Kia Ora,
I wish to participate in your consultation regarding the Scope of the Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Security and Nutrition.
Specifically with regard to:
Number 4. To what extent can contributions be made to policy development and have considerable impact on securing small-scale fisheries/artisanal fisheries in their fundamental rights and creating benefits, especially in terms of food security and poverty reduction.
This is a big call with opportunities for policies on national, regional and local governments to support and uphold rights of artisanal fishers.
Please consider including small scale aquaculturists.
To what extent has the COFI been successful in their efforts to improve the profile of and understand the challenges for fishing communities?
Can some of these successes be applied to small scale aquaculture ventures?
Number 6. Continuous improvements in institutional capacities is critical for success of management and governance of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
If you are successful with your Ecosystem Based Management described in Number 2, then the water quality issues that are so critical to both aquaculture and fisheries can be scientifically determined with metrics or quantifiable standards for measurement and tolerance.
Number 7. If aquaculture can be promoted for a diverse range of species, then disease outbreak in a single species may not have a catastrophic effect on a region. Resilience from economic disaster (as a result of monoculture disease outbreak) can be avoided with species diversity. In addition, it is not just economies of scale that promote profits; rather economic incentives should exist for local feed development and sourcing, diversity in product promotion (multiple species marketed) so that both fisheries and aquaculture can benefit from the transport, shipping, storage, harvesting, ice, vessels, feed, fuel and other inputs that will support entire communities. In addition to cooperatives, there may be some value in cooperating financially on a water body based scale (bays, inlets, estuaries, sounds) regarding the expensive science of water quality.
Number 10. Policies and relevant technology options for waste minimisation, better resource accountability and management.
As stated in Number 7, some realistic and relevant source of industry body that can collect levies, cooperate on water quality management issues and work with government and scientists to promote economic use and to ensure degradation of the environment is avoided. This requires a small contribution from all parties (fisheries and aquaculture) but it will collectively get the attention of science and government in driving appropriate regional policies.
One of the ideas that you may or may not have captured is the power of social license.
As both mariculture and marine fisheries are dependent on the coastal environment, the conflicts with social uses become confounded in expectations, fears and bias and lead to unnecessary strife.
Much of the scientific evidence is difficult to forecast, but ground based science and appropriate monitoring, action and contingency plans can go a long way to alleviate fear and to promote suitable industry codes of practice.
I hope this is helpful to your High Level Panel of Experts,
Charmaine
Dr Charmaine Marie Gallagher
NMIT Aquaculture and Fishery Management Programme
Puna Whakatupu Kaimoana
322 Hardy Street, Private Bag 19
Nelson, 7042, New Zealand
Charmaine Marie Gallagher