Studies about poverty in small-scale fisheries often begin with one of two premises:
Either people fish because they are poor; or fishers are poor because they fish. The
former reflects a strongly held perception about fishing as an “occupation of the last
resort,” which may still be true in some areas, but is now much less applicable given
the generally poor state of the fisheries. With the rapid development in coastal areas,
shellfish gathering and fishing without a boat or with a non-powered boat is becoming
less subsistent. Certain investment is often required to obtain boats and gears
that would enable fishing to take place in this increasingly competitive environment.
In the case of Thailand, poor people from rural areas migrating to the coasts in search
of fishing livelihoods will also need to compete with legal and illegal foreign migrant workers from the neighboring countries who are willing to work harder for lesser
wages. As will be shown in this study, new entrants to the fisheries find success
when supported by existing social networks