
Population expansion, aquaculture, the growing tourism sector, marine protected areas, the emergence of other marine industries such as offshore oil and gas extraction and transportation, and increasing demands on fish and other seafood products have contributed to intensifying competition within coastal zones, and marine and inland waters. Effects of such competition are mostly felt by small-scale fishers who depend heavily on access to shorelines, which are their homes for activities such as shellfish gathering, gleaning, and near-shore or beach seine fisheries, landing and anchoring boats. The voice of these fishers is often drowned out and their rights are frequently violated by economically and politically powerful individuals..
The ‘SSF Right’ cluster is closely related to the TBTI ‘Defending the Beach’ working group. This working group explored the challenges SSF face in response to new movements toward privatization and enclosure, starting with North America and then expanding into other regions. The working group examined the development and implementation of neoliberal policy (ideology, law, practice) and how it has been applied to fisheries policy. It also looked at how people who continue to depend on SSF are responding to, and sometimes resisting, these changes. In November 2015 a Special Section of Marine Policy, edited by Evelyn Pinkerton & Reade Davis was published. The Special Section provided a review of the ways in which policies of enclosure, privatization, and regulations have occurred in North America and examined the consequences they have had for SSF in practice. A second Special Issue in Marine Policy on the same topic but global in scope is currently being developed. The issue, edited by Evelyn Pinkerton, will include papers about New Zealand, Iceland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Malawi, Australia, Malaysia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, British Columbia, Washington State, New England, and Alaska. Some papers will focus on the resistance of small-scale fishing communities in constructing alternatives to neoliberalism; some will be about the damage being done: ocean grabbing, the impact on human rights and socio-political processes in coastal communities or general public policy formation.
The ‘SSF Rights’ research cluster will broaden the discussion from privatization and enclosure to address the issues related to various types of rights for small-scale fishing people. In accord with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), the SSF Rights cluster will emphasize the need for small-scale fishing communities to secure tenure rights to the resources, which form the basis for their social and cultural well-being, their livelihoods and their sustainable development. The SSF Rights cluster will also conduct research to support the realization of the right of small-scale fishing people to adequate food and nutrition. Finally, the SSF Rights cluster will contribute towards the implementation of human rights-based approach to sustainable SSF, as promoted in the SSF Guidelines.
For more information on participation in this cluster please scroll down to “How to contribute” section.
Objectives | In order to achieve the above objectives, the cluster will: 1. Review existing literature on SSF rights, situating it within the broader context of human rights, and SSF guidelines; 2. Promote the sharing of knowledge, information and issues related to SSF Rights through ISSF platform; 3. Conduct research to examine factors and conditions affecting the SSF rights at the local, national and regional levels; and 4. Suggest pathways towards the implementation of human rights-based approach to sustainable SSF. |
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Research questions | 1. What kinds of rights exist in small-scale fisheries and what institutions (norms, rules and regulations) promote them? 2. What factors or conditions have direct or indirect effects on SSF rights? 3. What is involved in applying human rights-based approach to sustainable SSF and how does that differ from other rights-based systems?
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Deliverables | 1. A Special Issue in Marine Policy 2. ISSF layer on ‘Experiences’ related to ‘SSF Rights’ 3. ‘SSF Rights’ community handbook 4. E-book and other publications on related topics |
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Timeline | Contribution of knowledge, information and experience to ISSF is on-going. More specific contributions will be announced at a later stage. Comments and suggestions in terms of what the cluster should do is welcomed at any time. |
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How to contribute | 1. Sign-up for the SSF Rights Check our website and have a look at our current initiatives and activities. SSF Rights cluster welcomes the participation of practitioners, scholars, managers, and all those people related to and interested in SSF Rights theme.
2. Contribute to the ISSF State-of-the-Art layer (SOTA) One of the main commitments of TBTI is to make information about SSF comprehensive and available to everyone. If you are author of a paper on ‘SSF Rights’ or you know of a paper about this topic, you can share this information on the ISSF SOTA layer.
3. Contribute to the ISSF Experience layer Tell us about your thoughts and experiences on issues related to ‘SSF Rights’ by sharing video, photo and text material on the new ISSF Experience layer.
4. Complete SSF Profile SSF Profiles’ dataset allows anyone to record and share information about SSF in communities, regions, countries, etc. using a common core set of characteristics describing the fishery. We encourage all cluster members to help complete the SSF profile online or use the fillable form and email it to toobigtoignore@mun.ca. We don’t expect that you will have all the required information. Please consult colleagues or literature as necessary.
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Additional material | TBTI webinar series on SSF Rights: Lets talk about SSF rights and access Pinkerton, E., and Davis, R. (2015). Neoliberalism and the politics of enclosure in North American small-scale fisheries. Marine Policy, 61, 303–312. Pinkerton, E., and Davis, R. (2015). (Eds.) Special Section on Neoliberalism and North American Small-Scale Fisheries, Marine Policy, Volume 61. |
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Cluster coordinators |
Evelyn Pinkerton, Simon Fraser University, Canada Reade Davis Memorial University, Canada Moenieba Isaacs, University of Western Cape, South Africa Ratana Chuenpagdee, Memorial University, Canada |
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Cluster members |
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