to
school to take a variety of fishery related short
courses. With respect to computers, forty three percent
(43%) of fishermen reported using a PC. Of this number of
users 63% had used computers for access to the internet
and 33% reported using email. When asked if they would be
interested in "attending a workshop on accessing
information related to fishing in this area" fifty five
percent (55%) said yes and a further twenty five percent
(25%) said that "perhaps" they would attend such a
workshop. In contrast only twenty five people (20%)
stated that they would not attend a
workshop.
The educational level of
fishermen varied from a low of grade five to a high of
eighteen years of formal schooling . There were several
university graduates and a high number of persons who had
completed vocational programmes (plumbing, carpentry,
electrical) after completion of high school. Both the
mean and median level of education for all fishermen
surveyed was grade 11. Education is one of the variables
used in the analysis section which follows
below.
From DFO data it is
possible to describe the average size of the boat used by
the three hundred and four (304) license holders as a
thirty six foot boat. However using cluster analysis it
is possible to identify two size trends &endash; in
eighty three cases the vessel size is 29 feet and in one
hundred and ninety three cases the vessel is close to 39
feet. License holders vary considerably as well and there
is a positive correlation between vessel size and the
number of licenses. The average person holds six licenses
(6) but twenty seven percent (27 %) of the sample own
less than five (5) and seven percent (7 %) own from
eleven to fifteen (11-15). Relations between boat size,
the number of licenses and the selection of local experts
is addressed in the analysis
section.
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3) EXPERIENCE WITH HARVESTER
ORGANISATIONS
The survey asked fishermen about
their experience with "fisheries organisations or
associations". It would appear that the people surveyed
are actively involved in such bodies. Eighty percent (80
%) of respondents reported that they are paying dues to a
fish harvester's "association or organization". Forty
eight people (38 %) reported being "elected to a
position" in such bodies and sixty five percent (65 %)
report that they attend meetings always (32%) or
frequently (33%). Only four percent (4%) claimed that
they never attended fishery organisation meetings. Except
for the latter, all of these figures appear high
especially in view the comments made respecting the
calling of fishery meetings. Several persons interviewed
volunteered the information that their associations
either seldom ever held meetings, poorly advertised the
existence of regularly scheduled meetings or met on an
moments notice without advance warning to the association
membership.
Eighteen percent (18%)
reported being asked to serve on a "government fisheries
council or advisory
committee".
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4) LOCAL KNOWLEDGE EXPERTS
IDENTIFICATION
A list has been drawn up of the
fishermen most often named by their fellow fishermen. The
question asked was "Other than yourself, I will ask for
the names of three persons who you think to be well
informed about the local fishing ground.". Excepting a
few people, almost everyone could easily list three
names. Active fishermen vastly outnumber those who were
retired (fifteen different retired fishermen were named
&endash; one named five times). All told -- including
the one fish plant owner who was named as "best informed"
and one other person whose name does not appear on either
the active or known retired lists -- there were three
hundred and seven (307) people whom we had listed or who
were identified as "informed fishermen". In keeping with
our promise not to reveal the names of the people listed
we cannot provide a list of those who were named most
often &endash; as interesting as that would be to
fishermen. We hope to be conducting future interviews
with the people named in the next stage of this research.
It is possible, however, to list some general
characteristics of those named.
First of all most people
listed three people who typically fish "close" or beside
the place where they themselves fish. People seldom are
listed for more than one port although a few did get
named right around the coast. Twenty four persons were
named twice. If three or more different recommendations
are used to generate the next round of interviews then
sixty nine (69) out of the listing of three hundred and
seven (307) would make up the list of those recommended
as best informed. If we consider people named four or
more times then thirty five fishermen would be
interviewed for the next round. We could be comfortable
that this group would enjoy the confidence of their
peers. It is interesting that almost one half of the
persons interviewed were themselves named by at least one
other. This would indicate that expertise appears to be
widely distributed among the people who fish in Georges
Bay.
It is important to note
that in considering years fished, the people named are
only slightly more experienced on the water than the
average fisherman but have significantly larger boats
with more licenses than the average fishermen. In a
regression analysis which combined age, education, weeks
fished, size of boat and number of licenses, these
findings of slightly more experience but greater boats
and licenses were determined to be statistically
significant explaining about 32 percent of the variance.
As to why they choose the people that they choose, thirty
three percent (33%) of those interviewed stated that the
people they choose had the "respect of their fellows". In
second place, thirty two (32%) said that the persons
named were innovators in trying out new gear and fishing
techniques. Of less importance in selecting the three
persons were fisher's perception of success (30%),
"knowledge of the old ways" (29) and fisher's "contacts
through fishing organisations"
(24).
