In Perspective Of Rational Choice Research On The Sustainability Of The Group Of Small-scale Fishers

Small-scale fisheries, as a traditional way of fishing, play animportant role worldwide. Small-scale fishers are one of the mostimportant aspects of the small-scale fisheries, but their survival spaceis being severely compressed. As the active body, small-scale fishers havethe sensitive to the social environment where they live. Small-scalefishers are a group full of social mobility and change. Wen Jun arguesthat, in the behavior of rational choice, people actually cannot reachthe advantage, only to satisfied solution, because of thelimitation of conditions and information. Satisfaction andrationalization become the action basis of rational choice actors. It iscalled social rationality by Wen Jun, that is, to seek a satisfactoryor good enough action program, rather than to seek for the optimal ofinterests. This study draws on Wen Jun s and argues that human srational behavior can be divided into three levels, namely the existencerationality, the economic rationality, the social rationality. This studyconcludes that under the pressure of survival, the existence rationalityis the dominate factor to determine whether small-scale fishers chooseto fish. And for the small-scale fishers, in order to maintain the survivalof the whole family, to fish, which is not the worst choice, is a morerealistic driving force. Accordingly, whether to choose to fish is theresult of joint action of existence pressure and rational choice and themanifestation of high-level rational choice from the existence rationalchoice to the social rational choice.Xi yang jia wa, Huangdao District, was selected as the case study findings. Six small-scale fishers were interviewed in order to analysisthe present small-scale fishers rational choice behavior and its effectto the sustainability of the group of small-scale fishers. First of all,on a personal level, for the old age and middle age small-scale fishers,to be engaged in fishing is forced by life, and is dominated by existencerationality. It is the huge economic income that supports them to continueto be engaged in fishing, which is a kind of economic rational choice.In their view, fishing is not their most satisfied life, but has themaximize economic benefits. Secondly, on the family level, althoughfishing is a lucrative job compared with non-farm job, now families arenot willing to make their next generations to continue to be engaged infishing. It is more than because to fish is of intensity of labor and highrisk, and parents want their children to change the living environment.Finally, at the community level, in the circumstance where the survivalpressure almost disappeared, and economic rationality gives away tosocial rationality, the sustainability of the group of small-scalefishers is unstable. To summarize the rational choice behavior of thegroup of small-scale fishers, this study conclude that existencerationality choice form the pressure to survive is the fundamentalmotivation to fish, and economic rationality choice is the importantreason to continue to fish for small-scale fishers. When the basicsurvival safety is guaranteed, other levels of needs stand out. Modernlife has a greater appeal to small-scale fishers, and social rationalitychoice,which is more important compared with the other two, has becomethe dominant motivation in their behavior choice. The group follows theorder in their specific action logic, that is, from existence rationalitychoice to economic rationality choice to social rationality choice. Whenexistence rationality and economic rationality dominate, thesustainability of the group is stable, and when the social rationality is highlighted, the group has a structural change and will not be ableto form a lasting stability.