Proximity to small-scale inland and coastal fisheries is associated with improved income and food security

Simmance, Fiona; Nico, Gianluigi; Funge-Smith, S.; Basurto, Xavier; Franz, Nicole; Teoh, Shwu Jiau; Byrd, Kendra; Kolding, Jeppe; Ahern, Molly; Cohen, Philippa J.; Nankwenya, Bonface; Gondwe, Edith; Virdin, John; Chimatiro, Sloans; Nagoli, Joseph; Kaunda, Emmanuel; Thilsted, Shakuntala H.; Mills, David J.

doi:10.1038/s43247-022-00496-5

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Conversely, loss of access to these fisheries could further erode an important nutritional safety net for these households. While subsistence fishing provides an indication of the contributions that small-scale fisheries livelihoods can provide to nutrition, such contributions are not limited to subsistence, as recent examples in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania highlighted—where households located near small-scale fisheries were 13% more likely to achieve adequate food security and 15% less likely to be income poor than the most distant households 21 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world

Virdin,

Basurto,

Nico

et al. 2023

Nat Food

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Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for poverty, malnutrition and gender inequality for populations dependent upon aquatic foods around the world. Here we provide global estimates showing that almost the same amount of small-scale fishers engage in subsistence fishing at some point during the year as in commercial employment and use subsistence estimates to measure small-scale fisheries’ livelihood safety net function. In 2016, we estimate that 52.8 million people were engaged in subsistence fishing at some point during the year, while another 60.2 million people were commercially employed (90% of global fisheries employment). From 14 country case studies, it was possible to estimate that the subsistence catch provided an average apparent intake of six nutrients critical for positive health outcomes, equivalent to 26% of the recommended daily nutrient intake for 112.5 million people, higher than the national average contribution of beef or poultry.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world

Virdin,

Basurto,

Nico

et al. 2023

Nat Food

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“…In total, more than one-fifth of the country's surface area comprises surface waters (McCracken 1987). Small-scale fisheries in Lake Malawi and several other smaller inland lakes provide livelihoods throughout the value chain to > 200,000 Malawians and contribute USD $454 million annually, equivalent to 7.2% of Malawi's gross domestic product (Torell et al 2020, Simmance et al 2021. In addition to livelihood contributions, fish resources meaningfully contribute to food security and nutrition in Malawi.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Price volatility in fish food systems: spatial arbitrage as an adaptive strategy for small-scale fish traders

Rice,

Bennett,

Smith

et al. 2024

E&S

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Anthropogenic stressors such as land-use change, habitat degradation, and climate change stress inland fish populations globally. Such ecological disturbances can affect actors throughout the social-ecological system by contributing to uncertainty in landings, landing prices, and coastal incomes. Most literature to date on the resilience of the fishing sector has focused on fishing (production), fisheries management, and the livelihoods of fishers, whereas little attention has been paid to the post-harvest sector and the livelihoods of fish processors, logistics providers, wholesalers, and retailers. In the empirical case of the small-scale usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) trade in Malawi, we investigated the impacts of price volatility, a form of uncertainty, on small-scale fish retailers' livelihood outcomes. By concentrating on fish retailers in the downstream region of the value chain, we provide new insight into how small-scale fisheries actors in the broader fish food system experience and adapt to uncertainty. We find that price volatility negatively impacts net income for retailers, and that an important adaptive strategy is spatial arbitrage. However, gender dynamics and access to capital limit retailers' ability to employ the spatial arbitrage adaptive strategy.

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“…Per capita consumption of aquatic foods ranges between countries from 0 to 100 kg per capita, annually (FAO, 2022), and is affected by multiple factors such as differences in cultural norms and perceptions, consumer preferences, and difficulties in distribution of perishable foods (UN Nutrition, 2021). Within countries, availability and consumption of aquatic foods may vary greatly, depending on proximity to water bodies and income status (Simmance et al, 2022a). For example, O'Meara et al (2021), found that children in Malawi and Zambia were more likely to consume fish if they lived close to inland fisheries and far from urban market centers (O'Meara et al, 2021).…”

Section: Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the food environment can help to promote the consumption of aquatic foods for healthy diets

Kennedy,

Ahern,

Iannotti

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Aquatic foods ensure food and nutrition security for billions of consumers around the world. As part of food systems, aquatic foods provide nutritious, affordable, convenient options for healthy diets, and can also foster sustainable food production. Within the food system framework, the food environment is the space that connects food procurement to consumption. The food environment influences consumer decisions on which foods to acquire. To date there has been relatively little focus on creating an enabling food environment that supports consumers in decisions to obtain aquatic foods. To fill this gap, we conducted a narrative review of literature from 2000–2020 to document the availability, affordability, convenience, promotion, quality and sustainability of aquatic foods within diverse food environments. Our review highlighted several opportunities that can support development and promotion of convenient, high quality aquatic foods. We also noted several research gaps. For example, some consumers, especially those in high income countries, respond well to labels related to sustainability and also to messaging to consume diverse types of fish, especially lower tropic species like anchovy. However, less is documented on how promotion influences consumers from LMIC. The paper also notes a gap in assessment of the price and affordability of aquatic foods. Most price and affordability assessments do not provide details on which aquatic foods were considered in the costing assessment. In addition, wild or home-harvested aquatic foods are often not accounted for in price and affordability assessments. Using case studies, we demonstrate how considering the food environment in research and implementation strategies can add value to program design. For example, processing tuna frames and underutilized small fish species into powder is one innovation that reduces food waste and also creates a convenient, quality product. These results provide the foundation for deepening our understanding of how key elements of the food environment influence consumers’ decision-making and how these elements can be considered in future research, programming and policy efforts.

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Proximity to small-scale inland and coastal fisheries is associated with improved income and food security

Cited by 17 publications

References 35 publications

Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world

Fishing for subsistence constitutes a livelihood safety net for populations dependent on aquatic foods around the world

Price volatility in fish food systems: spatial arbitrage as an adaptive strategy for small-scale fish traders

Considering the food environment can help to promote the consumption of aquatic foods for healthy diets

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