Socio-Economic Survey-PROCFish/C 2005-2006

DATA COLLECTION:
If translation is required, each interview is conducted jointly by the leader of the project's socioeconomic team and the local counterpart. In cases where no translation is needed, the project's socioeconomist may work individually. Selected interviews may be conducted by trainees receiving advanced field training, but trainees are monitored by project staff in case clarification or support is needed.

Most of the data are collected in the context of face-to-face interviews. Names of people interviewed are recorded on each questionnaire to facilitate cross-identification of fishers and households during data collection and to ensure that each fisher interview is complemented by a household interview. Linking data from household and fishery surveys is essential to permit joint data analysis. However, all names are suppressed once the data entry has been finalised, and thus the information provided by respondents remains anonymous.

Team members should be familiar with the objectives of the survey, their role in it, and the survey’s contribution to resource management. They will need to understand the relationship, importance and content of the entire set of questionnaires to ensure that data collected are relevant, reliable and accurate. The tasks to be undertaken by each team member should be well defined and agreed on in advance. It is also very important that the survey team members are interested in meeting members of local communities, that they are patient in posing the same questions over and over again, and that they can listen to and engage with local people in an easy and understandable communication process that is free of manipulation.

The project utilises a ‘snapshot approach’ that provides 5–7 working days per site (with four sites per country). This timeframe generally allows about 25 households (and a corresponding number of associated finfish and invertebrate fishers) to be covered by the survey. The total number of finfish and invertebrate fishers interviewed also depends on the complexity of the fisheries practised by a particular community, the degree to which both sexes are engaged in finfish and invertebrate fisheries, and the size of the total target population. Data from finfish and invertebrate fisher interviews are grouped by habitat and fishery, respectively. Thus, the project’s time and budget and the complexity of a particular site’s fisheries are what determine the level of data representation: the larger the population and the number of fishers, and the more diversified the finfish and invertebrate fisheries, the lower the level of representation that can be achieved.

The interviews were done jointly by Pacific Commmunity (SPC)'s Coastal Fisheries Programme and the territorial fisheries authority of Wallis and Futuna.

NEGOTIATION:
A survey cannot begin or be implemented without the consent and cooperation of the target community(ies). It is advisable to identify in advance how to approach communities, keep them informed, and ensure their ownership of the data. One of the major responsibilities of the team leader is to approach the target communities in the early stages to inform them about the scope and objectives of the survey planned and the reason for selecting the respective community(ies). The team leader must request their agreement to participate and, more importantly, gain their full support for, and engagement in the exercise. The survey team members must also be aware of local customs and cultural protocols and proceed accordingly.
The community needs to be fully informed of:
-the reason for and objectives of the survey;
-the contribution required from the community;
-how the data will be collected;
-how the data will be used;
-who will be responsible for data management; and
-in what form and when results and possible recommendations will be returned to the government authorities and community(ies) concerned.

PILOT TEST:
The proposed methods, approaches and questionnaires are the result of tests carried out and experience gained within the framework of two long-term projects implemented by SPC’s Reef Fishery Observatory.
Pilot testing for methods, approach and questionnaires are therefore not obligatory. Pilot testing may, however, be performed so as to familiarise and/or train survey team members, and decide on the most appropriate language, and way of approaching the target community and conducting individual interviews.
It should be borne in mind that the questions provided in the questionnaires are a reminder of what data is needed. The sequence of questions is put into a logical order according to the information requirements prioritised. The sequence and/or way questions are finally formulated and posed may vary according to the situation, the interviewer and the respondent.