Data were collected using interview method, Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), field observation and documentations, including archival work. The interviews lasted from thirty minutes to around an hour and took place at the selling depots of mangrove poles, at Zanzibar harbours, fish landing sites, fishing grounds, fish markets, or sometimes close to the house of the research partner (respondent). Some discussions took place while fishing was conducted or while going to sea for fishing (see Photo1.1).
Snowball sampling technique was employed in the study, which made it easy to locate relevant respondents and experts as the study continued. Research guiding questions were used to administer semi-structured interviews. Research Assistants helped the researcher to identify key informants50 in the villages who were knowledgeable about use and protection of marine resources, including some Shehas,51 former and current mangrove cutters and dealers as well as retired and old fishermen, active fishermen, fish sellers, some members and leaders of the Fishermen Committees in some villages such as Fumba, Kizimkazi, Vitongoji and boat makers. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with executive officials from the government ministries, including the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (Fisheries Development and Department of Marine Resources), Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Heads of Department of Forest and Non-Renewable Natural Resources), Fisheries Officers and Forest Officers at regional as well as district levels in Pemba and Unguja.
In addition, FGDs were conducted and involved several research partners including fishermen, mangrove poles dealers or marine environment activists such as
50 Nirmalya Kumar, Louis W Stern and James C. Anderson, "Conducting Interorganizational Research Using Key Informants," Academy of Management Journal 36 No. 6 (1993), 1633-1651
51 Sheha is a head of shehia, which is an administrative division below the district and just above the village level. It may consist of one to several villages.
members of marine conservation Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and traditional healers who use marine related medicines together with healing procedures.
The interviews and discussions took place in the presence of Research Assistants, Mussa Hajj in Unguja and Hassan Rashid in Pemba. Their presence made the participants feel highly free and confident. In addition, the presence of Mussa helped the researcher, especially when some of the research participants used a mixture of Kiswahili and Kimakunduchi languages. They were particularly relevant when the research team (the researcher and the assistants) conducted the discussions in some fishing villages. The discussions began with collection of personal information about the participants and their personal histories in relation to undertakings under discussion such as fishing, mangrove activities and conservation activities.
A digital recorder (Olympus digital voice recorder) and notebooks were used to collect as well as store data obtained from oral interviews52 for analysis of different methods of use as well as practices of conservation of marine resources, including the traditional knowledge and the adoption of the policies on conservation practices. In addition, photography was used as part of data collection.53 A digital Canon camera was used to collect visual qualitative data. The research team collected and stored useful visual documentations concerning different environmental aspects in relation to equipment for fishing methods and fish handling as well as fish supply. In addition, the research team collected visual data for spatial coverage of mangrove vegetation and utilisation of mangroves.
The research fieldwork was conducted in Zanzibar and organised into two major periods of fieldwork. The first phase was between May 2011 and September 2011, while the second phase was from January 2012 to May 2012. The three months intermediate period was used for further data evaluation, analysis and presentation of preliminary results to supervisor, mentors and colleagues to gain important feedback as well as gain new insights. The platforms used for presentation included the BIGSAS colloquium for work in progress, departmental seminar for history graduate students,
52 Most of the data are still on the possession of the researcher/author
53 See the following: Elisa Bignante, "The Use of Photo-elicitation in Field Research: Exploring Maasai Representations and Use of natural Resources," in EcoGeo, 11 (2010), Source:
http://echogeo.revues.org/11622, accessed 23 December 2011; and Douglas Harper, "On the Authority of Image: Visual Methods at the Crossroads," in Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Linciln (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994), 403-412.
consultation meetings of the Board of Mentors and BIGSAS workgroup discussions.
However, the presentations were not strictly confined on fieldwork intermediate period of the three months rather, they were an ongoing process that included presentations in a summer school and international conferences in Africa, America and Europe.
The researcher used information from primary and secondary sources. Data were extracted from documents that were accessed from the Zanzibar National Archives (ZNA) and in libraries at the University of Bayreuth, the University of Dar es Salaam Marine Institute - Zanzibar, the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) in Zanzibar as well as the Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute (ZIORI). Other documents were obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam Main Library (Mwalimu Nyerere Mlimani Campus).
Figure 1.1 A Trip to a fishing ground
Source: Field data
Reports from the following ministries in Zanzibar were consulted: Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries; Ministry of Trade, Industry and Marketing; Ministry of Land, Housing and Energy; and the Ministry of Information, Culture, Tourism and Sport. From the said sources, the researcher sought for information about policies, attitudes and ideas of different actors
and institutions towards use including conservation of marine resources in Zanzibar at different historical periods. Secondary sources such as books, journals, newspapers and other published including unpublished documents mainly from libraries also provided vital information from previous studies in Zanzibar in relation to this study.
1.6.2 Data Evaluation and Analysis
Data collected from primary and secondary sources were evaluated and processed through qualitative data analysis techniques. Qualitative data analysis helped to examine forces that led to changes of the utilisation and conceptualisation of conservation of marine resources that were conducted by different actors. In addition, in the analysis, the researcher examined points of departure related to the practices between different actors in the society and the authority during different periods. After the fieldwork, qualitative information was categorised according to themes based on research objectives. Some qualitative data were analysed on a daily basis, after each interview. The study used research-guiding questions. In the study, the researcher formulated and used guiding questions to conduct semi-structured interviews in the field. Moreover, the researcher evaluated and revised the questions after each interview to find relevance together with accuracy for subsequent interviews. Such pattern followed a close examination and evaluation of the collected data evaluated for analysis after each interview. Finally, the researcher evaluated all the data from the field for a general analysis and presentation after the fieldwork.