Since IPNLFs initial novel work evidencing the social benefits associated with one-by-one fisheries, the sustainable seafood sector has largely moved on from solely focusing on environmental impacts of fisheries and issues of social responsibility now have an enormous amount of traction in the marketplace. Organisations throughout the seafood sector now focus on the topic of social responsibility and evidencing how businesses are demonstrating appropriate due diligence in terms of mitigating abuses of human rights, labour rights and inadequate safety measures occurring within their supply chains.
In any supply chain, ensuring that socially responsible best practices are occurring throughout is paramount. While supporting one-by-one tuna fisheries, IPNLF are leaders in shifting the global narrative towards responsible seafood which duly considers the local, social and economic impacts as well as human rights issues in fisheries. As such, securing, safeguarding and building opportunities for coastal communities to participate in highly competitive global seafood markets is a key area of our work. To ensure greater social responsibility we focus on the following:
The social benefits of one-by-one tuna fisheries are most often closely associated with coastal communities in developing countries, they underpin local livelihoods, employment opportunities and food security. In order to prevent these fisheries from becoming marginalised within the marketplace, it is essential to effectively publicly communicate and promote the importance of social benefits to the seafood marketplace.
One-by-one fisheries are characterised by a close connection to local coastal communities, fishing closer to shore and for shorter lengths of time. This provides fishers with greater economic flexibility, the ability to spend more time at home with their families, and experience a better quality of life than fishermen out at sea for months at a time.
To sustainable local fisheries and their communities, tuna fishing is more than just a job, it’s a way of life. In many cultures, traditional, one-by-one fishing methods have been passed down through generations. The cultural, traditional aspect of these fisheries keeps fishers fishing and living locally for long periods of time which retains the accumulation of wealth in the area and contributes to poverty alleviation.
Furthermore, the supply chains of these fisheries offer important employment opportunities to women in coastal communities which make up a significant proportion of the workforce in many processing plants, such as canneries.
Women play an important role in family nutrition and food security in coastal communities. Increased, sustained employment for them will contribute to the food security of their families and their improved financial security through employment increases their purchasing power and allows them to improve the nutrition of their diet.
“Artisanal fisheries create jobs providing 90% of employment in the fisheries sector, they are not only important as a source of income for many families, they also form social cohesion. The cohesion of coastal communities.”
– Luis Rodrigues, former Regional Director of Azores Fisheries