How do small-scale fisheries support the well-being of people and nature globally?

Franz: Close to 500 million people are at least partially dependent on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods. For many, small-scale fisheries constitute the only source of employment or a poverty safety net, including in times of shocks or vulnerability.

While almost half of all fishers harvest for their own consumption, those fishing commercially generate 44% of the total landed economic value of the overall global marine and inland fisheries catch. That is worth $77.2 billion per year. In 2018, marine small-scale fisheries globally generated more revenue than some of the largest ocean-based industries, such as cruise tourism, port activities, and offshore wind power.

Considering that small-scale fisheries contribute at least 40% of the global catch by volume and in many instances have been local inhabitants for generations, this means they can play a key role as resource stewards.

What do small-scale fisheries have to do with gender equity?

Franz: Usually, when we think of fisheries, the image of men in a boat will come to mind. But an estimated 44.7 million women are engaged along the entire value chain of small-scale fisheries. And while we are still light-years away from ensuring gender equity, we see developments that support the fair and just distribution of benefits and responsibilities among all genders. For example, an increasing number of dedicated organizations for women working in fisheries are emerging, such as the Tanzania Women Fish Workers Association (TAWFA) in Tanzania, or the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET). While leaving out a large number of women in subsistence small-scale fisheries, these member-based organizations allow for important peer learning and foster empowerment and capacity development. In some African countries, fisheries administrations have established dedicated gender desks, a major expression of political will for gender equity.

Basurto: The participation of women in fisheries is much more significant than previously acknowledged, particularly in policy circles. Almost half of all fishers and fishworkers are women, yet more women engage informally in small-scale fisheries activities than are commercially employed. Informal engagement, which includes subsistence and other unpaid work, can limit women’s inclusion in social protection programs, exposes them to greater occupational hazards, and constrains the economic benefits that can be derived from formalized fishing. Women also participate less in governance and decision-making processes affecting access to nutritional and livelihood benefits generated by the activity.

What past efforts have sought to make the contributions of small-scale fisheries more visible in science and policy?

Basurto: Hundreds of isolated case studies around the world have provided evidence of the important role that small-scale fisheries play for environmental conservation, economic development, food security, gender equality, secure fishing rights, and other issues. But until now the global case of the importance of small-scale fisheries as a whole – marine and inland – had not been made in a systematic, robust manner.

While scientific interest in small-scale fisheries has been increasing for the last 25 years, interest, knowledge, and understanding about the fisheries biology and ecology of many of the target species pales in comparison to what we know about species that are targeted by large-scale fisheries.

Franz: For a long time, there was no global policy effort dedicated to small-scale fisheries. This changed in 2014 with the endorsement of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication through the FAO Committee on Fisheries, known as COFI. These guidelines provide a moral imperative for action and a reference document for the global small-scale fisheries community.

More importantly, action is taking place at a regional and national level. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean has adopted a 10-year Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries which, among other things, organizes capacity development for small-scale fishers based on their needs.

Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, and the Philippines have adopted participatory National Plans of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries at the ministerial level and are implementing them. Colombia is developing such a plan, and Chile and South Sudan have requested support for developing their plans. These plans greatly benefit from better and more integrated knowledge and information about the sector.

How do you plan to build on this work in the future?

Basurto: Tackling challenges such as how to better understand the social-ecological sustainability of aquatic environments is very difficult for traditional research centers that tend to be more disciplinary based. But they are perfect for a school like the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability to tackle because they require researchers to take a multidisciplinary approach from the get-go, and collaboration among researchers from a variety of disciplines is not a luxury but a must.