Introduction

Before any fishing gear was invented, men, women, and children used their hands and feet to capture fish and other aquatic organisms along the shores of rivers and seas. Over the years they developed artisanal fishing techniques to adapt to local conditions, the desired species, and the size targeted. The term ‘fishing’ does not exclusively refer to the catching of fish, instead it touches on the capture of all aquatic organisms (Brandt 1972:2). On Cat Hai Island in North Vietnam I found that people use, a variety of techniques to catch fish and other aquatic organisms (Van Duijn 2002). The focus of this paper is on the livelihoods and techniques of fishers who gather aquatic organisms with either their bare hands or by using simple gear (see fig. 9.1). The latter I consider to be tools that can be carried and operated by an individual alone. On Cat Hai Island this method for gathering molluscs (bivalves and gastropods), brachiopods, sipunculids, and crabs constitutes an important activity for the poorest local people in particular. As this manner of fishing invariably encompasses the use of one's hands to pick up the organisms, in this paper the terms handpicking, collecting, and gathering are used interchangeably to refer to this activity.

On Cat Hai Island the occupation of marine resource exploitation using active and passive gear has been declining in employment as well as production since at least as far back as 1990. In the case of most species that are or were handpicked, the inhabitants of Cat Hai Island easily gathered aquatic organisms prior to 1990. For instance interviewees reported being fed up with eating mud crab (Scilla serrata), which is currently the most valuable local crab species. Collected crabs were put into ceramic baskets and the fishers were not concerned about how many escaped. More recently, window shells (Placuna placenta) were gathered in such quantities that people put them in ponds near their houses so that they could gradually eat them.

Throughout the years aquatic organisms were collected mainly for consumption purposes and sometimes as an additional source of income from sale at a local market, but never as a main source of income. Local people handpicked aquatic organisms whenever they had an appetite for them or when food was scarce.