Small-Scale Fisheries in Haiti: Full Expert Contributions

This volume gathers the full texts of the experts who took part in the collective scientific expertise (ESCI) on small-scale fisheries in Haiti, directed by Gilbert David. The French research institute IRD carried out the expertise at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) and published it in 2021. The companion volume, La pêche artisanale en Haïti (250 pages), is the synthesis and the recommendations drawn from these texts. The two volumes belong together.

The first part covers the exploitation of resources: an inventory of marine species built from international databases, the spatial variation of fishing effort based on the national fisheries census, a survey of 277 fishing crews in Anse d'Hainault, Chardonnières and Belle-Anse, offshore pelagic resources including fish aggregating devices, and the safety of coastal fishing. The second part treats coral reefs, aquaculture in mangrove zones, the Lakay pwason pilot site for artificial habitats in Aquin bay, local co-management tools and marine protected areas. The third part treats fish as a source of protein, food safety, ciguatera, the concept of the fishing system, fishers' knowledge and local norms (260 people interviewed in Chardonnières and Bainet), the place of women in the sector and a fisheries information system. The fourth part reproduces two internship reports, on how actors in the fish chain perceive preservation methods and on reef mapping by remote sensing around La Gonâve and the northeast of Grand'Anse.

On fishing effort, the authors conclude that Haiti's effort exceeds that of almost all other countries, internationally and in the Caribbean, and they call for a strong reduction, possibly through fishing licenses by type of boat. Pirogues account for 44.7 percent of effort density. Density varies sharply between the 13 fishing basins, from 11.1 boat-meters per square kilometer in the Sud-Est basin to 57.0 in the Grande Anse basin. The contributions give different national totals for the same quantities, such as the number of fishers, so this record gives none.