The Mechanism of Household Reproduction in the Fishing Community on Oro Island

This paper attempts to analyze the economic and social changes on a small remote island, which depends on fishery, by tracing the reproduction process of residents, and to clarify the mechanism of household reproduction; Japanese rural areas, such as remote mountain villages and islands, have experienced drastic depopulation since the beginning of the economic development following World War II. Consequently, many communities either disappeared or were in danger of disappearing, but some have survived.<br> One of such surviving communities is Oro Island, a small remote island that is primarily dependent on its fisheries because of its geographical and ecological conditions, which differ from those of remote mountain villages. The results of the research can be summarized as follows.<br> 1. The history on Oro Island after World War. II can be divided into four periods (I: 1945-1953, II: 1954-1965, III: 1966-1982, and IV: 1983-1998). The increasing production levels of fishing are the result of various technological innovations.<br> 2. The fishing industry labor organization, responsible for organizing the fishing fleet, has a direct effect on the number of households. In the first reorganization of term A [I to the first half of II], each household retained some successors, who enabled, the households to increase their numbers. In the second reorganization of term B [III], almost all households retained only one successor because of fishing regulations that imposed labor constraints. As a result, the number of households increased only slightly. On the other hand, some organizations and households retired from work in the fisheries in .term B. However, decreasing households were few because of providing new employment opportunities by the association of fisheries founded and developed in the 1960s and 1970s.<br> 3. The household income level of those in the fishing industry has been higher than that of typical urban workers. The income level per fishing worker has also been higher than that of employees, who get a first job after the graduation of school in period III. This has enabled the Oro Island community to maintain its number of households.<br> 4. Social customs have influenced the natives of Oro Island. Males were affected through family ties, labor organization, and community ties. Females are affected most by their opportunities for marriage.<br> 5. Because of the changing social and marriage patterns, it will remain difficult to maintain the number of households. In spite of the problems, the number of households will be maintained at a sufficient level. The reasons are that social conditions will affect a few households, and that the level of fishing resources will be able to satisfy the economic conditions of fishery on Oro Island.