Is small really small? Re-characterising tuna fisheries in the Indian Ocean

Publication Details

Bianca Haas, Umair Shahid

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) play a critical role in providing food security, livelihood, and employment. However, SSF have received less attention in the context of regional fisheries management and continue to be poorly understood and not well included in fishery management frameworks. The lack of understanding concerning SSF within regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) might be further exacerbated by the absence of a unified definition of SSF within RFMOs, which often undermines data collection and the general availability of information on SSF. This paper aims to trace SSF definitions within RFMO convention texts and conservation and management measures, and to develop a definition of SSF for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, which would result in a more nuanced characterisation of fishery types. The results showed that all RFMOs lack an official definition, although SSF are mentioned in various conservation and management measures. To respond to this gap, we propose a definition of SSF, based on the overall size of the fishing vessel (<12m or 10 gross tonnage), the location of the fishing ground (e.g., within the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone), crew size (not more than 12), and the duration of the fishing trip (no more than 2 weeks). Furthermore, besides the current two fishery types, SSF and industrial, we suggest a third type – semi-industrial fisheries. This would help RFMOs close loopholes arising from the absence of a unified SSF definition, which currently enables some large-scale vessels to qualify for exemptions and protections intended for genuine SSF. Proposing a more realistic operational classification of fishery types within RFMOs would strengthen data reporting and monitoring and would lead to a more sustainable and equitable fisheries management regime.