Voodoo versus Fishing Committees: The Role of Traditional and Contemporary Institutions in Fisheries Management
73 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2015
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Voodoo versus Fishing Committees: The Role of Traditional and Contemporary Institutions in Fisheries Management
Voodoo versus Fishing Committees: The Role of Traditional and Contemporary Institutions in Fisheries Management
Date Written: March 3, 2015
Abstract
We study the co-existence of two community-based institutions for fisheries management in Benin: a traditional institution embedded in the Voodoo religion and a recent secular institution in the form of fishing committees. Using household survey data on fishing activities, we find that rules of both institutions have a statistically significant but small impact on the use of unsustainable fishing gear. We further find that Voodoo fishers who break the traditional Voodoo-based rule follow the fishing committee rule to the same extent as other fishers. This finding is consistent with a possible transition from the traditional Voodoo-based institution to the secular fishing committee institution. More research is needed to fully assess the effectiveness of, and interactions between, the two institutions.
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