trade, fish and people's
livelihoods
david waskow, friends of the earth
united states
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The
fishing industry provides livelihoods
and essential nutrition for millions of
people across the globe. Fish account
for over 15% of animal protein intake
globally, and is an important factor in
national food security for many
developing countries. Furthermore,
developing countries provide 70% of all
of the fish consumed by people
worldwide, although most of it is
channeled to wealthy nations. Ninety
percent of fisherfolk worldwide –
nearly 40 million people – are employed
in small-scale artisanal fishing and
are responsible for 45% of global fish
production. However, these small-scale
fisher men and women are overwhelmingly
poor.
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Meanwhile, fishing stocks are being
depleted globally due to increased fishing
by fleets from industrialized countries,
some of which have commercial agreements
with developing countries to fish in their
waters. Although fish capture from the wild
has stagnated in the past ten years, even
decreasing in the last recorded years
(2001-2002), the world's supply of fish is
nearly exhausted, with over 70% of wild
fish stocks fully exploited, overexploited,
or depleted, Any additional overfishing -
which could be triggered through trade
liberalization agreements - will cause
species to become commercially extinct and
seriously hinder the process of their
regeneration.
trade liberalization hurts fish and
people
Proposals put forth in the WTO's NAMA
negotiations (see page 7) to eliminate
tariffs on fish and fish products will have
serious negative impacts on both fish and
fisherpeople. Almost 70% of tradable fish
is still obtained from wild harvest, which
already places extreme pressure on the
oceans' resources. The proposed tariff
reductions in the NAMA negotiations will
increase incentives to fish
internationally, especially with large
commercial trawlers, in turn fuelling
further exploitation. If coastal nations
with strong domestic markets such as Ghana
and Cameroon are forced to lower tariffs
under liberalization, the likelihood exists
that imports could be forced upon them,
undermining local fishing industries and
food security.
Artisanal fisheries are more rational
and equitable than industrial fishing
fleets in their exploitation of fish
resources. The cumulative loss of local
ecological knowledge will seriously
undermine the appropriate management of
fish resources. Small-scale fishers will
lose their livelihoods as the decline of
fisheries accelerates and as large
commercial trawlers suck up all the
high-quality fish for export. Only
low-quality fish will be left for artisanal
fishers to feed their communities.
This will have serious financial
reverberations in many developing
countries, where fishing is an important
revenue generator for fishers and their
family members, who are often indirectly
involved in the process. Ultimately, local
fisherfolk and poor fishing communities
will be the first to suffer from dying
seas.
