Journal of International Fisheries
vol.15，2016▶Article ◀

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes ofFisherman towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment
Ryo KOHSAKA† and Yuta UCHIYAMA（Kanazawa University Graduate School of Human and Socio-Environmental Studies）
E-mail：†kohsaka@hotmail.com【abstract】
The association between fishermen and agricultural organizations has not been fully
explored. In this study, “fishermen” refers to the workforce belonging to the Japan
Fisheries Cooperative (JF), a cooperative association of fisherman. We examined theaffiliation of these fishermen with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), an
agriculturalorganization,

in

order

to

betterunderstandagriculture-fishery

relationships within and across communities. In addition, we examined what motivated
the workers to affiliate with the JA. The interviewees were fishermen from communities
in the Noto region in Japan, a designated cultural landscape area, or Satoyama andSatoumi in Japanese. The results revealed that a significant number of fishermen, 46%of the interviewees, were affiliated with the JA. Furthermore, even fishermen whosejobs were exclusively associated with the fishery were affiliated with the JA with a ratioof 35%. These findings indicate the different make-up of the two cooperatives; the JF
primarily consisted of professionals in fisheries, whereas the JA involved a number of
non-farmers. Among the motivations for being part of the JA, reasons related toeconomics were frequently indicated by the fishermen (who were not involved inagriculture) because they depended on the JA for foods, daily goods, and cooperative
insurance. Fishermen affiliated with the JA more strongly preferred leaving fishinggrounds in their natural states as opposed to those with no JA affiliation. These results
form the foundation for understanding the link between fishermen and agriculturalactivities and the behavior of fishermen belonging to plural organizations.
【keywords】
affiliation, agricultural cooperatives, fishermen’s cooperatives, conservation, community

1．Introduction
To date, the intersection of Japanese fishermen and agricultural activities has-1-

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

received little academic attention. Given the involvement of fishermen with agricultural
matters, understanding this association is important, especially considering that there
is a well-known Japanese term symbolizing the interaction of the two–Hanno-Hangyo.
The term Hanno-Hangyo literally means “half agriculture and half fishery,” and inpractical terms, indicates that the “incomes of the households are gained from both
agriculture and fisheries.” An example of this interaction can be seen in the Noto regionof Japan(1).
Satoyama and Satoumi both encompass human–nature interactions and arecomprised of similar concepts, including human interactions, multiple use of land- or
seascapes, and a mosaic characterization of nature (cf. Japan Satoyama Satoumi
Assessment [JSSA 2010] for conceptual discussion and examples). We use a definition of
Satoyama and Satoumi proposed by JSSA in order to analyze fishermen in the whole
Noto region. Yanagi (2005) and Yanagi (2012) proposed another definition of Satoumi;
he defined it as “the coastal sea with high productivity and high biodiversity undermankind’s interaction.” JSSA proposed the definition of Satoumi in a broad sense
compared with Yanagi’s definition; their definition does not include the specificcondition of productivity and biodiversity. In the analysis of the whole Noto, thedefinition of Satoumi is feasible in a broad sense. Similar to the division of farmers andfishermen, the empirical analysis of Satoyama and Satoumi is also discussed inseparate forums. This division is understandable because of the structure of disciplines
and the epistemology of agriculture, forestry, and fishery sciences. Examinations ofhypotheses in scientific contexts frequently require focusing on particular elements
within certain conditions, as integrated assessments have a tendency to complicate theprocess.
However, the need for integration of different ecosystems or biomes has been
repeatedly expressed (Portman (2013)), including terrestrial and marine environments(JSSP). Studies have evaluated the river basin approach, or Integrated River BasinManagement (IRBM), coupled with terrestrial and inland water issues, but the marine
component was not necessarily the focus. Furthermore, the social perspectives offishermen were not sufficiently considered. Recently, the concept of integrated coastalmanagement (ICM) has been discussed for the management of Satoumi and its
surrounding areas. However, issues including bureaucratic sectionalism need to be
overcome to implement ICM. The activities of citizens and NGOs/NPOs are expected toplay an important role in its implementation (Matsuda (2012)).
Satoyama and Satoumi have deteriorated because of aging, migration, and-2-

