tBrief #06 – Invisible, Undervalued and Underappreciated? Transparency for small-scale fisheries

Government transparency matters for small-scale fisheries! Yet, research on small-scale fisheries, as well as on recreational fishing, has consistently found that official data tends to underestimate their scale and importance. 

This not only concerns catches but also their economic and social contributions. In many places fisheries have an important but underappreciated role in poverty alleviation and food security. In particular, women’s role in fisheries is too often ‘hidden’. 

Such underestimations create a myriad of problems, including marginalisation of small-scale fisheries in policy-making processes as well as inequitable flows of government support. 

The lack of information is likely to be even more emphasised in 2022, designated by the UN General Assembly as the International Year of Artisanal fisheries and Aquaculture. 

This tBrief looks therefore at this relatively underappreciated aspect of government transparency – increasing the visibility of parts of the fisheries sector that have been ignored or neglected, how this can be achieved and the consequences this may bring. 

We hope that you enjoy reading this tBrief. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please contact us.

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This publication is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Other tBrief editions can be found here.