Blue justice

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Blue Justice is a critical approach examining how coastal communities and small-scale fisheries are affected by blue economy and "blue growth" initiatives undertaken by institutions and governments globally to promote sustainable ocean development. The blue economy is also rooted in the green economy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. [1] Blue Justice acknowledges the historical rights of small-scale fishing communities to marine and inland resources and coastal space; in some cases, communities have used these resources for thousands of years. Thus, as a concept, it seeks to investigate pressures on small-scale fisheries from other ocean uses promoted in blue economy and blue growth agendas, including industrial fisheries, coastal and marine tourism, aquaculture, and energy production, and how they may compromise the rights and the well-being of small-scale fisheries and their communities.

Contents

Definition

There is no one definition of Blue Justice. Below are definitions of Blue Justice offered by recent academic literature. [2]

Moeniba Isaacs, PLAAS 2019: Blue Justice has at its core a social justice principle that recognizes the need for small-scale fisheries to have equity, access, participation, and rights within the blue economy. Therefore, the Blue Justice approach for small-scale fisheries, is to "critically examine the political, economic, and ecological processes of blue economy development initiatives."

Svein Jentoft, Life Above Water: [3] Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries in the blue economy agenda means inclusion for small-scale fishers and community members as stakeholders with an eye towards power imbalances and equity. The basic tenets of social justice address who has a stake in the issue, and they focus on what needs to be done to restore justice for past wrongs in the marginalization of small-scale fisheries.

Philippa Cohen et al., Securing a Just Space for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Blue Economy: [4] Securing a "just" space for small-scale fisheries in the blue economy means including human rights and the voices of the largest ocean users in the discussion. It also means that paying closer attention to the social dimensions of fisheries may allow for better governance in this arena.

Origins

To address these longstanding issues, international instruments that explicitly reference human-rights principles have been adopted. The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are instruments that have social justice backings with language that calls for "responsible governance of tenure because land, fisheries and forests are central for the realization of human rights..." (FAO 2012; Governance of Tenure, p. 6), and that "States should ensure that effective fisheries management systems are in place to prevent overexploitation driven by market demand that can threaten the sustainability of fisheries resources, food security, and nutrition." (FAO 2015; SSF Guidelines, p. 11). These instruments are necessary to secure the historical use rights and customary use rights of small-scale fisheries.

Blue Justice has social justice and human rights principles at its foundation, and it has connections to environmental justice and climate justice due to the focus of those movements on the unequal distribution of harm exerted on marginalized communities. Rawls (1999) outlined his ‘justice as fairness’ with two principles: that each person has the equal right to basic liberties, and that social and economic inequalities should be reasonable and attached to positions that are open to all. [5]

Although the environmental justice movement has had difficulty in documenting disproportionate effects on marginalized people, [6] the injustices faced by small-scale fishers and the communities they support have been extensively documented in the past few decades,. [7] [8] In the blue economy context, they have faced particular pressures such as the implementation of rights-based fisheries, forms of ocean enclosure such as marine protected areas (MPAs) [9] and marine spatial planning (MSP), which lead fisheries to run the risk of being both forced in and out. [10]

Blue Justice in the Blue Economy

Blue Justice is a social movement in response to the blue economy and blue growth agendas, which "frame the ocean as the new economic frontier" [4] and center on the commodification of ocean resources including "entrepreneurship, technological innovation, multi-use offshore platforms, and new harvesting and cultivation strategies". [11]

It has been argued that if the blue economy is to be sustainable in the truest sense of the word (i.e., be continued forever), then fisheries, and in particular small-scale fisheries, should be the focus. Pauly (2018) argues that small-scale fisheries have features that make them sustainable and less likely to be negatively influenced by global crises. [12] If small-scale fisheries are to be a central focus of the blue economy—which they currently are not [13] —then they will require equitable access to marine resources.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishery</span> Raising or harvesting fish

Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place. Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both in freshwater waterbodies and the oceans. About 500 million people worldwide are economically dependent on fisheries. 171 million tonnes of fish were produced in 2016, but overfishing is an increasing problem, causing declines in some populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable fishery</span> Sustainable fishing for the long term fishing

