Is there a ‘wicked problem’ of small-scale coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone?

Abstract

The situation of small-scale coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone is dire, with diminishing fish stocks and fish sizes due to massive industrial fishing and widespread use of banned nets by artisanal fishers. Repeated attempts have been made by fisheries management to improve the situation, but with little or no success. Superficially, it might seem that the two main causes of the problem -foreign industrial fishing and damaging artisanal netscould be readily dealt with, but closer analysis reveals that tackling these causes is immensely complicated. This is because their roots lie deep in Sierra Leone's history, culture and politics, and any attempt to deal with them could lead to unintended consequences which might make the situation worse not better. Does this mean there is a 'wicked problem' herei.e. a problem so intractable that it has no practicable solution? This is the issue which the present study addresses. The research is based on extensive fieldwork carried out in two large fishing coastal fishing communities in Sierra Leone (Tombo and Goderich) during April and May 2017 when 200 openended questionnaires (SQs) were administered and 51 key informant interviews (KIs) were conducted. The study concludes that the situation faced by small-scale fisheries in these communities meets several, but by no means all, of the criteria of a wicked problem, and that while a definitive solution to the problem is unfeasible, stakeholders could adopt strategies to alleviate its more harmful consequences.

Interpreting Perceptions about Coastal Fisheries in Sierra Leone: Scapegoats and Panaceas

“…For example, the government was blamed for both favouring the industrial fisheries sector over the artisanal sector and for favouring the artisanal sector over the industrial sector. (5) The language used against targets was sometimes vicious and inflammatory, indicative of irrationality [10]. For example, respondents said foreigners 'plunder our resources', they are 'evil-minded people, they 'attack our fishermen', they 'steal our fish' surreptitiously at night, 'they corrupted our fishermen'.…”

“…The coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone are immensely important to the welfare of many thousands of inhabitants [1,2]. However, the stocks have deteriorated in recent years to the extent that several important species are in danger of collapse [3][4][5]. Many commentators attribute the deterioration to overfishing but there is considerable controversy over both the causes of overfishing and the remedies required to end it.…”

Wicked Problems in Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

“…In their summary of a special issue, Grimm et al (2014) argue that the concept of fragile states can be used by external actors to justify their policies and the concept may thus be defined opportunistically. Nonetheless, the OECD has continued to use the concept and has developed it in a more analytical direction, rather than merely employing it as a "label" (see Grimm et al, 2014), by increasing the detail of the criteria for determining between different levels of state fragility (OECD, 2016). Nevertheless, this discussion underlines the importance of concept choice.…”

Marine Fishing Management Towards Sustainability in Sierra Leone

“…Investing in food diversity by sustainable organic and regenerative agriculture also alleviates dependence on marine fisheries and foreign imports [72], awarding government loans to local farmers (particularly women and youth [68,73]) and building skills and capacity to transition from household subsistence to national sustenance [4,74]. As an integrated systems-level sustainability strategy, it is important to consider and counter potential rebounds and unintended negative consequences of any reduction in fish catch, such as overexploitation of forest animals and plants [75,76], and also recognize the emissions of different agriculture and livestock product options [23].…”