Sustain or transform; secure, safe & equitable livelihoods in small-scale fisheries

Cohen, P.J.

Sustain or transform; secure, safe & equitable livelihoods in small-scale fisheries

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Cohen, P.J.

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In this session we are speaking about the livelihoods of around 100 million women and men in developing countries, and many millions more that benefit from the food and nutrition they provide.Small-scale fisheries livelihoods are depicted by a multitude of – at times starkly contrasting – ways, including; the height of economic inefficiency, a poverty trap, a social security safety net, a provider of irreplaceable nutrient rich food, and a hidden driver of local and national economies. I briefly summarize contexts where each of these narratives hold truth or contention, and discuss where there may be merit from each narrative for helping to navigate towards secure and equitable livelihoods in a changing world. A range of policy instruments and investment strategies are in play – including the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication - that are intended to create conditions that will enable improvements within and for small-scale fisheries. Using evidence from global to local research I present new knowledge and innovations ‘beyond techno fixes’. First, a recent global analysis illustrates the potential for making substantial gains in addressing malnutrition and livelihood security with a shift in policies towards small-scale fisheries. Second, I share a local initiative that addressed gender inequality in fisheries livelihoods and post-harvest losses using an integrated and participatory approach. These examples bring to action the principles laid out in The Guidelines, and demonstrate the expanding horizons of fisheries research, management and governance. But what is the relevance of small-scale fisheries livelihoods and these innovations in the face of Blue Growth, ‘transformation of the food system’, finite fisheries resources, a climate changed world and the apparent explosion of aquaculture? Amidst these transformation are such innovations fit to address food and nutrition security, social and gender equity, and broader human well-being outcomes through small-scale fisheries livelihoods? I present a series of recommendations for management and governance to be more transformative in the way we are thinking about and planning for small-scale fisheries livelihoods, and provide a series of challenges for the research community to find a new role as these transformations are navigated.