Valuing Small-Scale Fisheries
The only thing that's "small" is their voice.
“Despite their importance, many small-scale fishing communities continue to be marginalized, and their contribution to food security and nutrition, poverty eradication, equitable development and sustainable resource utilization – which benefits both them and others – is not fully realized.”
Illuminating Hidden Harvests - FAO
I’m on an enviable “working” vacation at the moment.
This morning, we were planning the rest of our day over post-surf coffees. There are really just two variables to manage - an evening surf and dinner.
When discussing possible dinner options, the resort owner said, “I’ll just have to wait for the boats from last night to come in. They usually call me and tell me what they caught.”
The boats he was referring to are the ones that rest on the sand about 100 yards down the beach (pictured above, photo credit: me).
The fishermen and their families live in homes near the boats since development hasn’t pushed the locals out (yet?). The crews heading out in the evening are father-son affairs.
At home, I often get caught up in viewing the ocean economy from a macro level. This perspective is dominated by international corporations, earnings reports, shipping routes, and energy prices.
However, traveling reminds me to look at the ocean economy from the other end of the lens and remember the critical local, small-scale economies. This includes sustainable fisheries that feed local families and a small tourist economy while providing essential nutrients for export to further inland towns and cities.
As with other aspects of the ocean economy, the robust data needed to influence decision-makers is often just becoming available. Even when data is available, it often requires more interpretation to make it widely digestible and actionable.
The Value of Small-Scale Fisheries
The only thing small about small-scale fisheries is their voice.
In March 2023, the FAO and a research team from Duke University published a massive report on small-scale fisheries titled “Illuminating Hidden Harvests - The Contributions of Small-scale Fisheries to Sustainable Development.”
This report (all 376 pages) represents a multi-year effort to update and improve data on small-scale fisheries in both inland and marine environments.
The report’s statistics reveal the importance of small-scale fisheries locally and in a larger context.
Small-scale fisheries:
Produce 37 million tons of food annually, or 40% of the global catch.
Represent 90% of global employment in the fisheries sector (and 1 of every 50 jobs globally) with 60 million people employed either full or part-time.
Provide for the needs of 492 million people with their livelihood - including fishers, processors, and their dependents.
Rely on women for approximately 40% of the employed workforce
A labor union representing 90% of an industry’s employees and 40% of production would be impossible to ignore. However, in fishing, like other key ocean economy industries, it is the big (often foreign) corporations that have the funds and organization to grab political power.
While these recent studies focus on the importance of small-scale fisheries to developing economies, it’s worth remembering that the story is the same in some developed economies.
“in 2014, the small-scale fisheries sector contributed more than 4 billion USD in landed value, consisting of about a third of the total for the region. In the US alone, small-scale fisheries account for almost an equal share of the landed value (40%) when compared to their large-scale counterparts.”
+Too Big to Ignore - North America Report
“Licensing is the most commonly used tool in legislation for regulating access to resources for small-scale fishers… Licensing on its own is least likely to empower fishers and fishworkers, and thus their ability to participate in decision-making processes concerning their fisheries is limited.” - FAO
A common theme among the ocean economy industries is that a few large players hoover up much of the economic benefit of our common oceans.
What is becoming better understood is that large commercial fishing operations generally employ small numbers of people and are rife with labor abuses. Even large fishers in the US almost wholly rely on Chinese fish processors, which, in turn, depend on forced labor.
+How the US violates its own trade laws to buy seafood from China - US Rep Jared Huffman
Competition and Collaboration
Small-scale fisheries generally operate near to shore and are in competition for accessible waters with trade, energy production, industrial fishing, tourism and many other uses. Included among these competitors for space and consumer markets is the aquaculture industry.
Through researching the blue economy, I have accepted that aquaculture is an imperfect industry that will not disappear. Therefore, it has to be better researched, understood, and invested in to become more sustainable.
“Demand for aquatic foods has increased despite the leveling-off of fisheries production since the 1990s and is projected to nearly double by 2050.”
A recent Stanford study (Jan 2024) examines how aquaculture and small-scale fisheries can coexist. It often comes down to policy.
“Results of our mixed methods approach underscore the need to anticipate and manage interactions between SSFs and aquaculture deliberately to avoid negative socio-economic and environmental outcomes, promote synergies to enhance food production and other benefits, and ensure equitable benefit distribution.”
+How to design policies that support both aquaculture and small-scale fisheries - Stanford School of Sustainability (Jan 2024)
In some cases, aquaculture can complement small-scale fishers.
Lobster fishers in Maine are finding that growing kelp in their off-season can provide a second source of income, year-round work, and a hedge against climate change.
+A Seaweed Farming Boom Is Preparing Maine for Life After Lobsters
The Impact of Data
The impact of new data sets, practical tools and visualizations, and compelling storytelling was recently made apparent with the Outlaw Ocean’s ‘Bait-to-Plate’ tool. This tool allows anyone to link a fishing boat or processing facility suspected of labor abuse to an importer, product, brand, or store.
For the first time, seafood distributors and retailers couldn’t claim ignorance. Companies had to answer for their supply chains immediately. And when this happened, changes began to happen fast.
+Sysco drops major Chinese seafood supplier; still catches heat from US lawmaker over forced labor concerns - Undercurrent News
While that particular tool was focused on the industrial side of the fishing industry the data is also coming together for the other side of the industry - small-scale fisheries.
We Take Care of What We Know
Environmental degradation and the effects of climate change are pervasive issues for small-scale fisheries.
However, so is the preferential treatment of foreign fishing fleets over locals and the unsustainable use of local subsistence fish stocks for outside benefit (such as fishmeal and fish oil for developed economy aquaculture and supplement industries).
Long-distance fishing fleets have no connection to the area of ocean they work in. These floating fish factories have a long history of depleting one resource just to move on to the next. They operate right at the edge of EEZ boundaries to take advantage of migratory species.
Or they go beyond these boundaries to pillage protected waters.
Recent reports from Global Fishing Watch, again using newly accessible data processed with machine learning, show that 75% of global fishing fleets operate unseen by the public.
While small-scale fisheries are not immune from negative environmental impact and overfishing of local resources, the participants are inextricably tied to the waters in which they work.
“small-scale fisheries are the wellspring of food, employment and culture for a substantial and diverse segment of humankind, and a linchpin for ocean sustainability.”
+Small-scale fishers need a seat at the table of coral-reef management - The Economist
Supporting the health of these communities and recognizing their importance our collective future is essential.
What Can I Do?
Here are some resources available to make an impact by supporting small-scale fisheries with your purchasing decision.
+International Pole and Line Foundation
Small scale fisheries exist here in the US. There are 50 oyster farms operating in the waters surrounding Long Island New York that produce 8M oysters every year with small boats and lots of manual labor. These farms are responsible for reducing eutrophication in the areas they operate and the oysters they grow are great at sequestering Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Carbon in their shells.
Good to experience, first hand the choice most people used to make each day, to eat what is available. Also, especially appreciated the video on ocean use mapping, simply conveying change and usage. Important data.