Dear Team
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this excellent report.
Some minor comments and suggestions included below for your consideration.
Regards
Dr Natasha Stacey
RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND LIVELIHOODS
CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY
Darwin, Northern Territory 0909 AUSTRALIA
Section 4.2 under Gender and Work in the Fish Sector
- P 63. While women cannot register as fishers, the work of women in small -scale fisheries is often not counted in national government census collections under fisheries related employment. For example in Indonesia, the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics collects and produces fisheries related data for each province on the number of fishers employed in the fishery sector either on a full time, part time ‘major’ or part time ‘minor’ basis but this generally refers to male fishers only (see Fitriana and Stacey 2012:160).
- There is also a paucity of literature of studies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and participation fisheries from Northern A National Indigenous fishing survey conducted in 2000 (Henry and Lyle 2003) did not present any gender disaggregated data. Australia. (Also Noting that Australia and Indigenous women was not mentioned at all in Harper et al 2013 paper on women’s participation in fisheries globally).
Indigenous, and Semi-Nomadic fishers and FSN
- The specific food security needs and nutritional contribution of Indigenous maritime mobile or semi-nomadic peoples of Southeast Asia perhaps warrants a specific mention or paragraph. Here I am referring to the three major ethno-linguistic groups of the Moken, Orang-Laut and the Sama-Bajau (and approximately the 9 sub groupings) found in Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Burmese waters (Stacey 2007). These groups have a specific dependence on fish for food, nutrition and income however virtually no research has been conducted into the links between their extremely high dependence on marine resources, nutrition, and their health.
- Within this region, changes in the marine environment due to a range of drivers and threats along with other socio-economic changes can impact on the traditional food systems, nutrition and health of Indigenous people. This is particularly an issue for these semi-nomadic populations, who rely heavily on marine foods for health and nutrition but also for income.
- Internationally the Policy around Maritime Indigenous Peoples and Food Security appears weak but the work of Harriet Kuhnlein (eg Kuhnlein et al 2009) from McGill University may deal with some of these issues in various publications in more detail.
The issue of marginalised (e.g semi-nomadic) groups, culture and MPAs and impacts on food security was raised in Foale et al 2013. This paper also raised other issues around CTI Policy and Plans and marine biodiversity, conservation and food security.
- These issues could be raised at page 36 in the Report ( marginalised peoples and poor health) - fish dependent communities may consume high amounts of fish but have poor health due to some of the factors outlined at page 36-37 of the report as well as specific issues around tenure and access to pursue mobile livelihoods (see Stacey and Allison submitted, but also others have discussed this - Krueger 2009, Springer 2009)and related issues from West African migratory fisheries (Cripps, Jorion and others)
- In northern Australia, Aboriginal people in remote coastal communities rely on traditional foods and marine resources to supplement their diets which are often based on refined foods purchased from local community stores. Customary harvesting activities are thought to critically contribute to local food security and provide important sources of protein and micronutrients. The links between indigenous health and wellbeing and access to ‘country' are increasingly recognised. Despite this, there have been few detailed studies into the harvest practices and consumption of traditional foods of Aboriginal peoples and the contribution to food security. Further, the contribution and consumption of traditional foods is not generally included in health and nutritional programs or studies of consumption patterns in remote Aboriginal communities (Petheram et al 2013:8).
- (There is also wide and varied body of research literature on the subsistence activities, practices and economies among contemporary indigenous hunter-gatherer societies across the world but in particular from North America, Asia and the Pacific. This includes research on the contribution of subsistence harvests to health and nutrition (eg.Kuhnlein 1991, 2009, Berkes and Farkas 1979, Usher 1976) – but I have not included these references here).
Some References cited
Fitriana, R and Stacey, N. 2012. The role of women in the fishery sector of Pantar Island, Indonesia. Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries: Moving the Agenda Forward Asian Fisheries Science Special Issue Vol 25S (2012):159-175.
Foale, S., D. Adhuri, P. Aliño, E. Allison, N. Andrew, P. Cohen, L. Evans, Mi. Fabinyi, P Fidelman, C. Gregory, N. Stacey, J. Tanzer, N. Weeratunge. 2013. Food security and the Coral Triangle Initiative. Marine Policy 38: 174-183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2012.05.033
Kuhnlein, HV, Erasmus, B & Spigelski, D 2009 Indigenous people’s food systems: themany dimensions of culture, diversity and environment for nutrition and health. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Accessed January 2013 http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0370e/i0370e00.htm
Krueger, L 2009, ‘Protected Areas and Human Displacement: Improving the Interface between Policy and Practice’, Conservation Society [serial online], vol. 7, no. 21-5, viewed 2 May 2009, <http://www.conservationandsociety.org/text.asp?2009/7/1/21/54793>.
Henry, GW & Lyle, JM 2003, National recreational and Indigenous fishing survey,
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra
Petheram, L, Fleming, A, Stacey, N and Perry, A 2013 Indigenous women’s preferences for climate change adaptation and aquaculture development to build capacity in the Northern Territory, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 76. http://www.nccarf.edu.au/sites/default/files/attached_files_publications/Fleming-2013-Indigenous-women-aquaculture-WEB_0.pdf
Springer, J. 2009, ‘Addressing the social impacts of conservation: Lessons from experience and future directions’, Opinion, Conservation and Society, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 26-29.
Stacey, N. 2007. Boats to Burn: Bajo fishing activity in the Australian Fishing Zone. Asia-Pacific Environment Monograph Series, ANU E Press, Canberra. http://epress.anu.edu.au/boats_citation.html
Stacey, N and EH Allison (Submitted Oct 2013) Bajo Mobility, Livelihoods and Marine Conservation in Indonesia. In King, T and G Robinson (eds) At Home on the Waves, Berghan Press
Natasha Stacey