Small-scale fisheries are scattered along riverbanks, estuaries,
seashores and around lakes, often away from mainstream economic,
social and political developments. In some areas, their
development continues to be severely hampered by the lack of
infrastructure such as roads and communication facilities. They
are extremely exposed to natural calamities like floods,
inundation, sea erosion and storms and, in many instances,
fishers are particularly affected by water-related parasitic
diseases like bilharziasis, river blindness, filariasis or
malaria. As a consequence of the diversification and seasonality
of their activities, many small-scale fishers show high
geographic mobility and may migrate over hundreds of miles. Most
small-scale fisheries are exploited under some sort of open
access regime, sometimes enforced by modern governments, even
though traditionally social mechanisms may have existed to
restrict such access. In combination with increasing fish demand
and commercialization this has led to excess