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

globalization (Saito and Ichikawa (2014)). In academic fields, traditional knowledge(Cetinkaya (2009), Dayuan (2011), Berque and Matsuda (2013), Indrawan et al. (2014)),social capitals (Henocque (2013)), and participatory approaches (Rosalejos-Edpalina etal. (2013), Dublin and Tanaka (2014)) are regarded as significant factors in thepreservation of Satoyama and Satoumi and the implementation of sustainable
maintenance. These factors depend on local community attributes such as age groups,
religions, and industries. In particular, the daily activities of industrial communities
largely influence the landscape of Satoyama and Satoumi. Residents in such
communities, who depend on the mosaic of ecosystems (Takeuchi (2010), Kohsaka et al.
(2013)) and their various ecosystem services (Hashimoto et al. (2015)) in Satoyama andSatoumi have opportunities to engage in several industries, including fisheries,
agriculture, and forestry. In fact, some workers have jobs in more than two industries,
consistent with the Hanno-Hangyo style. Investigating the social associations ofstakeholders, who participate in the local industrial communities, can lead to anunderstanding of the social factors that are essential to the sustainable management of
Satoyama and Satoumi. In this way, identifying social connections is a fundamental
step in implementing the integrated evaluation and management of Satoyama andSatoumi.
The aims of this paper are: (i) to examine the link between fisheries and agriculture
by investigating whether fishermen participate in agricultural organizations, with afocus on potential social and economic motivations; and (ii) to determine if there is arelationship between these associations and the awareness of fishermen toenvironmental conservation.
Officially, fishermen are defined as the workforce affiliated with the Japan Fisheries
Cooperative (JF), a fishermen’s cooperative. In this study, we focus on the association offishermen with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), including an assessment of
the social meaning of this association and reasons for joining it. For example, are themotivations for becoming a member social factors, such as connections with neighbors,or is there an economic incentive to this relationship? In this paper, the affiliation with
the JF or JA means becoming an official member of the two organizations (including
associate members in case of the JA). The members of the JF are generally engaged infishery; on the other hand, those of the JA are not necessarily engaged in agriculture. A
person who wants to become a member of the JA needs to make an investment in theJA; his or her occupation is not necessarily that of a farmer.
Existing literature analyzing fishermen’s cooperatives has been limited to-3-

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

fishery-related activities, and has not explored social and economic features such ascommunity involvement (Ünal et al. (2009), Ünal et al. (2011)). There is neither
scientific analysis nor any statistics that analyze the affiliation of fisheries andagricultural cooperatives in Japan; hence, the motivating factors and dynamic
behaviors of these associations have largely been overlooked.
The focus of this study is the Noto area, which was the first of two areas to be
designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site by the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Japan, the second being Sado Island. The
GIAHS is the certificate that focuses on the regions effectively managed by regional andtraditional knowledge (Min and He (2014)). The Noto area was specifically designatedas a GIAHS site because of the Satoyama and Satoumi systems. For example, theactivities of the fishermen are maintained at a relatively small scale and are embeddedin the social context of the larger community, which is in contrast to the commercial
large-scale fisheries that are distanced from local contexts. For these reasons, the Noto
area is an appropriate location to analyze how affiliations with different organizations
may have an influence on ecological consequences.

2．Data and Methodology
With the consent and collaboration of the JF, questionnaires were sent by the authors
to the different JF branches in the Noto area. Personal information including names
and detailed address was not collected in this survey. All of the respondents were
informed that their answers would be used for research. They consented to the usage of
their answers for this research when they joined the survey. We confirmed the consent
orally when each JF branch in the Noto area sent back the result of the survey to us.
Questionnaires were distributed in proportion to the membership numbers of each JF
branch (i.e., the branch with the larger number of JF members received a larger
number of questionnaires). We distributed 200 questionnaires through JF Ishikawa
headquarters in Kanazawa and obtained 107 responses. Minors (below the age of 18)
did not participate in this survey. Telephone calls, face-to-face visits, and requests
through headquarters were conducted to increase the number of responses. The
questionnaire asked for the views of respondents on revitalizing the fisheries, as well as
their affiliation with agricultural cooperatives.
The items in the questionnaire were as follows:-4-

