The Small Scale Fisheries And Aquaculture Sector In Asia

This photostory book celebrates the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA 2022) by showing the diversity of the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sector in Asia, as home to the majority of the world's small-scale fishers, fish farmers, and fish workers. The photostory book pays homage to the many women and men at all stages of the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture value chain who are involved in capturing, harvesting, processing and trading. The photostory book introduces the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 and shows how the celebration of IYAFA 2022 contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and provides an impetus towards the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication and the United Nations Decade on Family Farming.

Fisheries and aquaculture contribute to food security and livelihoods of millions of people in Asia. Both women and men are engaged in fisheries and aquaculture. In the past ten years, many actors have worked on raising awareness on women’s contribution as well as promoting gender equality in fisheries and aquaculture. This study aims to consolidate the efforts to date to provide recommendations for action and future studies. Its objective is to answer the following questions for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Asia: (i) What is the division of labour between women and men in specific fisheries and aquaculture practices and what are the differences with respect to their access to assets, resources and entitlements? (ii) What are the drivers of such differences? (iii) What could be critical entry points and opportunities for addressing inequalities and discriminatory practices? To answer these questions, the study conducted an online literature search on gender and fisheries and aquaculture in Asia, selecting articles published between 2011 and 2021. This period was selected to understand the contemporary condition and state of knowledge, and since we aimed for an exhaustive list of literature, some limits in the time period was necessary. The review included both published peerreviewed papers in journals as well as other research and project reports that are available online. In total, it reviewed 253 publications on fisheries and 210 publications on aquaculture. The top four countries where studies were conducted are India (44.3 percent of fisheries and 24.3 percent of aquaculture articles), the Philippines (35.6 percent of fisheries and 17.6 percent of aquaculture articles), Bangladesh (27.7 percent of fisheries and 32.9 percent of aquaculture articles) and Indonesia (30.8 percent of fisheries and 20.5 percent of aquaculture articles). The findings based on each research question are presented in this publication.

"Beyond previous more simplistic approaches, this book takes a giant step towards understanding and translating into people-centered policies the actual position and complexity of fish production in Southeast Asian economies. Tackling how fi sheries and aquaculture are embedded in local and household economies and linked through dynamic supply chains to more distant, even global markets, the book makes essential policy and analytical recommendations. SEARCA and ISEAS have made a major contribution to the intellectual debate and action agenda for Southeast Asian fisheries." Dr Meryl Williams, Chair of the Commission of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

Because of the new ocean regime of extended fisheries jurisdictions, governments of developing countries in Asia, and elsewhere, face a unique opportunity for upgrading their depressed coastal fisheries to take advantage of their enlarged resource base. This volume is a partial response to the resulting need for a better understanding of the constraints and opportunities facing small-scale fisheries. It contains 23 papers on small-scale capture and culture fisheries from five Asian countries -- Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand -- based on original field research sponsored by the International Development Research Centre. Among the subjects covered are socio-economic conditions, productivity and economic efficiency, cost structure and profitability, marketing, social and institutional constraints, and government programs.

This report showcases examples of actions taken by small-scale fishers and aquaculture farmers in Asia to restore the productivity of aquatic ecosystems. Small-scale fishers and fish farmers include some of the world’s most marginalized and impoverished people groups, yet their harvests account for over half of the world’s aquatic food production. The marine, coastal and freshwater ecosystems their livelihoods depend upon are degraded from human impacts and further at risk from climate change. Ecosystem restoration actions by fisherfolk communities can revitalize the socio-ecological services and sustain progress over time. Both passive and active restoration approaches are being employed across Asia’s marine, coastal and inland waterways. Fishers, fish farmers, and fishworkers’ restorative actions are focused on increasing the sustainability of their operations. Common approaches include eliminating destructive fishing, reducing overfishing through gear changes and effort control, restoring connectivity of floodplains and fish migration pathways, integrated aquaculture and rice-farming practices, re-stocking of native fisheries, and actively rehabilitating and / or re-establishing habitats. Progress is measurable through a diverse array of environmental, socio-economic and governance related metrics. Changes in fisheries catches, ecological connectivity, water quality, habitat diversity and structure, and fish consumption provide important measures of biodiversity gains (or losses). Common enablers of success include economic incentives, co-management and legal recognition of fishing rights, highly engaged fisherfolk cooperatives or community groups, women’s leadership and development, and community partnerships with stakeholders that focus on enabling fisherfolk’s own goals for sustainable livelihoods. Ecosystem restoration activities have not lasted when these enablers are insufficiently attended to and when environmental aspects of project feasibility, such as the choice of rehabilitation locations and / or species, are poorly planned. Successes in ecosystem restoration by fisherfolk can and are being scaled out to neighbouring communities and countries. Key to this is the sharing of stories, lessons learned and tools through south-south partnerships, learning exchanges, and women’s groups. Simple, low-cost tools and actions have enabled long-term engagement by small-scale fishers in sustainable operations. More complex actions, such as the uptake of integrated aquaculture systems, are also enabling stepwise changes in ecosystem restoration. By sharing stories from different ecosystems, fisheries, and geographies, this report seeks to help fisherfolk and their partners glean from one another and achieve faster progress in ecosystem restoration.

This issue of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to- ate data and information to a wide range of readers – policy-makers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and indeed all those interested in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. As always, the scope is global and the topics many and varied. This edition uses the latest official statistics on fisheries and aquaculture to present a global analysis of trends in fish stocks, production, processing, utilization, trade and consumption. It also reports on the status of the world’s fishing fleets and analyses the make-up of human engagement in the sector. Twenty years on from the introduction of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Conduct, and now with the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement, and the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines, the focus on governance and policy has never been greater. This edition covers recent developments as they relate to fisheries and aquaculture, and reports, inter alia, on the Common Oceans ABNJ Program, FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative and efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It also discusses issues such as valuing inland fisheries, cutting bycatch and promoting decent work. Other topics highlighted include: nutrition; aquatic invasive alien species; responsible inland fisheries; resilience in fisheries and aquaculture; and governance of tenure and user rights.