A conventional idea of a sustainable fishery is that it is one that is harvested at a sustainable rate, where the fish population does not decline over time because of fishing practices. Sustainability in fisheries combines theoretical disciplines, such as the population dynamics of fisheries, with practical strategies, such as avoiding overfishing through techniques such as individual fishing quotas, curtailing destructive and illegal fishing practices by lobbying for appropriate law and policy, setting up protected areas, restoring collapsed fisheries, incorporating all externalities involved in harvesting marine ecosystems into fishery economics, educating stakeholders and the wider public, and developing independent certification programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisheries management</span> Regulation of fishing

The goal of fisheries management is to produce sustainable biological, environmental and socioeconomic benefits from renewable aquatic resources. Wild fisheries are classified as renewable when the organisms of interest produce an annual biological surplus that with judicious management can be harvested without reducing future productivity. Fishery management employs activities that protect fishery resources so sustainable exploitation is possible, drawing on fisheries science and possibly including the precautionary principle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine protected area</span> Protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or large lakes

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are protected areas of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations, MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish. The value of MPA to mobile species is unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small Island Developing States</span> Developing countries that are small island countries

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing countries which are small island countries and tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments. Their growth and development are also held back by high communication, energy and transportation costs, irregular international transport volumes, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale. They consist of some of the most vulnerable countries to anthropogenic climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artisanal fishing</span> Traditional labor-intensive fishing

Artisanal fishing consists of various small-scale, low-technology, low-capital, fishing practices undertaken by individual fisherman. Many of these households are of coastal or island ethnic groups. These households make short fishing trips close to the shore. Their produce is usually not processed and is mainly for local consumption. Artisan fishing uses traditional fishing techniques such as rod and tackle, fishing arrows and harpoons, cast nets, and small traditional fishing boats. For that reason, socio-economic status of artisanal fishing community has become an interest of the authorities in recent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unsustainable fishing methods</span> Fishing methods with expected lowering of fish population

Unsustainable fishing methods refers to the use of various fishing methods used to capture or harvest fish at a rate which is unsustainable for fish populations. These methods facilitate destructive fishing practices that damage ecosystems within the ocean, and result in overfishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine ecosystem</span> Ecosystem in saltwater environment

Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.

Individual fishing quotas (IFQs), also known as "individual transferable quotas" (ITQs), are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch (TAC), typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC, called quota shares, is then allocated to individuals. Quotas can typically be bought, sold and leased, a feature called transferability. As of 2008, 148 major fisheries around the world had adopted some variant of this approach, along with approximately 100 smaller fisheries in individual countries. Approximately 10% of the marine harvest was managed by ITQs as of 2008. The first countries to adopt individual fishing quotas were the Netherlands, Iceland and Canada in the late 1970s, and the most recent is the United States Scallop General Category IFQ Program in 2010. The first country to adopt individual transferable quotas as a national policy was New Zealand in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing</span>

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of fishing</span>

The environmental impact of fishing includes issues such as the availability of fish, overfishing, fisheries, and fisheries management; as well as the impact of industrial fishing on other elements of the environment, such as bycatch. These issues are part of marine conservation, and are addressed in fisheries science programs. According to a 2019 FAO report, global production of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals has continued to grow and reached 172.6 million tonnes in 2017, with an increase of 4.1 percent compared with 2016. There is a growing gap between the supply of fish and demand, due in part to world population growth.

Environmental governance is a concept in environmental policy that steers markets, technology and society towards sustainability. It considers social, economic and environmental aspects of its policies.

Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions and affairs regarding the world's oceans. Within governance, it incorporates the influence of non-state actors, i.e. stakeholders, NGOs and so forth, therefore the state is not the only acting power in policy making. However, ocean governance is complex because much of the ocean is a commons that is not ‘owned’ by any single person or nation/state. There is a belief more strongly in the US than other countries that the “invisible hand” is the best method to determine ocean governance factors. These include factors such as what resources we consume, what price we should pay for them, and how we should use them. The underlying reasoning behind this is the market has to have the desire in order to promote environmental protection, however this is rarely the case. This term is referred to as a market failure. Market failures and government failures are the leading causes of ocean governance complications. As a result, humankind has tended to overexploit marine resources, by treating them as shared resources while not taking equal and collective responsibilities in caring for them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisheries law</span> Regulations regarding fishing activities

Fisheries law is an emerging and specialized area of law. Fisheries law is the study and analysis of different fisheries management approaches such as catch shares e.g. Individual Transferable Quotas; TURFs; and others. The study of fisheries law is important in order to craft policy guidelines that maximize sustainability and legal enforcement. This specific legal area is rarely taught at law schools around the world, which leaves a vacuum of advocacy and research. Fisheries law also takes into account international treaties and industry norms in order to analyze fisheries management regulations. In addition, fisheries law includes access to justice for small-scale fisheries and coastal and aboriginal communities and labor issues such as child labor laws, employment law, and family law.