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

Profile: information pertaining to age, frequency of visiting marine areas, place ofresidence, occupation
Community: affiliation with agricultural cooperatives, jobs other than those in thefisheries
Perception of conservation: preferred types of conservation for fishing grounds (shore,coastal, open sea), the priority of actions for improving fishing grounds and promoting
the local fishing industry
Responses came from the JF branches located in six municipalities; Suzu, Wajima,
Noto, Anamizu, Shika, and Nanao (Fig. 1). All of these municipalities are experiencing
depopulation and most of them are below 40,000 inhabitants according to the census ofJapan, with the largest municipality being Nanao City (Fig. 2 and 3).
The profile of age groups of the respondents is shown in Fig. 4. The age range of
respondents was diverse, ranging from the 20s to over 70. Only in Anamizu were all
respondents older than 50.
To elaborate the questionnaire, we referred to the work of Shoji et al. (2005), which
provides the results of managing national parks. Shoji et al. asked for a detailed degreeof preferences on environmental practices. However, in our survey, the degree ofpreference toward actions for improving fishing grounds and promoting local fishingindustry was answered by either a “yes” or “no.” In this regard, we simplified thequestionnaire, because the respondents were not experts on academic research, and ourmain focus was to identify general trends.
In their precedent research, Kohsaka et al. (2015) conducted a questionnaire survey
in Suzu, one of the research sites of this survey. Answers from 15 residents wereobtained by face-to-face interviews and analyzed. Kohsaka et al. determined that the
respondents did not prefer artificial interventions in the maintenance of fishing grounds,
and they recognized an association between terrestrial and coastal environments. The
artificial interventions meant installing stone walls and blocks in the seabed.
Considering the various occupations of the respondents, this research showed thatmutual interactions among terrestrial and coastal environments were recognized byresidents in Suzu. In the current study, the focus is on residents who participated in JF
as fishermen. We attempted to identify the rate and reasons for their affiliation with theJA, as well as how this association has affected their preferences for environmental
conservation practices and promotion of the local fishing industry.

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Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

Noto Region

WajimaSuzu

NotoAnamizu

Shika

Nanao

Figure 1 Map of the Noto region

Figure 2 Population of the municipalities
Source: Census of Japan

Figure 3 Number of respondents in each JF municipality branch-6-

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

Figure 4 Rates of respondents’ age groups in each JF municipality branch

3．Overall Trends and Characteristics of Each Municipality
3-1．Overall trends: Affiliations with the JA and occupations other than fishing
The affiliation with the JA and occupations of its members, as reported in thequestionnaires, is provided in Table 1. A significant number of fishermen, 46% of the
respondents, were affiliated with the JA. Furthermore, even fishermen whose jobs were
exclusively with the fishery were affiliated with the JA in a ratio of 35%. The chi-square
test was implemented and the results showed that the affiliation with the JA andoccupations besides the fishery were not independent variables (p<0.05). Approximately
70 percent of respondents (N=16) who were occupied in the fishery and other work
(N=23) provided details on the other types of work, which is not fishery related. Half of
those respondents were involved with agriculture, implying that the other half
performed work that was not agriculturally related. Furthermore, there are residents
who are engaged in both the fishery and agriculture who were included as respondents.
Most Japanese farmers are affiliated with the JA, and several people may be involved
with both fishery and agriculture in the Noto region. This background is the reason why
affiliation with the JA and occupations other than the fishery were not independent.
There were 18 workers with the JA affiliation who actually worked exclusively in thefishery. The number of these respondents was larger than the number of people who
were affiliated with the JA and had non-fisheries work. What are the motivation behind
this? In other words, why were the fishery workers willing to be members ofagricultural organizations? One possible reason for this trend was that some
respondents (who were not involved with agriculture) were affiliated with the JA to buy
commodities or insurance (Fig. 5). In this survey, commodities mean food, household-7-

