Research structure

The research process involved three phases. The first phase was site selection, which involved selecting a case study. The second phase was field research, which involved data collection and analysis, research monitoring, and verification. The third phase was dissemination of research findings with the community and a wider audience.

2.2.1 Phase 1 - Site selection

The purpose of site selection was to select the most appropriate fishing village and fishery that would provide answers to the research objectives. Potential sites were identified based on the recommendations of colleagues (former CFU and Fisheries Divisions), literature review, and personal experiences of the researcher working in the Caribbean. The next task was to develop a short-list based on the following criteria:

countries that already had conducted a number of community-based studies and others in

the midst of conducting these types of studies; projects doing similar work to this research; the ability to build on existing work being done by management authorities;

management authorities willing to work with the researcher; and fishers and a community willing to or were already organized. From these criteria seven sites were short-listed to be scoped (Table 2.2). Scoping involved visiting the sites, observing, and talking with fishers and community members. The researcher also discussed the research and its implications with management authorities. Further documents on the specific fisheries were reviewed to become familiar with the fishery.

Table 2. 2: Short-list of potential study sites Fishery and researcher would work

Snapper aggregation, Gladden Split

Placencia, Belize Placencia, Monkey River, Punta Gorda, Independence, Hopkins Coastal Zone Management Institute Reef Fishery,

south Belize

Dangriga, Belize Dangriga UWI School of Continued Studies IDRC-CBCRM project

Buye Juan Lambey Institute (BJLI) Belize Fisheries Department Reef fishery,

west coast Jamaica

Negril, Jamaica Negril, Orange Bay, Broughton, Salmon Point, Bloody Bay, Homers Cove, Green Island, Little Bay

Carl Hanson, Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society

Negril Environment Protection Trust Jamaica Fisheries Division

Natural Resources Conservation Authority Longline

fishery, west coast Grenada

Gouyave, Grenada Gouyave, Victoria, Waltham (include Trinidad & Barbados fishers)

James Finlay’s IDRC-CBCRM project Patrick McConney, CaMMP/DFID Project Robin Mahon, FAO/CFU Project RLA/0070 CARICOM Fisheries Unit, Belize

Grenada Fisheries Division St. John’s Fishermen Association Trolling Fishery

east Grenada

Grenville, Grenada Grenville, Soubise, Marquis Grenada Fisheries Division Soubise Fishermen Cooperative

Paget Farm Robin Mahon - CaMMP/CCA Grenadine

Island project

CERMES UWI, Cave Hill

St. Vincent & the Grenadines Fisheries Division

Nevis Island Administration – Department of Fisheries

St. James Fishermen Association (St. Kitts Island Administration)

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To select the final site a second set of criteria was developed based on the research objectives. The sites were ranked according to the following criteria:

availability of fishery information; ease of obtaining livelihood information; active fishermen cooperatives/associations; applicability of resilience theory; and links to organizations or research activities. Sites were visited between September and October 2002. Based on a review of the scoping outcome, the site selected as the case study for this research was the longline fishery in Gouyave, Grenada (Grant, 2002 unpublished report).

2.2.2 Phase 2 - Field research

This section discusses the field research phase (Fig. 2.1). The field research was structured into four parts: preparatory activities, planning, field data collection, and final data analysis (Bunce et al., 2000; Bunce and Pomeroy, 2003). Although the research was structured into four parts, some activities were done simultaneously, and the research process modified continuously, e.g., initial interview questions tested and re-tested to ensure the intent was captured.

1. Preparatory activities

Fig. 2. 1: Structure of the field research activities. Arrows showing a few cases of how the process was continuously modified (Source: framework adapted from Bunce et al., 2000).

