Factors Influencing the Success of Fishermen's Cooperatives in Ecuador

Resumen

The fishermen's cooperative is viewed by many as the ideal type of organization for use in improving the welfare of fishermen in development projects (cf. Meynell 1984; Jentoft 1986). Major development agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Bank also advocate their use. For example, a review of World Bank fishery projects between 1976 and 1981 indicated that 53 percent involved fishermen's cooperatives (Pollnac 1985). Judging from the relatively high failure rate that appears to exist for this type of organization, however, it is clear that their development is a difficult matter. The success of fishermen's cooperatives depends on a large number of factors as evidenced by the numerous variables identified in the literature for local organizations in general (Esman and Uphoff 1984) and fishermen's organizations in particular (Poggie 1980a; Meynell 1984; Pollnac 1988). Pollnac (1985) identified no fewer than 21 important determinants of success for fishermen's organizations, some of which are clusters of variables. It appears, however, that there may be several important dimensions that underlie the reported concomitants of the success and failure of fishermen's organizations. As a means of furthering our understanding of these basic dimensions, this study analyzes a number of items reported in the literature to be associated with the success and failure of this type of organization.