Smallscale fisheries

Background Many freshwater fish species that were earlier appreciated by consumers have disappeared in the central, north and west European foodways. Although they were regarded as healthy and tasty, commercially captured marine species and highly processed products have nowadays replaced these fishes. The global transformations of the food system contribute to the erosion of many local foodstuffs. Habitual tastes disappear. Methods The article is based on a vast amount of scattered original data found in sources such as in local ethnographical studies, fishing reports, topographic literature, zoological literature, archaeological fish reports, and cookery books Results and discussion This article discusses how Eurasian ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernua (L., 1758), once was used, and the reason for its disappearance, as foodstuff in some parts of Europe. Actually, it is a fish with potential for a revival as fine food. The authors discuss the chances of its rediscovery as a foodstuff, whi...

Background: Many freshwater fish species that were earlier appreciated by consumers have disappeared in the central, north and west European foodways. Although they were regarded as healthy and tasty, commercially captured marine species and highly processed products have nowadays replaced these fishes. The global transformations of the food system contribute to the erosion of many local foodstuffs. Habitual tastes disappear.

The 1990s saw the emergence of a thriving Nile perch export market from East Africa. This commercial table fish species is landed by migrant fishermen at villages that have sprung up along the shores of Lake Victoria, and then exported to overseas markets. By analysing the Ugandan perch fishery as a set of careers, the article shows that, although some fishermen have benefited from the perch boom, most face an uncertain and marginal existence. Few of them, however, move away in response. Analysis of an anthropological case study reveals that this is because the fishermen value the urban culture characterizing prominent village landings, expressed in particular clothing and hairstyles, the prevalence of non-kin ties, and a prospering leisure industry epitomized by the proliferation of pool tables. Hence, a cultural preference for life at the landings, rather than a universal quest for economic opportunity, drives their economic decision making.

All along the KZN coastline, subsistence fishers and their households depend on the sea for their basic food security and livelihoods. However, this important local economy has not been adequately recognised or supported despite two extensive policy and legislative interventions. While the post-apartheid state recognises the rights of fishers on paper, the policy interventions have not lead to the actualisation of these rights in practice. Indeed over the years, as shown in this research report, some subsistence fishers have been actively excluded from policy participation and management processes. Unresolved policy perspectives on whether or not subsistence fishing is viewed as a valid ‘safety net’ for the poor at various times in their lives remain unanswered, despite rising unemployment and food insecurity. National legislation and policy for fisheries management are vital to ensure sustainable marine resources in our oceans. Management tools and conservation mechanisms such as marine reserves, space-based or temporary closures and regulatory measures for fishing are necessary instruments to ensure sustainable ocean governance. What is in question here is how legislation and policies may be interpreted and then implemented in ways that have the unintended consequence of entrenching marginalisation, exclusion and inequities, as is currently happening in some areas of the KZN coastline. A very different political perspective might frame these tensions through asking different questions: How have the marine commons4 been privatised through the approach to property rights and the allocation of resources to industrial and recreational fisheries in the past? How might the marine commons and access to resources be re-imagined in a way that these resources can sustain the lives and livelihoods of the poor and the nation as a whole in a more equitable, socially and ecologically just way? How could a fisher’s cultural history be recognised, such as that of the Indian fishers, even if he or she did not need access to fish from a subsistence perspective at specific times in their lives because they had adequate temporary employment? This research report aims to offer evidence for why such a review is imperative if we are to ensure that subsistence and smallscale fishers can establish their legitimate rights to access the sea to support their livelihoods, and have their cultural heritage recognised.

Background: Many freshwater fish species that were earlier appreciated by consumers have disappeared in the central, north and west European foodways. Although they were regarded as healthy and tasty, commercially captured marine species and highly processed products have nowadays replaced these fishes. The global transformations of the food system contribute to the erosion of many local foodstuffs. Habitual tastes disappear.

Background: Many freshwater fish species that were earlier appreciated by consumers have disappeared in the central, north and west European foodways. Although they were regarded as healthy and tasty, commercially captured marine species and highly processed products have nowadays replaced these fishes. The global transformations of the food system contribute to the erosion of many local foodstuffs. Habitual tastes disappear.