Preparatory activities

The aim of the preparatory activities was to exchange ideas with stakeholders about the research focus, and to consider the best strategies by which to achieve the objectives. It was also a time to engage stakeholders and the Fisheries Division to participate in the research. To achieve this goal, the researcher journeyed to Grenada in late November 2002 to begin the field research. She lived in Gouyave on Upper Depradine Street for 16 months. The researcher was new to the people and their culture;

therefore, it was important that the community become familiar with her and the reasons she was living in the community. She spent the first six months in the community interacting with individuals and observing community dynamics so as to gain acceptance and trust from its members. Interacting with the community was an opportunity to introduce the research topics and to meet key members in the community. Fisheries Division staff also introduced the researcher to key individuals in the community and they suggested she met with other individuals. Talking freely with individuals gave them an opportunity to speak openly about the surface longline fishery, relate issues that were important to them, and specify research areas that the researcher should consider. Also, community walks were frequently undertaken to increase visibility and become familiar with the town and surrounding villages.

On January 16, 2003, the researcher organized an introductory meeting with 14 individuals including staff of the Fisheries Division and the former Chief Fisheries Officer to discuss the purpose, objectives, and activities of the research. This meeting gave participants an opportunity to make comments and suggestions regarding the research and its implementation strategy. The researcher also worked at the Fisheries Division for two months. During this period the she spent most of the time reviewing documents on the longline fishery from the Division’s files and the library. Other activities included learning the protocol for data management, licensing and registration, and concessions. It was also an opportunity to observe organizational behaviour and practices. Talking with fishers, community members, staff at the Fisheries Division about the proposed research was beneficial to all involved. The researcher was able to further focus the study and gain acceptance from the community to conduct the research.

20 Planning

At the end of preparatory activities the researcher reviewed the initial research plan along with comments and suggestions from the Fisheries Division and community.

The initial plan was revised and made to reflect, as far as possible, the needs of the community, Fisheries Division, and the researcher. The revised plan investigated livelihood and gender issues, fisher technological and ecological knowledge, community’s response to changes in the fishery, and the ability of formal and informal institution to participate in management. Although, data on these different areas were collected during the life of the project, there were times when data collection activities focused on specific issues.

Preliminary research instruments were also revised. What could have been long questionnaires were divided into shorter ones dealing with specific issues (Appendices A-1 to A-A-12); because it was easier to engage fishers to talk at length about a specific issue than to complicate the questionnaire with many different issues. Likewise, questions were changed to include local vernacular, and much time was spent constructing and testing interview questions. Also important was the logistics of conducting the field data collection, deciding who to target, where to conduct the interviews and the sample size.

Field data collection

Each research instrument was pre-tested and fine-tuned before the final draft was accepted. Databases were designed in SPSS, NVivo, dbase, and Excel, and tested with results from the pilot survey. Preliminary analyses of the pre-tests were reviewed to ensure the consistency of questions, data entry, and analysis. Once everything worked, the main data collection commenced. During the initial stages of the main data collection the questions, database structure, and data analysis techniques were tested and modified.

At the end of each questionnaire results were compiled and verified with key individuals and fishers.

Final data analysis

A final detailed data analysis was conducted, including frequency and cross-tabulations (Section 2.3). Results were discussed with key individuals and consideration given to the theoretical implications of the results. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the data collection process and findings. Part of the reflection involved searching for missing information, and planning a verification trip to obtain the data.

A verification trip was planned for October 2004; however, in September 2004 Hurricane Ivan hit the island, destroying most of the island’s infrastructure. Plans for verification were delayed until April 2005. Despite the damage, fishing activities resumed shortly after Hurricane Ivan and operations did not change significantly, although there were changes to other livelihood activities. During this verification visit, the researcher visited with community members, listened to their stories, and provided support. It was also an opportunity to collect missing research data, to distribute technical reports to the Fisheries Division and community members, and to verify research findings.

2.2.3 Phase 3 - Dissemination

Dissemination activities included the production of reports, conference presentations, and local meetings. Reports included a site selection report and four technical reports on knowledge and learning, institutional interplay, sustainable livelihoods and a final research project report. The reports were distributed to community members, the Fisheries Division, and funding agency. The researcher attended six conferences over the lifetime of the project, including the Gulf and Caribbean meetings. Local meetings were held mainly with the Fisheries Division to present preliminary research findings, and discuss management techniques. This dissertation is also part of the dissemination activities.