Fishermen's associations of the small-scale fisheries: study applied to the participation in the cofradías of Galicia (NW Spain)

Abstract

This article analyses the dynamics of fishermen's associations in small-scale fisheries and specifically their fishery agents' representation and participation. Fishermen's associations base their activity on shared marine resource management, which may include production, commercialisation and other derived activities. In turn, management is conditioned by the legal and institutional conditions by which it could be affected. In small-scale fisheries, associative activity usually acquires special relevance and specific characteristics, singularity that is considered in the article. In the case study, referring to Galicia (NW Spain), the fishermen's associations studied (“cofradías”) are characterised as firms in which workers participate in management (participatory firms), their dynamics based on their organisational structure and the business flows observed (real, decisional and financial). The approach makes it necessary to consider the institutional framework and analyse the contractual relationships between the agents that form an integral part of the association, as well as their involvement in the fisheries' management. In parallel, the analysis also emphasises the distinctive characteristics of this case in comparison with other Social Economy organisations, particularly on account of the links between the cofradías and the competent public administration.