Social institutions for fisheries management in the mexican tropical pacific

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Small scale fishing provides important social and economic benefits to families in developing cormtries where fishing cooperatives reflect official govemment policy in order to fuel their own development. These social institutions for local fishing management are capable of strengthening formal management plans and dealing with several problems those small scale fisheries face. In this study, techniques of participant observation were applied to examine some historical, technological, socioeconomic and fishing organization aspects, related to the development of the cooperative system, the formation and the performance of social institutions for local fishing management on the tropical pacific coast of Mexico in one of the largest and estuarine systems on the Chiapas coast. Development of the cooperatives is associated with a process of technological change, specifically changes related to fishing techniques and gear. Access to fishing is self-regulated by a complex structure of roles, norms, values and knowledge that exists inside the cooperative. This can contribute to improved policies, development programmes and fishing management. eng