Small-Scale Fisheries in New Caledonia: Towards a Fishers’ Perspective

Abstract

Devoting a full chapter to the fishers of New Caledonia serves a dual purpose: firstly, to report on a practice driven by multiple rationales that are, for the most part, unknown or insufficiently understood in and outside the territory, and secondly, to show that the place that fishers occupy in the relationship between fish, ecosystems, fishing effort and consumption is much more complex than in other small-scale fisheries and management regimes. Drawing on anthropological and geographical research conducted since 2010, this chapter sketches a general picture of the main types of fishing practised in New Caledonia, focusing on presenting the fishers who undertake them. We discuss the place of fishing in the livelihood activities of Caledonians, irrespective of their social status, and examine the different purposes for which fishing is practised and that fishers assign to their practices. The conclusion focuses on ongoing efforts at the territorial and provincial levels to better incorporate the fishers’ diversity and functions in fisheries management policies.