Fish fights over fish rights: non-traditional security issues in fisheries in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper presents the results of ‘Fish Fights over Fish Rights” project which evaluated conflicts related to overcapacity in the fisheries and those that may pose threats to food, livelihood and environmental security in Southeast Asia (SEA). The case studies of fishing communities and the series of national multi-stakeholder workshops in Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand; and the regional consolidation workshop altogether present a range of resource conditions, institutions, conflict situations and potential security issues both at the national and regional levels. The study characterized the conflicts in fisheries on the biological, social and economic context; and conflicts were analyzed according to their typology.