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

goods, and appliances used in everyday life, and insurance is the cooperative insuranceof the JA. In other cases, people who were affiliated with the JA without working in
agriculture had relatives or friends who were involved with agriculture. In one example,
a woman whose family worked in agriculture married a fisherman and discontinued her
agricultural work, but remained affiliated with the JA. Therefore, it can be suggested
that the fishermen of JA may have a connection with agriculture based on their social
networks. Excluding the respondents who did not answer whether they are affiliatedwith the JA or not, more than 45 percent of respondents affiliated with the JA,
approximately half had relationships with agricultural communities. Some respondents
may not have answered the question regarding an affiliation with the JA because thequestion may be sensitive in their local communities.

Table 1 Status of affiliation with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) and occupations
other than the fishery

fisheries

work inExclusive

Affiliation to the JA
Yes

No

N/A

Total

Yes

18

33

15

23

No

14

8

1

66

N/A

7

5

6

18

Total

39

46

22

107

25
21
20
15

14

10
7

4

5

0
To buy fertilizer
and machines for
agriculture

To communicate
and exchange
information for
agriculture

To buy fuel andmachines for thefisheries

To buycommodities orinsurance

Figure 5 Reasons for affiliating with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives
Note: Multiple answers allowed.

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The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

3-2．Characteristics of each municipality
The characteristics of each municipality are different in terms of the rates ofaffiliation with the JA (Fig. 6), rates of workers involved with work that did not include
the fishery (Fig. 7), and rates of workers in agriculture, forestry and the fishery among
all workers in primary industries (Fig. 8 and 9). Through understanding the different
characteristics

of

the

municipalities,

we

could

efficiently

analyze

generalsocio-ecological contexts of fishermen in the Noto region. For example, the rates ofaffiliation with the JA in Wajima and Noto are relatively low, and the rates of fishery
workers in both municipalities are relatively high. The former indicator may reflect thetrend of the latter indicator. The detailed relationships of the indicators are notanalyzed in this paper, however, future research that focuses on the characteristics ofthe municipalities and the whole Noto region will need to implement an analysis on therelationships among the indicators.

Figure 6 Rate of affiliation (or non-affiliation) with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives by JF
municipality branch

Figure 7 Rate of engaging in non-fishery work by JF municipality branch-9-Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

Figure 8 Rate of workers in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in municipalities of Noto
Source: Census of Japan
25

20
Suzu

15

WajimaNoto
Anamizu

10

Shika
Nanao

5

0
1995

2000

2005

2010

Figure 9 Rate of workers in primary industries (agriculture, forestry, and fisheries) inmunicipalities of Noto
Source: Census of Japan

4．Influence of respondent attributes on attitudes toward artificial intervention
In the questionnaire, the degree of preference for artificial intervention was evaluatedon a scale of 1-5, with 1 indicating that the respondent did not endorse artificial
intervention, and 5 meaning the respondent fully supported this intervention. The
respondents were asked their preferences for intervention on fishing grounds as a whole,as well as specific fishing grounds including those at the shore, coast, and open sea.
These questions are based on Kohsaka et al. (2015) but geographical scope is extended
and we added examination the correspondence with the JA affiliation in this paper. We
first examine the influence of age and frequencies of visits to marine areas on
perceptions of conservation, and then we will discuss the associations between
affiliation with the JA and preferences for intervention.

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The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

