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Playing Pool Along the Shores of Lake Victoria: Fishermen, Careers and Capital Accumulation in the Ugandan Nile Perch Business

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

J. Joost Beuving
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Abstract

The 1990s saw the emergence of a thriving Nile perch export market from East Africa. This commercial table fish species is landed by migrant fishermen at villages that have sprung up along the shores of Lake Victoria, and then exported to overseas markets. By analysing the Ugandan perch fishery as a set of careers, the article shows that, although some fishermen have benefited from the perch boom, most face an uncertain and marginal existence. Few of them, however, move away in response. Analysis of an anthropological case study reveals that this is because the fishermen value the urban culture characterizing prominent village landings, expressed in particular clothing and hairstyles, the prevalence of non-kin ties, and a prospering leisure industry epitomized by the proliferation of pool tables. Hence, a cultural preference for life at the landings, rather than a universal quest for economic opportunity, drives their economic decision making.

Les années 1990 ont vu l’émergence d'un marché florissant en Afrique de l'Est: l'exportation de la perche du Nil. Cette espèce de poisson de table marchand est déchargée par des pêcheurs migrants dans des villages qui ont surgi sur les rives du lac Victoria, avant d’être exportée vers les marchés étrangers. En analysant la pêche de la perche en Ouganda en tant qu'ensemble de métiers, l'article montre que, bien que certains pêcheurs aient profité de l'essor de la perche, la plupart des pêcheurs connaissent une existence incertaine et marginale. Or, rares sont ceux qui partent face à cette situation. L'analyse d'une étude de cas anthropologique l'explique par le fait que les pêcheurs apprécient la culture urbaine qui caractérise l'activité de déchargement dans les villages, qui s'exprime notamment par le style de vêtement et de coiffure, la prévalence de liens non familiaux et une industrie des loisirs prospère caractérisée par la prolifération de tables de billard. C'est donc une préférence culturelle pour la vitalité qui accompagne les déchargements, plutôt qu'une quête universelle d'opportunité économique, qui détermine la prise de décision économique de ces pêcheurs.

Type
Research Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , May 2010 , pp. 224 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2010

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