Keywords
Environmental Conservation
Sustainable Development
Common Resources
How to Cite
Abstract
Artisanal fishing in the Panamanian Pacific faces challenges such as overfishing, low income and climate change, which need to be addressed through comprehensive development policies aimed at meeting local needs in order to ensure the livelihoods and sustainability of the activity. Despite this, there are currently no diagnoses of the socioeconomic and sustainability characteristics of the communities to promote local development based on the evidence and worldview of the inhabitants. A descriptive, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study was carried out using surveys and interviews with 32 fishermen from the rural community of Río Congo to collect data. The data were then tabulated in spreadsheets and analyzed in the R program for the quantitative data; the qualitative information was analyzed by the research team according to categories and subcategories to extract the main ideas. The results revealed a lack of basic services, gender inequality in the fishing activity, dependence on intermediaries and overexploitation of the main commercial species, corvina and shrimp. In addition, they highlight the urgency of formulating and evaluating policies for the regulation of responsible fishing, fair and equitable marketing, and addressing gender inequalities, promoting sustainable rural development and the conservation of marine resources.
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