This observation brings up a question about how poverty is defined, and the suitability of the existing poverty indicators. In the case of the Thai small-scale fishers, they do not seem to conform to the assumed image that fisheries rhyme with poverty (Béné 2003). Is it because their socio-economic condition has indeed improved; or is it because there is no real benefit associated with the poverty label? In other words, playing the “poor” card may not attract the same kind of support from the government as it seemed to have done in the past. Instead, it may be the “sufficiency” card that is worth playing in the current climate
We argue here that it is worth examining how fishers perceive poverty, and what image they have of themselves and their present situation. Such inquiry about “images” is another research dimension in the interactive governance framework. The image and its formation are crucial elements that need to be clearly understood, discussed, and communicated in the same fashion that other governing components such as instruments and actions are (Kooiman et al. 2005). Jentoft et al. (2010a) further argue that an exploration of images helps define problems and present solutions. It is under this premise that we propose to learn from the “experts” about the role that certain images play in preventing fishers from falling into a poverty trap
As Narayan et al. (2000) put it, discourse about poverty and poverty alleviation is mostly dominated by people who are generally not poor. The poor people, or the so-called poverty experts, are usually not directly involved in the examination of the problems and in finding the solutions since this task seems to belong to the other group of experts (i.e., university, government, and non-government scientists and researchers). We consider Thai small-scale fishers as experts, particularly because of their knowledge contribution to possible mechanisms to avert poverty. Learning from some of these experts about how they cope with poverty, and importantly how to stay ahead of it, may help inspire others about what they may be able to do to resolve their unfavorable conditions.