Toward Sustainability of South African Small-Scale Fisheries Leveraging ICT Transformation Pathways

Tsele T. Nthane, Fred Saunders, Gloria L. Gallardo Fernández and Serge Raemaekers
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Tsele T. Nthane: Environmental and Geographical Science Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa
Fred Saunders: School of Natural Sciences, Technology, and Environmental Studies, University of Södertön, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
Gloria L. Gallardo Fernández: School of Natural Sciences, Technology, and Environmental Studies, University of Södertön, 141 89 Huddinge, Sweden
Serge Raemaekers: Environmental and Geographical Science Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7701, South Africa

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Though Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been employed in small-scale fisheries (SSFs) globally, they are seldom systematically explored for the ways in which they facilitate equality, democracy and sustainability. Our study explored how ICTs in South African small-scale fisheries are leveraged towards value chain upgrading, collective action and institutional sustainability—key issues that influence small-scale fishery contributions to marine resource sustainability. We held a participatory workshop as part of ongoing research in the town of Lambert’s Bay, South Africa, in collaboration with small-scale fishers and the Abalobi ICT project. We mapped fisher value chain challenges and explored the role of ICT-driven transformation pathways, adopting Wright’s ‘Real Utopian’ framework as the lens through which to explore equality, democracy and institutional sustainability. We found Abalobi’s ICT platform had the potential to facilitate deeper meanings of democracy that incorporate socio-economic reform, collective action and institutional sustainability in South Africa’s small-scale fisheries. Where fishers are not engaged beyond passive generators of data, this had the potential to undermine the goals of increasing power parity between small-scale fisheries and other stakeholders.

Keywords: small-scale fisheries; sustainability; ICT4F; South Africa; value chains; Real Utopias; technology; co-design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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