Lack of policy support for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture undermines food security for millions

The new paper “Harnessing the diversity of small-scale actors is key to the future of aquatic food systems” is published as part of the Blue Food Assessment.

Professor Simon Bush is one of 30 authors who call for action and a better understanding of the diversity, roles and resilience of the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture (SSFA) sector.

The study describes the many actors in the sector. Stefan Gelcich, co-lead author Stefan Gelcich, director of the Costal Social-Ecological Millennium Institute (SECOS), Pontifical Catholic University of Chile explains:  “The study highlights the diversity of small-scale blue foods producers, which range from state-of the art processing plants with imported equipment supplying clams to Uruguayan restaurants, to homemade reed baskets used by local traders in Zambia.”

Crisis

Simon Bush: “This paper highlights the huge dependency we have on the SSFA sector. They not only provide two-third of aquatic foods for human consumption but also support over 100 million jobs. However, this market is still mostly invisible for policy makers. If we don’t support the people who deliver this food, while we see the demand for fish doubling by 2050, then you see a crisis.

Small fisheries fill the gap

Drawing on 70 case studies from around the world, the research stresses the value of small scale aquatic food producers, traders and processors. Small scale actors in countries like Kenya for example, quickly filled the gap left behind by larger, international producers who scaled back operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Simon Bush explains: “Fishery is one of the most mobile, travelling sectors of food in the world. During the pandemic we saw the vulnerability of these large vessels. Small-scale fishermen filled the gap that was left behind. They provided a huge service. People tend to think these trade networks are only small local businesses but they travel large distances inland. Half of the time their work is not seen by governments. “

Lack of Support

Smaller-scale actors face mounting insecurities that have not been addressed by policymakers. For example, subsidies are only directed to the larger sector. At the same time there is a lack of support to deal with the rapidly intensifying effects of climate change.

Bush explains how these two are linked: “There are a lot of subsidies going to the large scale fisheries to increase the capacity. But we know that fish move with temperature and we see this happening globally and locally. Small scale fishermen will not always be able to move with the fish. So what are you going to do with those populations? Is it a matter of compensation? Or providing alternative livelihoods? If you are not recognising their existence or the importance of their role, then you don’t have a good starting point for discussion.”

Fisher-women

The analysis highlights how women are central to building a more sustainable and equitable food sector. Simon Bush: “Often we think only of fishermen but what we see, especially in small-scale fisheries, is the really important role women play, especially in the post-harvest sector.

Policy is almost solely focussed on the production side. Policy makers tend to think small scale fisheries are messy, difficult to monitor. They are local and producing for their own communities. Small scale fisheries are often characterized as one thing. But if you ignore the diversity, then no single policy is going to work.”