4-1．Age and frequencies of visits to marine areas
The age and the frequencies of visits to marine areas are both basic attributes of the
respondents. In total, 78 respondents answered the questions regarding their affiliation
with the JA and their age. We categorized the 78 respondents based on their answers to
the questions asking for their degree of preference for artificial intervention on a scaleof 1 to 5, and then we calculated the average age of each respondent group (Fig. 10). The
average age of the groups was compared, and there was a statistically significant
difference between the average age of the group with respondents answering 1, and thatof the group that answered 3 (p<0.10). The average age of the former group was
relatively higher than that of the latter group, although this difference was only
identified when preferences for artificial intervention in overall fishing grounds wereconsidered; there was no significant difference between groups based on preferences for
artificial intervention in specific fishing grounds. The results suggest that, as a generaltrend, the average age of the group that chose the neutral answer (3), was lower thanthat of the group that included the respondents answering 1, who strongly preferrednatural conditions to any kind of artificial intervention.
We then divided the 78 respondents who answered the questions regarding theiraffiliation with the JA and age into two groups. One group was composed of the
respondents affiliated with the JA and the other comprised those with no affiliation to
the JA. We categorized the respondents in each group based on their answer to thequestion regarding their opinion on artificial intervention, and we did not find any
statistically significant differences in average ages among respondents with different
preferences. Therefore, the results suggest that the influence of the age of respondents
on conservation preferences was small.
We categorized the 81 respondents who answered the questions regarding theiraffiliation with the JA and the frequencies of their visits to marine areas based on theiranswer to the question pertaining to their opinion of artificial intervention (Fig. 11). The
Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to identify differences in frequencies of marine visitsamong the groups with contrasting preferences on artificial intervention. We found thateither pair from the groups with different preferences on overall fishing grounds had
significant differences (p<0.10). However, we did not find any differences in thefrequencies of visiting marine areas among the groups that had preferences for otherfishing grounds.
The majority, or 33 of the 39 respondents who strongly preferred artificial
intervention who chose 5 in the questionnaire, visited marine areas more than once a- 11 -

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

week. Respondents who preferred and had an interest in artificial intervention visitedmarine areas more frequently. If the frequencies of visiting marine areas are correlatedwith the frequencies of having a first-hand perspective on the condition of the fishinggrounds, respondents who did not visit the marine areas as often may not have had
enough time to have a first-hand perspective on the fishing grounds in order toformulate a strong opinion on artificial intervention, and therefore they choose a moreneutral answer.

Figure 10 Preferences for artificial intervention overall as well as for specific locations infishing grounds
Note: 1 indicates that the respondents did not prefer artificial intervention,and 5 denotes respondents who were strongly in favor of intervention,and the number of respondents in each age group.

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The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

Figure 11 Preference for artificial intervention in overall as well as specific fishing grounds
Note: A score of 1 indicates that the respondents did not prefer artificial
intervention, and a score of 5 denotes respondents who supported suchintervention. The number of respondents in each category of frequency ofvisit to marine areas (a. every day, b. several times a week, c. several times amonth, d. several times a year, e. a few times in a year).

We then divided the 81 respondents by their status of affiliation with the JA andexamined the differences in frequencies of visits to marine areas with varying
intervention preferences using the Kruskal-Wallis test. However, we did not identify
any pair in the groups with significantly different preferences on artificial intervention
in particular fishing grounds. The results suggest that the influence of frequencies ofvisits to marine areas on conservation preferences was small and could be ignored,
similar to the age of respondents.
4-2．Preference on artificial intervention and prioritized actions
We have presented the analysis of the differences in perception of conservation- 13 -

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

between respondents who were affiliated with the JA and those who were not (Fig. 12).
The largest difference was identified in the preference for artificial intervention
pertaining to overall fishing grounds. The respondents who were affiliated with the JA
preferred natural conditions, and more than half of them chose 1 (the answer indicating
the strongest feeling against intervention). In contrast, most of the respondents with noaffiliation to the JA chose 1, 2, or 3. The number of respondents who chose 1 was smaller
than the number of respondents choosing the other options. In this way, therespondents who were not members of the JA preferred natural conditions, but theirpreferences were not as strong as those of the respondents with an affiliation to the JA.
In addition, the rate of the number of respondents who chose 3 or 4 with no affiliation to
the JA was higher than those who were affiliated with the JA. These results suggestthat respondents with an affiliation to the JA strongly preferred natural conditions inoverall fishing grounds.
We provide a hypothesis related to the context of those results in the following. It isdifficult to choose to install artificial means including blocks and stone walls asinterventions without understanding the detailed effects of artificial interventions.
Respondents who have no affiliation to the JA, and are specialized in the fishery, may
have considerable time to work at the fishery, and have opportunities to connect towider knowledge network concerning fisheries. They are considered to be in a position
where they could easily accumulate experience and information on artificial
interventions. On the other hand, respondents with an affiliation to the JA could havesome connections in agricultural communities, and they may spend relatively more time
on non-fishery works. In that case, respondents affiliated with the JA would not haveenough time to obtain the knowledge related to the artificial interventions and, as aresult, respondents with an affiliation to the JA tended to prefer natural conditions in
the overall fishing grounds.
Regarding the specific fishing grounds of shore, coastal, and open sea zones, the rateof the number of people affiliated with the JA who chose 1 (indicating a strong
preference for natural conditions) was higher than the number of respondents who did
not have an affiliation with the JA (Fig. 12). However, when only the fishing grounds inshore and coastal zones were considered, the rate of the number of people affiliated with
the JA who chose 5 was higher, indicating that this group did not always prefer natural
conditions. Respondents who preferred artificial intervention in the fishing grounds
near coastlines tended to be those who were affiliated with the JA. We did not find any
obvious differences in opinions on artificial intervention in the open sea fishing ground- 14 -

