COMMENTS ON ZERO DRAFT ON THE ROLE OF SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION (RSFA-FSN)
RSFA-FSN can be contextualized in the poverty and vulnerability situation of fishing communities in the coastal and marine fisheries, including inland fisheries. Issues of governance in the access to and control of the distribution and valuation of fish products must also be articulated as those are the case why fishing communities remain marginalized in many developing countries.
Related issues confronting fishworkers and aquaculture farm workers such as lack of social protection, unfair labor conditions, and contractualization must also be added in the context.
In Indonesia 32% of the 16.42 million Indonesians living in coastal areas fall below the poverty line. In the Philippines, 41% of 27 percent poor of the national population comes from fishing households. It would not be hard to believe that similar statistics exist in fishing communities of less developed countries in Southeast Asia.
In this view, the pursuit for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture contribution to FSN will be directly focused to the higher pursuit of poverty alleviation and empowerment of poor and marginalized fishing communities. In this way, we would answer the question : Food security for whom?
Page 19-25
Fish products generated from capture fishing and aquaculture are primarily intended for food consumption or for cash. Lower value fish by-catch and losses from postharvest activities are the ones used for feeds for aquaculture or other animal feeds. This only means that there is a secondary process involved in the production of feeds. In the diagram on page 19, it appears (because of parallel positioning) that feed production is also a primary purpose of capture fishing and aquaculture and not as a result of by-catch from non-selective fishing and post-harvest losses.
But, if the diagram is correct, maybe the paper can cite the countries where capture fishing and aquaculture primarily produce for the fishmeal or feed market.
Pages 39-40
…In the light of these analyses one could hypothesize that the lack of apparent 2 relationship between the huge revenues that are generated by international trade and 3 the food security of the local population reflects the structural failure of the fish export 4 sector and national institutions to ensure an effective (re)distribution of the fish trade 5 revenues and a non-harmful mode of operating…- V.0 RSFA-FSN
Just to cite a similar case, the tuna industry in General Santos City, the Philippines has a huge revenue in terms of export earnings. Revenues from the industry comprise 60% of the economic production of the city. Revenues are reinvested to other economic activities that create jobs and employment. Despite these achievement, huge revenues has not addressed the following issues that make dependent sectors food insecure:
- unfair sharing systems in small scale hand-line fishing boats
- Lacking social protection for fishworkers in all economic scales of tuna fishing most especially the women workers
- Labor code not applicable in the Philippines since the fishworkers are not covered in the law
- Contractualisation of jobs in tuna canning factories, which unfairly treat women fish processors
- Poverty incidence in the coastal areas in General Santos City and adjacent Sarangani Province remained high
Catch composition of tuna, as a highly traded fish product, are already mostly juveniles (more than 60%) and showing decreasing trend of catch volumes.
Recommendations:
- Social protection for both artisanal and fish workers including women workers have to be proposed -- minimum wage, social security;
- Full valuation of the effort to produce tuna
- Fast track ratification of ILO and IMO convention
- Stop unfair treatment of fish workers most especially the women workers
- Conservation/Management concerns due to overfishing of tuna; proposed comprehensive alternative livelihood to the small tuna players if fishing effort/capacity is to be reduced
- Compliance with sea worthiness, safety at sea and working condition
- Regulated fish trade for fisheries with evident overfishing and depletion of fish stocks.
Pages 52 -55
On small scale aquaculture-
- Aquaculture in Southeast Asia started with the more endemic species like gurami and carp in small areas which is intended for the food consumption of households and communities. Then aquaculture was modernized, got larger, and expanded with the orientation of serving the demands of the international markets, with developing countries supplying the more developed countries. Modernized aquaculture system has largely benefited from this markets, while small scale aquaculture was delinked from this development.
- Aquaculture small holders, depending on the particular aquaculture commodities, have proven to be beneficial and has not realized its full potential to contribute to FSN and poverty alleviation in fishing communities. In the Philippines and Indonesia, small scale seaweed culture has very important contribution in terms of increasing income of hundreds of thousands of fishing households. In the Philippines alone there is about 250,000 households from benefiting from seaweeds culture. In Vietnam and Indonesia small scale shrimp aquaculture(less than 5 hectares) constitute a large share of income sources of farming households (MCD 2012; KIARA 2012). The small scale sector provides the bulk of the raw fish materials processed in seafood factories in Vietnam. However, the sector is faced with high risk, low profit and environmental pollution.
As a solution, governmentsshouldsupportcapacity ofaquaculture small holders ofspecificcommoditiestobeabletocomplywithstandards of goodaquaculture practicestoderivemore benefits.Existing internationalstandardscanbeuseda models and references, but regulationmustbe developedat the local levelto givedue consideration oflocal situation.
Page 77-81
On the recommendations related to Global Policy:
- This paper on the RSFA-FSN should make a recommendation in relation to WTO’s treatment on trade policy relating to fish products. Because WTO has continuously regarded and categorized fish products along automobiles, mobile phones, cars, and other industrial products, under the Non-Agriculture Market Agreement (NAMA), without recognizing fisheries biological limits. Furthermore, the issue of fishery subsidy is being discussed in WTO separately
- With this kind of treatment on fish products and fisheries, WTO has, wittingly or unwittingly, caused overcapacity and overfishing of many fisheries around the globe.
- To serve FSN , there must be regulated fish trade regime specially to fishing areas and fish species where there is already evidence of depletion and overfishing.
- End WTO, it only resulted in further marginalization and exclusion of artisanal fishers in economic development.
Recommendation in relation to Women in fisheries:
- This paper should recognize the role and rights of women as shell gleaners in mangrove areas, seagrass beds, tidal flats, and wetlands. Shell harvesting by women and children serve also as important source of marine food for nutrition and sometimes supplemental cash for fishing households. Management efforts must be supported to ensure that the resources used by women are equally given attention with women playing key role and participation.
- Further study may be required to determine the extent and reach of its practice in fishing countries and regions.
Additional Comments
- The paper can add a section on the relevance of certification. It can articulate if certification of fish products, either caught in the wild or produced from aquaculture, has improved working conditions of fishworkers and aquaculture farm workers as a means to FSN. Perhaps, also include a section if the benefits from fish product certification has trickle down to aquaculture small holders.
- Product Certification and Government Regulation must be installed and encourage local communities initiatives on regulation
Rizalito Lopez