English abstract
To ensure the sustainable use of the fisheries resources in the Sultanate of Oman requires effective enforcement of and compliance with fisheries management rules and regulations. To reduce the extent of fisheries non-compliance the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries initiated its Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) operations. The main objective of this study was to investigate and evaluate the process of fisheries enforcement as applied to the traditional sector. The study was conducted in three wilayat of Ash-Sharqiyah South Govern sample of 100 fishermen from three wilayats and 20 enforcement officer was selected. The survey was carried out using face-to-face interview with fishers and enforcement officials. The data and information collected on the subject-matter were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. With respect to fishers' background profile, the results show that 39% of the fishers were above the average age of 34 years and 75% of the fishers have more than ten years of experience in the sector. It is noted that 85% of the interviewed fishers were vessel owner. It is also found that fishers (67%) are involved in multiple fisheries and they use multiple gears. Significant differences exist among fishers in regard to the overall law awareness and specific components of the law thereby indicating a communication gap between the authority and the fishers. In relation to fisheries violations 60% of the fishers think that the number of violations were same during the past two years. With respect to the participants' subjective probabilities, the null hypothesis for the following cases such as probability of violating again, probability of authority presence, probability of catch confiscation, probability of gear confiscation and probability of license confiscation was rejected at the 5% level. The results also indicate that fishers do not consider peer pressure and the probability of other fishers reporting violation to the authority. Although the subjective probabilities in relation to prosecution, conviction and penalty are relatively high the overall probability of conviction is affected by the low probability of detection. It is also noted that the results in regard to the probability of prosecution, conviction and penalty show similarity between the two stakeholder groups, Fisher's views from three study areas were similar in regard to the court process, penalty severity and the effectiveness of MCS and sanctioning. Enforcement officers view that fishers are very familiar with the law and that fishers consider severe penalties associated with non-compliance.Based on the findings it is recommended that the enforcement authority should design an effective enforcement plan by considering the issues identified in this study and design appropriate strategies to prevent non-compliance. It is also important to strengthened the current enforcement programs by negotiating a join enforcement approach with key stakeholders. It is hoped that the findings from this study will encourage further research in this important area and provide useful information to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries so that effective enforcement strategies can be formulated
