Abstract
The Socotra Archipelago is universally renown because of its biodiversity, nonetheless the cultural heritage—such as the centuries-old culture of small fishing communities—is not of minor importance. Even though Socotra Island is still hardly accessible to mass tourism, the number of tourists visiting it has been increasing and fishing tourism is growing, attracting amateurs and professionals from all over the world. Our research, based on semi-structured interviews and observation during fieldwork, aims at investigating if and how tradition-based fishing tourism could be a source for extra income for fishermen of Socotra and at the same time how it could incentivize sustainable tourism development on the island. The paper analyses fishermen’s tangible and intangible heritage, as well as the current fishing tourism offer in order to outline a concrete proposal of community-based tourism.
The authors entirely share responsibility for the contents of the paper. The article is the result of work carried out by both authors and shared reflections; both authors have fully concurred with the findings. However, for what concerns the layout of the text, Sects. 1 and 2 are by Federica L. Cavallo and Sects. 3, 4, and 5 are by Giovanna Di Matteo. Section 6 is curated by both.
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Notes
- 1.
The procedure to sundry fish consists in covering the seafood with salt and leave it under the sun for about a week, or alternatively they cook it first (hanit is the name of the process) and then let it dry in the sun. finally, they store it in a dry place protected from the wind. Women can be involved in this work if they sundry fish at home or to collect water and wood for cooking the fish.
- 2.
The Socotra Heritage Project organises festivals and events (mainly in Hadiboh and Qalansiyah) with children and teenagers to create awareness on their traditions, including the traditional songs, dances and poems (Esmail Salem, Socotra Heritage Project, 02/06/2022).
- 3.
Figure confirmed by the number of visitors to the Hoq Cave, one of the main tourist attractions of the island.
- 4.
Mr. Abdullah is a fisherman who offers boat tours of the lagoon in Qalansiyah, on request he fishes for tourists and make them lunch in his cave facing the lagoon. The cave can be reached by boat or through a 15-min trek.
- 5.
To be noted: the authors are aware that the definitions proposed are based mostly of a western conception of conservation, environment, nature, and its inhabitants; as well as that the critiques of ecotourism demonstrated “that the practice does not always live up to the ideals” (Stronza et al., 2019, p. 234).
- 6.
During our fieldwork we were often offered to be driven very close to any natural attraction or vulnerable sites of the island, which made our “eco-western-ethics” silently scream as we were literally running over natural heritage.
- 7.
As argued by Peutz (2018), this process was not straightforward and let emerge clashes, also because tourism was not able to increase the population income as promised.
- 8.
The same system is used for hiring a guide for the tour of the Hoq Cave.
- 9.
Not because they were not seaworthy, on the contrary there are testimony of durability and effectiveness (Van Rensburg, 2012), but because it would be highly impractical and expensive to import and maintain them for everyday use, due to the current large diffusion of fiberglass boats.
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Acknowledgements
We want to thank Caterina Borgato, traveller, photographer, and tour guide, for her support at different stages of this work, as her experiences on Socotra Island were a precious guide for conceiving this research work. We also thank Massimo and Edoardo Massarotto for sharing their expertise on big game fishing. We also thank the editors of this volume for the chance to work on such an incredible island and a stimulating issue. Finally, our thanks to the reviewers for their insights.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Questions Asked to Travel Agencies
Section 1—General information
-
(1)
Name of the organization/tour operator.
-
(2)
Where are you based and what type of tour operator are you (e.g.: small/large, international, independent, adventure, alternative, etc.)?
-
(3)
Would you define yourself as a tour operator specialised in big game fishing tourism? If so, in which other regions of the world do you offer fishing tours?
-
(4)
For what concerns Socotra, do you also offer other types of tours besides fishing experiences?
Section 2—Fishing tourism on Socotra
-
(1)
What types of fishing tours do you offer in Socotra (e.g.: how many people, what duration, in what period(s) of the year)? Do you camp with tourists on the island? Is the caught fish released into the sea, does it belong to the owner of the boats, or do you cook and eat it together?
-
(2)
What are the characteristics of tourists taking part in your fishing tours in Socotra (e.g.: where do they come from, if they are regular deep sea fishing practitioners, what age are they on average, if most of them are men, etc.)?
-
(3)
Why do tourists taking part in your fishing tours choose Socotra?
-
(4)
What species of fish do tourists catch/seek in Socotra? And why? What big game fishing techniques do you use on the island?
-
(5)
What areas/coasts of the island do you select for your tours (where do you stay and where do you fish)?
Section 3—Relations with the island
-
(1)
Do you rely on the assistance of locals for organising and carrying out your activities?
-
(2)
Do you bring and provide the needed equipment? Do tourists bring their own? And what about the boats? Do you use/rent local boats? What types of boats do you use?
-
(3)
Are you (or your customers) interested in traditional local fishing of Socotra (for example: boats, techniques, target species, fishing villages, etc.)?
-
(4)
What types of interaction do you and your customers have with the local population?
-
(5)
Alongside fishing, what aspects of the island are your fishing tour clients interested in?
Section 4—Tourism in Socotra
-
(1)
Is it logistically complicated to organize these fishing holidays in Socotra? If so, what are the reasons?
-
(2)
How would you evaluate an increase in tourism development (in general, not just fishing tourism) in Socotra? Do you think that in the near future the island will be more open to tourism?
Appendix 2: Questions Asked to Fishermen
Section 1—Fishing activities
-
(1)
When did you start fishing?
-
(2)
Is fishing your only occupation?
-
(3)
What type of fishing do you practice? When you go fishing do you stay out at night?
-
(4)
What type of vessel do you use?
-
(5)
If the vessel belongs to you, where do you keep it? Do you have a shelter?
-
(6)
Is your fishing equipment produced or fixed locally or is it imported?
-
(7)
What is the role of cooperatives? Do you work with one?
-
(8)
Do women have a role in fishing or in the preservation of seafood?
-
(9)
Are there traditional fishermen chants or poems? Would it be possible to have someone to perform it?
Section 2—Fishing and tourism relation
-
(1)
Do you meet tourists or visitors around this area? Are they interested in your fishing activities?
-
(2)
What type of interactions do you have with tourists? Do you offer any service? Do you have an income from tourists?
-
(3)
Did you ever have issues or problems with tourists?
-
(4)
Would you be available to host tourists when you carry out fishing activities, teaching them some local traditional fishing techniques or show them how you rapair equipment and prepare seafood for preservation?
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Cavallo, F.L., Di Matteo, G. (2023). Past, Present, and the Future of the Maritime Socotra: Sustainable Fishing Tourism Perspectives. In: Slak Valek, N., Zedan, A.A. (eds) A Social View of Socotra Island. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4358-6_4
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