For small-scale fisheries around the world, the Blue Growth and Blue Economy initiatives may provide sustainable development, but only insofar as they align with the global consensus enshrined in the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. If states do nothing to fulfill the promises they made when they endorsed these guidelines in 2014, the Blue Economy will come at a loss for small-scale fisheries and further their marginalization in the ocean economy. Under the umbrella of Blue Justice, this book demonstrates that these risks are real and must be considered as states implement their sustainable ocean development plans. These are human rights issues, which are embedded into governance principles and institutions and which make a difference for small-scale fisheries people in their daily lives. In stressing the importance of policies and institutions that build on the experiences of small-scale fisheries people in the contexts in which they operate, this book draws on case studies of small-scale fisheries from countries on all continents to clarify what Blue Justice entails for small-scale fisheries and make suggestions for real change.
"Through the Blue Justice paradigm, this book flags the relevance of recognizing the potential impact that different factors, including the Blue Economy approach, could bring to fishing communities, their livelihoods, cultural traditions, and other potential multidimensional conflicts. Vulnerability in fishing communities can increase and inequalities can be reinforced at different levels if individuals and community capabilities are not strengthened... A first of its kind, not to be missed, this book is informative, purposeful, and pertinent in an era of change".
Silvia Salas, CINVESTAV, Marine Resources Department, Mérida, Mexico
"The studies reveal that Blue Justice is a 'governability' issue, which requires establishing 'right' institutions, that are transdisciplinary (integrated), participatory, and holistic. It is implicit from these writings that the SSF Guidelines and Blue Growth initiatives do not form two different discourses, and that the implementation of the former would resolve many of the justice issues caused by the latter, in favor of small-scale fisheries and their communities".
Oscar Amarasinghe, Professor & Chancellor, Ocean University of Sri Lanka and President, Sri Lanka Forum for Small Scale Fisheries (SLFSSF)
About the Author: Svein Jentoft is Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway. His long career as a social scientist specializing on fisheries management and fisheries communities has yielded numerous articles and books. He has been involved in and led many international projects in both the Global South and North. Jentoft is a founding member of TBTI, and has been leading a working group on ʻGoverning the Governanceʼ and a research cluster related to the ʻSSF Guidelinesʼ. He has edited and authored several TBTI books including ʻLife Above Waterʼ (published 2019).
Ratana Chuenpagdee is a university research professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Canada. Her research emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches to coastal fisheries and ocean governance, focusing particularly on small-scale fisheries, marine protected areas, community-based management, and food security. Dr. Chuenpagdee leads Too Big To Ignore (TBTI), a global partnership for small-scale fisheries, and a research module on informing governance responses in a changing ocean for the Canadian-based Ocean Frontier Institute. Her most recent book 'Transdisciplinarity for Small-Scale Fisheries Governance: Analysis and Practice', co-edited with Svein Jentoft, was published by Springer in 2019.
Alicia Bugeja Said is a Fisheries Advisor within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights, where she is responsible for implementing Fisheries Strategy through research and policy. Alicia holds a PhD in Anthropology and Conservation (University of Kent, UK), and has written about the socio-ecological resilience of fisheries systems, advocating for equitable and sustainable livelihoods of island communities. She has also held post-doctoral fellowships with Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada), and IFREMER in France. She has published in high-impact journals and participated in several regional and international fora, and acted as the Maltese delegate for several COST Action programmes, focusing on Ocean Governance (OceanGov) and Marine Conservation (MARCONS).
Moenieba Isaacs is a Professor with the Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of Western Cape. She focuses on the social and political processes of fisheries reform in South Africa and southern Africa, mainly through the lenses of small-scale fishers. She is an engaged and reflective scholar interested in Blue Justice, rethinking conservation, and governmentality of natural resources. She is a founding member of the TBTI network, and coined the term Blue Justice for small-scale fisheries at the 3rd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress in 2018, Chiang Mai, Thailand, based on her work with fishers' movements in South Africa for over 25 years.
