SIANI’s new expert group, Small-scale fisheries in Latin America, seeks to amplify the voices of fishing communities so that their contributions and rights are better recognized and respected. Despite providing affordable food and essential nutrients to millions of people, insights from small-scale fisheries are seldom incorporated into societal debates.
Small-scale fisheries tend to be overlooked in global discourses on food systems transformation. This is one of the issues that the organisation Too Big To Ignore (TBTI) aims to address. TBTI will lead SIANI’s new expert group, and we spoke with the coordinators, Ratana Chuenpagdee (Science Director, TBTI Global Foundation) and Milena Arias Schreiber (Associate Researcher at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden).
What is your project about?
The objective of the project is to establish national networks, or hubs, of researchers and stakeholders in support of small-scale fisheries in five Latin American countries. The work of these networks, designated as TBTI country hubs, will focus on emphasising the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security, wellbeing, and ecosystem health, and enhancing their presence in national policies and development agendas.
Who are the members of the expert group?
The expert group is composed of researchers and other stakeholders with a long history and commitment to studying and promoting the many positive attributes of small-scale fisheries and the coastal communities they support. These members represent three universities in Mexico and Brazil, two universities in Colombia and Canada, researchers from the Charles Darwin Foundation in Ecuador, and one NGO in Peru. The group has a total of 17 core members.
What type of change can be achieved through your project?
The objective of the expert group is to contribute to the transformation of five Latin American seafood systems into more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable ones. This will be achieved by recognising the rights and crucial contributions of small-scale fisheries and their communities to food and nutrition security, wellbeing, and ocean health.
To this end, the expert group will mobilise knowledge and foster new partnerships towards the viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries communities. The group will provide practical examples of how well-managed small-scale fisheries can be agents of transformative change towards sustainable seafood systems and make this information available to decision-makers in the Latin American context. It is anticipated that fishers and people along the seafood value chain, as well as government officials, will understand why small-scale fisheries represent a solution — and not a problem, as they are often depicted — to millions of people in Latin America and worldwide.
Which activities do you plan?
Over the project period, the expert group will:
- Formally establish five TBTI hubs
The project members will issue an open call to target potential hub participants, organise and conduct five online project inception meetings, and facilitate communication within and between the five national hubs. - Produce five open-access e-books
The identification and selection of topics and scopes for the elaboration of one e-book per country will be the responsibility of national hub coordinators, contingent upon the particulars of each country’s context. Hub participants will be invited to prepare and submit chapters for the respective e-books. The project members will provide support to the e-book chapter contributors. Upon completion of the project, a total of five e-books will be made available online. - Conduct workshops
Members of this expert group will organise and conduct multi-stakeholder training workshops. The workshops are intended for a variety of community-based practitioners, advocates, researchers, fishers, and their organisations, as well as government officials. The objective of the workshops is twofold: first, to mobilise knowledge on the relevance of small-scale fisheries for food security and wellbeing, and second, to strengthen the establishment and sustainability of the hubs. - Disseminate and communicate project activities and e-books
Based on a communication strategy, including the identification of target actors and outreach objectives, the expert group will announce and disseminate the e-books, including at the 5th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress, where the work of the hubs and the e-books will be presented and discussed with the international small-scale fisheries community.
Why is this important?
The Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 “Life Below Water”, and its target 14.9 (previously 14.b), emphasise support for small-scale fishers, providing them with access to marine resources and markets. This target recognises the crucial role of small-scale fisheries for progressing towards the preservation of a healthy ocean and the wellbeing of millions of people worldwide.
In Latin America, the importance of small-scale fisheries has been widely recognised in terms of providing income, livelihoods, and food security. Yet, it is notorious that many small-scale fisheries communities live in a situation of poverty and high vulnerability due to their economic situation, limited access to public services, and clear absence in decision-making processes.
Uncertainty due to climate change is further threatening the vulnerability of small-scale fisheries communities. Our expert group aims to contribute to rectifying these imbalances by highlighting the strengths, capacity, and potential of small-scale fisheries at national and regional levels to contribute to sustainable seafood systems. The group will advance research and governance capacity to address local, national, and regional small-scale fisheries challenges.
How can I learn more about the project?
The project has its own page on the SIANI website, and updates will be shared through SIANI’s communication channels. For more information and updates on the work done to support small-scale fisheries worldwide, please explore TBTI Global’s webpage.
You are also very welcome to email Milena Arias Schreiber or Ratana Chuenpagdee if you want to learn more or have any questions regarding this project.