Fisheries development, labour and working conditions on Myanmar's marine resource frontier. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Belton, Ben; Marschke, Melissa; Vandergeest, Peter
• Is Part Of: Journal of rural studies. Volume 69(2019)
• Page Start: 204
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: Fisheries -- Labour -- Ecology -- Migration -- Resource frontier -- Myanmar; Sociology, Rural -- Periodicals; Country life -- Periodicals; Rural development -- Periodicals; Land use, Rural -- Planning -- Periodicals; Rural conditions -- Periodicals; Sociologie rurale -- Périodiques; Vie rurale -- Périodiques; Développement rural -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation agricole du -- Planification -- Périodiques; Conditions rurales -- Périodiques; Country life; Land use, Rural -- Planning; Rural conditions; Rural development; Sociology, Rural; Periodicals; 307.72
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.05.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0743-0167

Abstract

Abstract: The history of fisheries development in Myanmar is poorly understood. A growing body of evidence suggests that working conditions in some of Myanmar's fisheries are extremely precarious. The treatment of labour in the wider fisheries literature has been fragmented. Drawing together these strands, this paper addresses two central questions through a qualitative analysis of marine fisheries in Mon State in Southeast Myanmar: (1) How have marine fisheries developed in a context of broader political, economic, technological and environmental change? (2) What are the characteristics of labour conditions in Mon's marine fisheries, and how have these been shaped by the context of fisheries development? We show that Mon's fisheries have transformed over the past three decades. Fishing has become more reliant on migrant labour, and a range of unsafe and exploitative labour practices are increasingly apparent. The paper makes several contributions: First, we address gaps in the knowledge on the nature of fisheries in Myanmar. Second, we extend previous research on working conditions in fisheries to show how labour arrangements and exploitation in fisheries emerge in the context of place-specific geographies of environmental, social and economic change. Third, we highlight the need for greater critical attention to labour and working conditions in research on fisheries of all scales. Highlights: Labour, and conditions under which it is employed, is overlooked in fisheries research. Marine fisheries in Myanmar's Mon State have expanded rapidly since the 1990s. Fishing has become more reliant on migrant labour, at sea and for onshore processing. Unsafe and exploitative labour practices are increasingly apparent.