The Waitt Institute is a non-profit that partners with committed governments and local communities to create and implement sustainable ocean plans to benefit people, the economy, and the environment.

The Benguela Current Commission, or BCC, is a multi-sectoral inter-governmental, initiative of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It promotes the sustainable management and protection of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, or BCLME. The BCC was established in January 2007 through the signing of an Interim Agreement between the governments of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Then, on 18 March 2013, the three governments signed the Benguela Current Convention, an environmental treaty that entrenches the Benguela Current Commission as a permanent inter-governmental organization.

Fisheries co-management is flexible and cooperative management of the aquatic resources by the user groups and the government. The responsibility of the resource is shared between the user groups and the government, both the community and the government are involved during the decision making, implementation and enforcement processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue economy</span> Economy based on exploitation and preservation of the marine environment

Blue economy is a term in economics relating to the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of the marine environment. Its scope of interpretation varies among organizations. However, the term is generally used in the scope of international development when describing a sustainable development approach to coastal resources. This can include a wide range of economic sectors, from the more conventional fisheries, aquaculture, maritime transport, coastal, marine and maritime tourism, or other traditional uses, to more emergent activities such as coastal renewable energy, marine ecosystem services, seabed mining, and bioprospecting.

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF), or the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), is a multilateral collaborative partnership among six countries. Partners work together to sustain living marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food security, climate change, and marine biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 14</span> 14th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to conserve life below water

Sustainable Development Goal 14 is about "Life below water" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording is to "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development". The Goal has ten targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards each target is being measured with one indicator each.

References

  1. ↑ Isaacs, M. (23 July 2019). Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries. Retrieved 26 July 2019, from Plaas website: https://www.plaas.org.za/blue-justice-for-small-scale-fisheries/
  2. ↑ Bennett, Nathan; Blythe, Jessica; White, Carole; Campero, Cecilia (1 June 2020). Blue Growth and Blue Justice.
  3. ↑ Jentoft, S. (2019). Life Above Water: Essays on Human Experiences of Small-Scale Fisheries. St. John’s, N.L.: TBTI Global.
  4. 1 2 Cohen, P. J., Allison, E. H., Andrew, N. L., Cinner, J., Evans, L. S., Fabinyi, M., … Ratner, B. D. (2019). Securing a Just Space for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Blue Economy. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00171
  5. ↑ Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice (Revised). Harvard University Press.
  6. ↑ Mohai, P., Pellow, D., & Roberts, J. T. (2009). Environmental Justice. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 34(1), 405–430. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-082508-094348
  7. ↑ Chuenpagdee, R., & Jentoft, S. (Eds.). (2019). Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice. Retrieved from https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319949376
  8. ↑ Bavinck, M., Jentoft, S., & Scholtens, J. (2018). Fisheries as social struggle: A reinvigorated social science research agenda. Marine Policy, (94), 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2018.04.026
  9. ↑ Said, A., Chuenpagdee, R., Aguilar-Perera, A., Arce-Ibarra, M., Gurung, T. B., Bishop, B., … Jentoft, S. (2019). The Principles of Transdisciplinary Research in Small-Scale Fisheries. In R. Chuenpagdee & S. Jentoft (Eds.), Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance (Vol. 21, pp. 411–431). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94938-3_22
  10. ↑ Jentoft, S. (2019). Life Above Water: Essays on Human Experiences of Small-Scale Fisheries. St. John’s, N.L.: TBTI Global.
  11. ↑ Arbo, P., Knol, M., Linke, S., & Martin, K. S. (2018). The transformation of the oceans and the future of marine social science. Maritime Studies; Heidelberg, 17(3), 295–304. http://dx.doi.org.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/10.1007/s40152-018-0117-5
  12. ↑ Pauly, D. (2018). A vision for marine fisheries in a global blue economy. Marine Policy, 87, 371–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.010
  13. ↑ Bennett, N. J. (2019). In Political Seas: Engaging with Political Ecology in the Ocean and Coastal Environment. Coastal Management, 47(1), 67–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2019.1540905
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