Fishery livelihoods and (non-)compliance with fishery regulations¡ªA case study in Ca Mau Province, Mekong Delta, Viet Nam
摘要
Fishery in Ca Mau, Viet Nam¡¯s most southern province in the Mekong Delta, plays locally an important role for human nutrition and has great potentials for export earnings. The overexploitation of inshore fishing resources is a major problem in Viet Nam¡¯s coastal areas along the Mekong Delta. As a result, the Catch per Unit of Effort of small-scale fishing enterprises has decreased, undermining the sustainability of livelihoods of fishing families. The paper focuses on livelihoods¡¯ strategies and diversification in the context of overexploitation and exhaustion of near-shore resources in relation to fishery policies. The results show that overexploitation is unavoidable in near-shore waters because of the lack of enforcement of fishery regulations for offshore vessels and the limitation of alternative sources of income and opportunities for livelihood diversification for small-scale fishers. The present policies to prevent overexploitation need to be reconciled with livelihood sustainability and fishery management, resource conservation and socio-economic goals