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5) OTHER FINDINGS AND WORK TO
BE DONE
The data set for this survey was
not intended to be extensive. Its main task was to
determine those whom fishermen thought to be best
informed about local grounds. Because we did have data on
boat size and licenses and because we asked about
education, weeks fished, age, years fishing and some
family history it is possible to provide some general
findings about these relationships. None of this will be
a surprise to those who have a keen eye for what is
happening.
As would be expected the
younger fishermen are "better educated" as far as high
school and some university is concerned. Education levels
appear to be rising overall but interesting enough middle
aged fishermen (40-49) are no slouches when it comes to
aquiring the latest gear and when it comes to computers.
With respect to the trend to boats over 40 feet, this is
not a young man's thing. The under 40 grouping is not as
quick as the forty to fifty year olds to move to more
than forty foot vessels. The data suggest that clearly
these same forty footers are not popular for those who
have passed their sixty birthday.
Size of vessel does relate
to the number of weeks fished. Boats under 34 and from 34
to 3911 were compared with boats greater than 40'. The
greater the size, the more weeks fished. In this positive
correlation (29% and statistically significant .002)
there are some interesting sidelights. Education does
make a difference. When we control for boat size, those
below the age of forty with less than grade nine
education fish the most number of weeks (in 1997) but
those above the age of sixty who have less than grade
nine fished the least number of weeks. The number of
licenses are also relevant. The number of weeks fished is
positively correlated with the number of licenses (43%
coefficient and statistically significant .00002). What
all this means is that effort goes up with boats (they
cost more) and licenses issued which stands to reason.
What is most interesting is the differences from port to
port. . From the pattern of license holdings and boat
size it would appear that larger boats need not go with
more licenses and indeed it appears that some ports use
their boats to better effect than others. Here the
present data set needs to be expanded upon to see the
effect of alternative sources of income and the effect
that this has on fishing effort. This was not studied in
this survey.
Further work is being done
on the data set to answer this specific question. Were
boat size and number of licenses the chief factors used
in making references. Because of the way the questions
were asked this relationship is not immediately obvious.
That appears to be a fault in the instrument. We do know
that education was not relevant in making choices and it
appears that organisation membership was not relevant.
Above it has been stated that preliminary investigations
suggest some kind of dominance in boat size. It may be
that fishermen who own big boats are the ones who are
more likely to be in contact with one another and
therefore enjoy greater consensus on those named. At this
stage we can report that this relationship is being
further investigated because we want to know if "respect"
and "success" are products of vessel size-license
holdings or if the latter make people better
communicators and therefore more likely to say the same
things about their peers. One other possibility -- the
ecological fallacy is being checked because boat and
vessel size are the two variables common to the greatest
number of cases.
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6) SUMMARY OF GENERAL
COMMENTS
The survey produced the intended
result. The names are attached to the original as an
appendix. This portion of the survey without the appendix
is being sent to all participants. The level of
participation was significantly higher than the national
average for this type of study. The fishermen interviewed
were invariably courteous and most generous with their
time. They had complaints. Often they expressed dismay
with the condition of the ground fishery, and more than a
few indicated that their lives were poorer and their
outlook more pessimistic than any time in the recent
past. There was a significant desire to get up to speed
on computer related materials and one could not help but
be impressed with the willingness to learn even among
older fishermen. Several expressed complaints that their
respective organisations were understaffed and not able
to communicate effectively with their membership. The
complaints were expressed with such dignity that all
interviewers came away with the positive impression that
fishermen were more than willing to work with anyone who
might be in a position to turn the fishery
around.
Finally, we note with deep
regret the deaths of three people involved in this
survey. The late Josie Boyd who despite being in
retirement was named so often and with such affection
that it would have a distinct pleasure to have
interviewed him. One of the younger men, Angus Lord
MacDonald (Jr.) fished with his father out of Judique.
The late John Allan Ross was a well respected and hard
working man fishing out of Arisaig. As researchers we pay
our respects to the families of these men.
- Dr.Dan
MacInnes
- Department of Sociology and
Anthropology
- St. Francis Xavier
University
1
Lismore, Arisaig, Ballantyne's Cove (includes
Livingstone's Cove), Cribbon's, Bayfield (including
Southside Harbour, and Pomquet ), Harve Boucher
(including West Arm Tracadie, Tracadie, Barrios Beach,
Auld Cove), Baxter's Cove (including Maryvile and
MacKay's Point), Port Hood (including Ceilidh Co-op
branches at Little Judique Harbour and Murphy's Pond) and
Mabou Harbour (including Finlay's Point).
2
Surveys were conducted by Dr. Dan MacInnes, Dr. John
Phyne, Nell den Heyer and Ray MacIsaac.
3The
timing of the survey was scheduled to correspond with the
end of the lobster season. There were three refusals, two
deaths, two without telephone service and four reported
by others not home due to the snow crab and tuna
fisheries while several were reported away from home due
to work, vacation and travel. The remaining thirty five
consistently were not there when phoned at least three
different times.
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