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

between respondents who were or were not affiliated with the JA. Overall, the results
suggest that the preferences for intervention depended on the affiliation status of anindividual, particularly in fishing grounds near coastlines.
The respondents with an affiliation to the JA had direct or indirect connections with
agriculture. We examined the influence of being involved with agriculture on
preferences for conservation by comparing and statistically testing the average
preference score of 1 to 5. However, there was no significant difference in theconservation preferences among the respondents with an affiliation to the JA and an
association with agriculture, or lack thereof. This result suggests that direct
involvement with agriculture and the preference for artificial intervention was notclear.

Figure 12 Preference for artificial intervention in overall fishing grounds and specific fishinggrounds
Note: Respondents who did not support artificial intervention are designated as 1,
while 5 denotes those who do support it.

(%)
70
with affiliation
60

without affiliation
50
40
30
20
10
0

Installing stone Installing near- Using artificial Changing water Stabilizing
Applying
walls
natural seawalls means such as or sea currents sediment, sand, relevant policies
installing blocks artificiallyand silt
and institutions
in seabed

Figure 13 Comparison of prioritized actions to improve fishing grounds based on affiliation
status with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives- 15 -

Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

Figure 14 Comparison of prioritized actions to promote local fishing industry based on
affiliation status with the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives
The answers of respondents with and without affiliations to the JA regarding
prioritized actions for improving fishing grounds and promoting the local fishingindustry are shown in Fig. 13 and 14. In the question pertaining to choice of prioritizedactions for improving fishing grounds, the rate of the number of people who chose“installing near natural sea-walls” was the highest in both respondent groups. The rateof this preference in the group of respondents with an affiliation to the JA was higher by
10 percent. In addition, in the question regarding the choice of prioritized actions forpromoting the local fishing industry, the rate of the number of people who chose“regeneration of seaweed beds and fishing grounds” and “maintenance of forests” washigher among the respondents with an affiliation to the JA. However, the differences
between the two groups are not statistically significant.
Whereas we found relatively clear differences between the two respondent groups
with different JA affiliation statuses on their preferences for artificial intervention, we
did not identify such obvious differences between the two groups when the preferences
for prioritized actions of improving fishing grounds and promoting local fishing industry
were considered.

5．Discussion: Potential for Satoumi management in the Noto region
In this section, we discuss the relationships between perceptions of conservation andthe socio-ecological backgrounds of the fishermen.
According to our survey, in the Noto region there were more than a few fishermenwith connections to agriculture. Those fishermen associated with both fishery and- 16 -

