Number of Fishermen. Our survey estimated that there were 978 fishermen in the seven fishing communities (Table 1); the 161 questionnaires that we administered represents 16% of this population. However, an indeterminate number of fishers are transient and may even double the number of fishers in the 3BNP during peak fishing. In later meetings, fishermen indicated that there were many more fishermen than they mentioned earlier. For example, we initially estimated that there were 200 fishers in Bord de Mer Limonade, but later a group of fishermen informed us there were 473. Other fishermen from Caracol and Madras (a very small town) insisted that there were 1,500 and 430 fishermen, respectively, in their areas! Such estimates cannot be reconciled with the small number of boats observed at the shores in some of these small villages. These discrepancies underline the lack of valid information regarding the totally open-access fishery. Surprisingly, fishers in Caracol spoke of fishermen from Fort Liberté coming to fish in their waters, as if this was a normal occurrence. In fact, local fishermen should be concerned about transient fishers removing their resources and limiting their income. Our initial estimated number of fishermen in the seven fishing communities was 978, as mentioned. Later, fishers at two local committee meetings insisted that there were up to four times as many fishermen; thus, our initial estimate was only about 25% of the fishermen’s estimate. This mismatch in numbers was discussed at length. It appears that many of the fishermen are actually laborers who work for the owners of the large beach seines. A crew of 6–8 people is needed to set and bring in the very long net (which can be more than 800 feet long). These laborers actually owned no boats or fishing gear and only worked when they were called by the owners of the big nets. Therefore, they are not considered fishermen in this report. A census is needed to verify information about the xxxxxx population. Preferably, it should be carried out by the xxxxxx associations, after training and supervision by FOPROBIM. Training is required to ensure that any census is transparent. The Fisheries Law of 1977 calls for all fishermen to be registered, but it has not been enforced. Most fishermen interviewed claimed to be full-time fishers. However, only 30-40% appear to be involved full time in fishing, with the remainder supplementing their incomes by maintaining livestock or cultivating crops; a few may be involved...
