With all that is happening around the world these days, we have many reasons to be concerned about the future. Progress has been made in many fronts, but there are also some steps backward. In small-scale fisheries, the 10th anniversary of the SSF Guidelines this year is something to celebrate. Yet, when looking around, it is disheartening that only a handful of countries is implementing them. At the same time, what has been gaining traction is the importance of small-scale fisheries in several venues and forums, including at the COFI meeting in Rome in July 2024, when many member states made reference to them, recognizing their contribution, and the need to protect their rights to fishing livelihoods and to help secure their access to resources and markets. What is not evident enough is the commitment from governments to put in place the policies and institutions that support sustainable small-scale fisheries.
Why such a gap exists between ideology and practice? Perhaps there is a mismatch in the way we think of small-scale fisheries and the idea of growth and development (in fisheries and ocean)? Perhaps there is a disconnect in how we discuss food security and the imminent role that small-scale fisheries play in fulfilling this goal? Perhaps there is a lack of imagination about how small-scale fisheries can offer solutions to many of the global concerns, like overfishing and overcapacity? Perhaps there is too much pressure from more powerful actors, like large-scale industrial fisheries and aquaculture, influencing fisheries decision-making?
These are all big questions requiring a thorough unpacking and in-depth investigation, which can be done through a network of researchers interested in small-scale fisheries. This is what TBTI Country Hubs are well positioned to do, with their knowledge, experience and connection to the local realities. For the World Fisheries Day this year, TBTI Global and TBTI country hubs are playing with the idea “Just Harmony”, partly to help lighten the ‘mood’ around the world, but there is also more to it, as articulated by some of the hub coordinators. We have long argued that small-scale fisheries can contribute to this very goal “Peace, Justice and Strong Institution” (SDG 16). Now is the time to provide more evidence, looking especially at how small-scale fisheries can help restore or bring harmony to coastal and ocean space, noting however that this is not an opt out to do nothing and stay in the status quo. Harmony should not be thought of as reaching agreement or consensus at any cause. Rather, it is about being respectful of each other, and of the differences, and working together to sort out how to deal with the ‘best’ option that does not seem to be ‘just’, at least not from the perspective of small-scale fisheries. “Just Harmony” can then become learning moments for all, like learning to live together, despite our differences. Note too that Just Harmony is a process, not some endpoint equilibrium. In a dynamic sector like small-scale fisheries, things are always in flux. Harmonization towards justice for small-scale fisheries is one of many interactions in the governance discourse that requires careful attention.