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

agriculture cooperatives may have social connections in agricultural communities.
These connections have the potential to facilitate communications beyond theterritories of the fishery and agriculture communities.
The results suggest that the fishermen affiliated with the JA more strongly preferredleaving fishing grounds in their natural state as compared to fishermen with noaffiliation to the JA. In the context of the results, there may be a difference in theamounts of time required to accumulate the knowledge related to the artificial
interventions between the respondents with affiliation to the JA and those without theaffiliation. This hypothesis needs to be verified in future research, but the results still
can be referred to in the regional consensus building on the management of fishinggrounds. The rates of affiliation with the JA were relatively low in Wajima, Noto, andShika, and fishermen in these regions had less connections to agriculture. Particularly
in Wajima and Noto, the share of farmers was decreasing and that of workers inforestry and fisheries was increasing among workers in primary industries (Fig. 7 and
8). Whereas the decrease in the total catch of fish was relatively large in both
municipalities, these regions maintained high productivity in comparison to the othermunicipalities in the Noto region (Fig. 15). In contrast, the decreasing rates in the total
yield of paddy rice were relatively high (Fig. 15). In this respect, Wajima and Noto could
become the municipalities specialized in fisheries. However, even if fisheries become thedominant primary industry in the municipalities, and if these areas possess anawareness of the crisis in Satoyama-Satoumi management, they may have the potential
to overcome the management issues related to the trade-off on working hours required
to manage fishing grounds and agricultural lands.
In the management of Satoumi, both maintaining a natural state and installing
artificial interventions can be effective approaches, but neither may be ideal. Involving
various stakeholders with different preferences in conservation methods can lead toconflict, but considering a variety of opinions can also create more alternatives for
management. Combining relevant and complementary methods can lead to flexible andstrategic management that respects the different backgrounds of the municipalities.
Taking the organizational choices and affiliations of residents into account is an
important basis for effective policymaking. The incentives and policies for agriculturaland fisheries organizations are often separately conducted, but we suggest that policy
overlap is useful in certain areas, given that the same person may belong to bothorganizations.

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Ryo KOHSAKA and Yuta UCHIYAMA

Figure 15 Total catch of fish and yield of paddy rice according to municipality
Sources: Sea fishery statistics of Ishikawa prefecture (total catch of fish);agricultural product statistics by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (total yield of paddy rice).
In conclusion, understanding the awareness of and preference for different types ofconservation intervention among fishermen is an important preliminary step inutilizing the potential of Satoumi management in the Noto region. In the integrated
management of Satoyama and Satoumi as a socio-ecological system that depends on
local networks, strategies must consider the characteristics of the communities andsocio-ecological backgrounds of each municipality so that there is a balanced approachto environmental conservation.
In future research, considering the different awareness of fishermen, which depends
on the communities they belong to, factors that are related to the awareness offishermen need to be explored. Adequate supervision can be implemented based onsocial capital (Henocque (2013)). In addition, participatory approaches are needed toutilize traditional knowledge for the sustainable maintenance of Satoumi (Berque andMatsuda (2013)). In the consensus building and social implementation phase of the
management of Satoyama and Satoumi, social capital and participatory approaches
need to be considered and analyzed in terms of the change in awareness of thefishermen.

Note(1) FAO (2011) “Noto’s Satoyama and Satoumi”, http://www.fao.org/giahs/giahs-sites/asia-and-the-pacific/notos-satoyama-and-satoumi-japan/detailed-information/jp/(2) We conducted surveys without asking for personal names and no individuals are- 18 -

The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment

identifiable from the aggregated results. The focus of the study is not the biological,
chemical or physical aspects of human bodies but is exclusively based on the written
responses of the interviewees.

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[3] Dayuan X. (2011) “The categories and benefit-sharing of traditional knowledge
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The Influence of Affiliations with Agricultural Collectives on Attitudes of Fisherman
towards Conservation and Perceptions of the Local Environment[Acknowledgements]

We thank all the respondents to this research for their input. This

study was conducted as a part of the research project; JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number
JP26360062 and MEXT KAKENHI Grant Number JP15H01597. Support for this project
also included funds from Hokuriku Regional Management Service Association, JFE
Holdings, Inc. and Heiwa Nakajima Foundation. Part of the project was also conducted as apart of the research project, Environment Research and Technology Development Fund
(1-1303/S15−2[3]). Thanks are extended to Mr. T. Matsumoto, Ms. S. Kawabe, Dr. K.
Oyamada, Dr. O. Saito, Dr. S. Hashimoto for their valuable comments.

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