Demographic Change in Coastal Fishing Communities and Its Implications For the Coastal Environment

Increase in the number of fishers as a result of population growth and migration to coastal fishing communities can be a contributing factor in the overexploitation of fisheries resources and deterioration of the coastal environment. The findings of the UNFPA-FAO project, "Strengthening of research and training on population and development dynamics of rural fishing communities", summarized in this document, suggest that contrary to the assumed global trend, the number of coastal fishers has started to decline or stagnate in recent years in some developing countries. The findings further suggest that artisanal fisheries no longer are a "last resort employment" for people in some coastal areas.