How patron-client relations influence fisheries co-management: A case study of Bangladesh

Patron-client relations have long played a significant role in influencing the management of fisheries and shaping fisherfolk livelihoods. Despite a vast literature on patron-client relations in fisheries, little literature explicitly examines how these relations influence fisheries co-management. This paper responds to this gap by reporting on research into how patron-client relations interact with fisheries co-management, with consequences for how fisheries co-management operates and performs. Taking Bangladesh as a case study, two examples of co-management supported by different donor-funded projects were investigated using a framework to analyse the nature and implications of patron-client relations on co-management. The research drew on the concepts of hidden and invisible power by Gaventa (2006) and the defining characteristics of patron-client relations and co-management to identify three key analytical themes: power relations; obligation and trust; and, cultural norms. The study found that the powerful non-fisherfolk senior males in the Panchayat (village-organization), the patrons in the studied areas, manipulated co-management structures and processes, used patron-client relations in the form of male community leaders (Panchayat)-fisherfolk links and developed informal rules to control access of the fisherfolk to fisheries and credit, to maintain their power and status. Patrons used existing systems of social status that set fishers at the bottom of social ranking and women largely away from public spaces, preventing the co-management systems from being inclusive and empowering. The research confirmed that patron-client relations within a fishing community can significantly shape externally-introduced co-management by influencing who is involved in fisheries co-management and how it functions.