The implications for participatory fisheries management of intensified commercialization on Lake Victoria

Participation by stakeholders in fisheries management has become widely acc epted. It is held that it increases both the effectiveness and the legitima cy of management. Many empirical studies of fisheries management, however, have found that political struggles over the profits from fishing drive man agement decisions. The present paper looks to sociological debates about ag ency structure, and embeddedness for guidance in theorizing about the socia l dimensions of fisheries management in a way that considers both the need for participation and the political economy of the fishery. It argues that focusing on the effect that economic and political structures have on commu nications between stakeholder groups is one way to link participation and p olitical economy, and we present the management of the Nile perch on Lake V ictoria in Tanzania as a case study. The paper evaluates potentials for par ticipatory management by asking how changes in economic and political reali ties affect stakeholders' claims about the resource, create social distance s that affect communications, and privilege particular claims and perspecti ves. The paper concludes that management measures are undercut when they ig nore the needs of groups excluded from the resource. Effective management o f the Nile perch fishery is possible, but would require changes in the appr oaches of the responsible agencies.