• Achieving sustained progress requires engaging the men and women of fishing communities in a dialogue about the future they envision, the steps needed to get
there, and the lessons that are learned along the way. It requires engaging a much broader array of actors across government, civil society, and the private sector to
build understanding of the reforms needed and the commitment to undertake them.
• Policies and actions must address the root causes of vulnerability, insecurity and instability. This requires understanding the means by which households adapt to
reduce their risks, the incentives that drive the decisions of resource users, and the sources of their vulnerability to stresses and shocks.
• Community institutions must be strengthened and approaches must be cross-cutting and integrative.
• A multi-sectoral approach is required—one that links social development, economic development, empowerment and co-management.
The strategy proposed above and the following recommendations are well suited to the overall goal of the U.S. Framework for Foreign Assistance: “Helping to build and
sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.”
Each of the five core objectives of the framework respond to specific issues and threats facing small-scale
fisheries: • Governing Justly and Democratically: weak governance, lack of participation, illegal
fishing • Economic Growth: poverty, globalization of trade and market access, technological
advances • Peace and Security: poor enforcement, maritime security, securing “leaky borders”,
linkages to piracy and drug trafficking and “fish wars” • Investing in People: food insecurity, poor nutrition, vulnerability to HIVAIDS,
population growth, political and economic marginalization, gender inequality and inequity
• Humanitarian Assistance: addressing the vulnerability of fishing communities to tsunamis and hurricanes, impacts of conflict-driven migration on biodiversity
6.4 Specific Recommendations for Secure Fishing Communities at the Global,
Regional and National Level If managed more effectively, capture fisheries can provide an economic development
dividend to numerous countries around the world. Better management can also avoid the continuing collapse of aquatic and marine ecosystems and associated biodiversity
occurring throughout the world’s oceans and aquatic environments. Specific recommendations are provided below that address key issues and threats previously
described. They demonstrate how USAID can capitalize on its comparative advantage and seize general opportunities described previously at the national, regional and global-
scales. The outcomes will contribute significantly to the goals of the U.S. foreign assistance framework. Several of the recommendations, particularly at the regional and
international level may not involve the small-scale sector exclusively and may include
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management of large-scale fisheries as well. In some instances, this may provide opportunities for more linkages between USAID and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration NOAA and the Department of State DOS, which are also well equipped to provide international assistance on fisheries management issues at all
scales. 6.4.1 Global
Opportunities
Global level opportunities are appropriate to the centrally based units within USAID. These emphasize services to USAID Missions and Regional Bureaus, or a catalytic and
coordinating role with international organizations with capture fisheries interests. While USAID plays an important role in the latter, clearly there are opportunities and roles for
other U.S. Government agencies including the Department of State and the Department of Commerce NOAA in particular and Department of the Interior e.g. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
At the global level, USAID should play an important advocacy role. Very few people appreciate the enormous impacts of artisanal fisheries and how well
they compare to industrial fisheries in terms of catches, jobs, or impacts see Table 1. Improved management of small-scale fisheries is a significant issue that offers major
opportunities to increase security for billions of people including many of the poorest and most unstable. The specter of the “no action” or “business as usual” option leads us only
to the continuing collapse of fisheries at a global-scale and very likely associated losses of aquatic and marine biodiversity see Worm et al. 2006.
1.
Build the capacity of USAID Mission staff and Regional Bureaus in sustainable capture fisheries through USAIDEGAT-led workshops that support priority
setting and strategic planning by USAID Missions and Bureaus
Goal: Strengthen the ability of USAID Missions to promote improved economic development through opportunities in sustainable fisheries management.
Rationale: USAID personnel and national economic planners are often unaware of the lost economic opportunities from poor fisheries sector governance and overinvestment in
capture fisheries harvest capacity. Significant opportunities are often missed. Personnel require a foundation of knowledge and understanding of the key issues if they are to
develop strategies likely to generate positive results. USAIDEGAT can provide Mission staff and national leaders with this information as well as technical assistance in project
designs, implementation and evaluation. Strategy: USAIDEGAT should develop a programming guide for the capture fisheries
management modeled after the Biodiversity Guide
5
that USAID previously developed. The goal of this Guide should be to provide USAID staff and partners with basic
information about designing, managing, and implementing sustainable fisheries programs or activities. The contents of this guide should include what a USAID manager needs to
know in order to design, implement, manage, and evaluate a capture fisheries program or activity. What are the critical elements of success for capture fisheries programs? How
5
http:www.rmportal.nettoolsbiodiversity-conservation-toolsbiod-guide-2005
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can activities be designed that will simultaneously meet USAID administrative and legal requirements while ensuring development goals are addressed using best practices and
approaches? USAID regional offices should then host a series of workshops for USAID and selected national government personnel that raise awareness on fisheries issues,
coastal ecosystem governance, policy reform, and options for effective fisheries management strategies. Gender mainstreaming strategies should also be discussed as this
is a weakness of many fisheries initiatives. As a complement to the programming guide, there should be teaching case studies that address the reasons and consequences of both
management failures and, more importantly, the few and precious successes. A special emphasis should be on dissemination of successes and good practices as these apply to
co-management and the roles of MPAs. 2.
Promote public-private sector alliances Goal: Expand the USAID Global Development Alliance GDA portfolio to include
fisheries sector opportunities with a focus on fair trade and sustainable trade in seafood. Rationale: USAID has demonstrated the ability to catalyze public-private sector
partnerships that can earn economic dividends and promote environmentally sustainable international trade and development. The GDA has an excellent track record including
programs focused on natural resources, such as the Sustainable Forest Products Global Alliance. An explicit move into the fisheries sector would seem a natural diversification
of the GDA portfolio. As a result of the rapidly expanding global trade in fisheries and aquatic resource products, a majority of imports to the U.S. will come primarily from
developing countries. Not all of this trade is from small-scale fisheries and a good deal is from large-scale fisheries operations. Certification schemes for large-scale fisheries have
raised consumer and producer awareness and encouraged sustainable harvest practices. There have been few such efforts directed at tropical small-scale fisheries and educational
efforts are needed for both the restaurant industry and consumers. There are major seafood buyers in the U.S., e.g. Wal-Mart, which have committed to purchasing all their
seafood products from sustainable sources. Hence, it would seem that there are a number of potential and ready partners for such initiatives on the U.S. demand side of the supply
chain. Certification should, however, move to include fair trade and ensure that the trade is sustainable.
Strategy: USAIDEGAT should develop initiatives in public-private alliances that ensure sustainable global trade and fair trade of fishery products. While this report has focused
primarily on small-scale capture fisheries, this is one area where USAID also needs to give more attention to promoting a sustainable large-scale fisheries sector. Since large-
scale fisheries often impact negatively on small-scale fisheries, sustainability should include consideration of environmental factors as well as social equity. While the
assessment team did not include discussions with major private sector U.S. seafood buyers, this is a logical next step for USAID. USAIDEGAT should convene a workshop
on private-public sector partnerships with attention to examining lessons from existing partnerships, which can be applied specifically to capture fisheries and international
seafood trade.
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3. Disseminate lessons learned and establish regional learning networks
