The aim of this project is to explain the role of the pervasive patron-client relationship (hereinafter ‘patronage’) in adaptation processes and how they may support or hinder the sustainable development of tropical small-scale fisheries. I want to understand what aspects of patronage contribute, when, how and for who, in adapting to market and resource changes – two major sources of variability and uncertainty for fishers and traders on a daily and longer-term basis. These types of changes directly impact how tropical small-scale fisheries, characterised by economic, social and ecological vulnerability, provide livelihood, food and nutritional security for the millions of people that depend on them worldwide (1,2).

With this in mind I address my aim through three research questions:
1. What socio-institutional and cultural factors (e.g. gender roles, reciprocal obligations) shape fishers’ and traders’ experience and understanding of patronage?
2. How do these experiences of patronage influence the decision-making of fishers and traders in response to market and resource changes?
3. What future scenarios do fishers and traders envision for patronage in their fishery?

To answer these questions the project uses an interdisciplinary methodological approach drawing on theory and methods from interpretive research, behavioural economics and social-ecological systems and resilience thinking. Narrative interviews and analyses map and explore life histories of patron-clients with respect to important market and resource changes e.g. Pandemics or Typhoon events, but also to untangle implicit meanings and influences of patronage in responding to such changes over-time. Dyadic interviews bring spouses together to examine financial and fishing-related decision-making to account for the gendered and relational dynamics of adaptation processes and interpretations of patronage. Behavioural economic field experiments test key fishing and finance decisions made by both fishers and their patrons under different market and resource scenarios. This tradition allows me to address influences of behavioural responses to changes at sea or in the market that are unconsciously driven e.g. by social or cultural contexts, financial risk attitudes. Participatory scenario planning exercises will be used with fishers and trader-patrons to collaboratively explore future fishery pathways and where, how or if patronage fits in. More specifically, tradeoffs will be identified that emerge between the adaptations that patron-clients make at the microscale and future human and ecological wellbeing. A gender lens is adopted throughout the project as it is sensitive to social differences and the intersecting socioinstitutional factors, like power relations, social identities or wealth, that shape abilities to navigate change (3).

References

1. Allison, E.H., et al. 2011. Poverty Reduction as a Means to Enhance Resilience in Small-scale Fisheries. Small-Scale Fish. Manag. Framew. Approaches Dev

2. FAO, 2018. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018: Meeting the sustainable development goals

3. Cohen, P.J., et al. 2016. Understanding adaptive capacity and capacity to innovate in social–ecological