There is no prescribed livelihood ‘method’, though the core principles that underlie sustainable livelihood thinking can be summarized as:
• Putting people’s social and economic activities at the center of the analysis (rather than, for example, just their ‘fishing effort’)
• Taking a view of the options for management and development intervention that transcend traditional sector oundaries, such as fisheries, agriculture and tourism, and that incorporates over-arching issues that affect all people, irrespective of occupation, such as access to social services, including health, education, social security, legal and judicial services
• Making links between local issues and wider concerns such as national policy and economic or social change
• Being responsive and participatory in addressing management priorities. This normally involves working in partnership with fishermen and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors and promoting a dynamic, adaptive approach to management
• Taking a wide view of sustainability. There are four key dimensions to sustainability, these being economic, institutional, social and environmental sustainability. All are important, and a livelihoods approach seeks a balance between them, which often means that compromises and trade-offs will need to be made (Allison 2005)