Artisanal fishing employs 60 million people in the world and, even so, it is a job that is little talked about, that governments ignore and in which public policies are needed to improve labor rights conditions, says Xavier Basurto, professor in the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford University and co-author of the study “Illuminating Hidden Harvests”.
“No effort has been made to do much science focused on this reality and there are no international policies that positively affect these fishermen. So, at the public policy level, it's an invisible sector,” Basurto described.
Small-scale fishing accounts for at least 40% of global catches and contributes to the food security of 2.3 billion people on coasts or inland bodies of water, according to a study by the initiative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Duke University and the organization WorldFish. The study involved more than 800 people in 58 countries.
Artisanal fishing accounts for at least 40% of global catches. Source: Xavier Basurto.
“This is fishing that is not exactly done on a boat, but it is usually two people maximum in a canoe, paddling or women walking on the beach collecting mussels or clams, and also men who ride their boat with an outboard motor and pull the nets with their own strength. And almost all the fish we eat comes from that fishing where they usually own their own small boats and who do everything with their hands and have no technology,” he said.
Basurto, together with the team of researchers, recorded the contribution of artisanal fishing of essential micronutrients for the health of vulnerable communities.
This fishing is characterized by the fact that the fishermen go out to sea and when they return to the coast, if they belong to a cooperative, they sell their product to a buyer on the beach, that is, there are no more than two intermediaries to get it to their homes.
Despite the importance of this type of catch, the researcher emphasized that artisanal fishermen live in areas without formal rights to participate in the management of fishing resources.
This fishing contributes to the food security of 2.3 billion people on the coast. Source: Xavier Basurto.
“Where they live maybe there's a clinic, but the doctor never goes; maybe there's a school, but the teacher never goes... These are marginalized areas, so the only economic option for those communities is to fish,” said the researcher.
This leaves them in a situation of vulnerability to industrial fishing, which dominates the design of international and national policies, since the lack of regulations and institutional support allows large fishing fleets to exploit marine resources without ensuring equity in their access and use.
The fact that public policies give priority to industrial fishing leaves artisanal fishermen who are aware of their environment in a certain helplessness.
“You don't have to romanticize. If the angler doesn't use his net well, he can catch everything. So it can have quite a negative effect. However, it's important to say that anglers are very knowledgeable and can avoid those effects. Often they don't avoid them because they have no incentive, but they naturally think 'if I overfish, I run out of job'. As for industrial fishing, this can cause a lot of pollution or, for example, shrimp trawling damages the entire seabed,” he said.
One of the purposes of the study is to generate evidence so that governments understand that they should no longer ignore small-scale fishermen because, in addition to economic impacts, there are also significant environmental impacts.
Source: Preparation of CNM.
Women in artisanal fishing: minimized work
Although not all women go out to sea, 40% of the 60 million artisanal fishermen are women.
With just a Google search for the word 'fishing', the result shows photographs of men in boats, but this study even includes those who prepare lunch for fishermen.
Many clean, prepare and market fish. These activities, although essential, are excluded from the traditional definition of fishing, which contributes to the minimization of women's work in the sector.
“Many women do go out fishing, but many others participate in processes that take place once the fish is brought to shore, either filleting, sorting, cleaning, taking it to the market. In the minds of some people that's not fishing, they think that fishing is just what happens in the water,” the researcher described.
In coastal communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa, women play a key role in the fishing economy, ensuring that seafood reaches markets and consumers.
However, the absence of recognition of their work translates into a lack of access to social benefits, training or financial credit to improve their working conditions.
Women play an important role in this type of fishing. Source: Xavier Basurto.
Mexico: an exception with advances and challenges
In the global context, Mexico stands out for having a legal framework that allows greater participation of fishermen in decision-making for fisheries management.
Despite these advances, there is still a lack of effective mechanisms for small-scale fishers to fully exercise their rights.
“Surprisingly, in Mexico the situation is much better because fishermen are involved in managing their resources. As Mexicans, we always think that things are wrong, but when we did this study and saw the situation worldwide, we realized that Mexico is not in the background in terms of giving rights and involvement to fishermen because they are (participating) in decision-making,” he said.
Every year, 37 million tons are obtained in the world through this fishing. Source: Xavier Basurto.
The biggest challenges faced by fishermen in the country are bureaucratic barriers and the lack of effective representation in government decisions, Basurto said. Meanwhile, other challenges persist, such as regulating bans, overseeing compliance with environmental regulations and preventing illegal fishing.
Fishing communities in Mexico require greater training and institutional support to ensure that their practices are sustainable and that their products compete in increasingly demanding markets.
In this way, the lack of government support, the marginalization of fishing communities and competition with industrial fishing jeopardize the sustainability of artisanal fishing.
Most artisanal fishermen live in marginalized areas. Source: Xavier Basurto.
Comprehensive approach
The inclusion of fishermen in decision-making, the recognition of women's work in the sector and the establishment of exclusion zones for industrial fishing are some of the key strategies to ensure a more equitable and sustainable future for millions of people who depend on this activity, she said.
Only through a comprehensive approach to ecological, economic and social aspects can the continuity of this fundamental activity for fishing communities in the world be guaranteed.
“It is essential to invest in sustainable fishing technologies, to strengthen fishing cooperatives and to promote the responsible consumption of products from artisanal fishing,” said researcher Basurto.
* This article was written by Itzel Chan, who covers coastal communities thanks to the support of the Report for the World program .
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