Lack of finance in coastal communities

In some fishing communities, although there is full awareness of the need to expand existing but depleted fishing grounds, the small boats are incapable of covering the distance to the sea or of using large enough nets. Residents of coastal communities are frustrated by lack of capital which prevents them increasing individual potential or starting a new trade to replace the declining fishing industry. There is similar difficulty in acquiring improved equipment or new investments in more diverse economic arenas. Agriculture, considered the most practical alternative to fishing, is stifled by local people's limited knowledge on obtaining the necessary loans for equipment. Building of roads and bridges, to remove barriers of physical isolation and increase inter-village commerce, cannot be funded by the community's meagre income. The low restrictive capital sources discourage storekeepers from venturing in the area of slow turn-over merchandise or buying in large enough quantities to decrease their long-term investments. For those villagers with any assets, the local economy is seen as a bad business risk, forcing investments elsewhere.