Socio-economic analysis: A snapshot of fishers’ livelihoods for improving small-pelagic fisheries management in the northern Persian Gulf

Iran’s marine catches are mostly captured by the small-scale fisheries (SSF) section, which is inherently difficult to manage. Socio-economic data is a key component of a community-based management approach to achieving sustainable SSF. A socio-economic survey was conducted to evaluate the profitability of small-pelagic purse seine fisheries in the northern Persian Gulf from 2020-2021. The study area covered three main fishing grounds of Sardine and Anchovy in the northern Persian Gulf.  Data were collected by random sampling technique, using 104 standard questionnaire forms. The results showed that 104,000 tons of fish were landed by 348 purse seiners in 2020, which supports ~96% of the fisherman’s household income. In total, 3811 fishers were engaged on the pair-boat purse seiners with an average (±SD) age of 32.1±11.6 years. In terms of literacy, ~52% of fishers had secondary and high school education. On average, the number of engaged crew per vessel was 9.7 people, and each crew worked 843 hours per year which is 42% of national FTE. Total variable costs for purse seine fleet were 6.57 million Euro, of which personnel costs 47.5%, energy costs 32.5%, operational costs 7.8%, maintenance costs 7%, commercial costs 5%, and fixed costs 0.2%. The value of total investment (vessels and gears) was estimated at 9.77 million Euros, which is close to the total revenue of 10.46 million Euros in 2020. The purse seine fleet consumed 17.2 million liters fuel in 2020, their energy efficiency was calculated at 0.165 for 1 ton landed fish. This study showed that the purse seine fishery in the northern Persian Gulf, which utilized 0.93 of its capacity, is a livelihood-oriented activity. Therefore, it is recommended that the fisheries management approach is aimed at ensuring sustainable exploitation and employment stability.