Development of artisanal fishery in Rama Cay community, Atlantic coast of Nicaragua

Abstract

Development is a term that evokes powerful images. It speaks to the collective aspiration of the people for a life of meaning and dignity. It inspire the hope to achieve what develop countries have achieved and what the poor may one day obtain. This thesis is the first study of Rama indigenous people focussing and its fishing activity in the community of Rama Cay. It examines the fundamental of the incongruities that has kept back the development of the fishing sector in Rama Cay. The problems that have concurred on the appropriate use of the resource such as transportation, processing methods and marketing. This study combines secondary sources with fieldwork notes based on interviews and discussions with members in and out of the community that are involved with the fishery. It provides information on type of fishing gears and boats in numbers and percentages. Women participation and how the cooperative system and problems related with processing activities can be improved. It is observe that trade offs at community level can be relatively different in comparison of the national and regional level. This trade offs happen because of pursuing multiples objective that cannot be fulfill at full extent. Therefore, Nicaragua has participated in many fisheries development project that evidently show that fish product from artisanal fishers can be sell to local market and the industrial production for export markets. Co-management is one of the alternatives that Nicaragua itself should develop to the national extent and also regional, so that a small community such as Rama Cay can also be include in the management system.