Green Economy in a Blue World-Full Report

3 Challenges and opportunities in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture A key role of the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sectors is also one of their main challenges: how to continue supplying products to meet the demands of a growing global population who, with increasing wealth, are demanding more animal-source foods, including fish (Delgado, 2003; FAO 2010; Hall et al. , 2011). How can ecosystems and the environment be safeguarded and sustainable use of aquatic resources be ensured at the same time as securing equitable social and economic development of the people whose livelihoods depend on these resources? These questions relate directly to the key issues in the green economy: environmental sustainability – including low carbon emissions – resource efficiency and social equity. The opportunities and challenges contained in this sustainability- efficiency-equity equation centre around how to promote private and public investments in technical and operational innovations and in overall governance and management reforms in order to ensure sustainable and equitable growth and development of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The development of new methodologies approaches and concepts – such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 2 (see box in introduction) and indicators for measuring green economy benefits – offer new avenues for action and provide more tools for both stakeholders and policymakers. The characteristics of small-scale fisheries lend themselves to sustainable development through green growth if the key issues in the sector – as well as in the marine capture fisheries sector as whole – are addressed through political and economic investments and reform: malfunctioning governance, lack of attention to social equity issues in economic planning; fishing fleet overcapacity, overfishing and destructive fishing practices; and inefficient use of fuel and other energy inputs. Overcapacity in, often subsidized, fishing fleets and a decreasing resource base have reduced the profitability and economic contribution of the fisheries sector as a whole (Sumaila, et al., 2008). Approximately 32 per cent of the global stocks are estimated to be overexploited, 3.1 Issues related to securing sustainable small-scale fisheries

also contributes to foreign exchange earnings through its role in exports. Since 1976, the trade of fish and fishery products has increased at an annual rate of 8.3 per cent in value terms whilst 39 percent of all fisheries and aquaculture production now enters international food and feed product markets (FAO, 2010). Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture can also act as centres of market-led growth in often remote rural areas, and as well as the employment and revenue-generation functions of the forward and backward linkages within the sector, horizontal linkages with other industries can provide the basis for local-level growth-engines. For example, the presence of fishers earning a daily or weekly wage in coastal areas can provide local markets for agricultural produce and support local non-fishery related businesses, such as shops, eating-places, lodging and service industries. However, this economic multiplier and ‘growth pole’ effect is largely unquantified, especially in the context of developing countries (World Bank, FAO & WorldFish Centre, 2010 and Allison, 2011). As well as being a rich source of protein, many fish provide vital nutrition and health benefits through provision of minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Recent FAO data suggests that fish accounted for 15.7 per cent of the global population’s intake of animal protein and 6.1 per cent of all protein consumed in 2007. Fish is most important in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) where it provides at least 20 per cent of all animal-source protein – perhaps considerably more due to the underreported contribution of small scale and subsistence fisheries (FAO, 2010). In several small island developing states (SIDS), tropical Asian and sub- Saharan African countries (e.g. Maldives, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and the Gambia), fish contribute 50 per cent ormore of animal protein (FAO, 2009c; Kawarazuka & Béné, 2011) – again, probably an underestimate due to underreporting of small- scale fishery catches. The nutritional value of fish is especially important in countries where the staple crop – such as cassava or plantain – is particularly low in protein and micronutrients. In these situations, a larger proportion of foods rich in proteins and fats, such as fish, are essential, especially in the diets of young children, infants and pregnant women (Kurien, 2005; Kawarazuka, 2010). With food security defined as ‘access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food’ (Rome Declaration onWorld Food Security – World Food Summit, 1996), fish and other aquatic products are therefore a keystone of food security for the world’s coastal areas.

in a Blue World

2. LCA is a methodological framework used to quantify a wide range of environmental impacts that occur over the entire life cycle of a product or process. It allows for comparisons between different products and production systems (FAO, 2009).

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