The importance of fisheries is not lost in the global policy arena. What is often overlooked in the general discourse, however, is the significant difference between small- and large-scale fisheries. Major rethinking about all aspects of small-scale fisheries is required, including their contribution to catches, employment, livelihood, food security and conservation.
This book is a collection of essays about the diverse, complex and dynamic contexts that characterize small-scale fisheries around the world. The essays highlight the strengths, capacity, motivation and contributions associated with this fishing sector. They remind us that solutions and opportunities for the viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries can be found, once the issues are understood from a holistic perspective and possible options, including inventive governance arrangements, are fully explored.
The authors are scientists and practitioners who work in small-scale fisheries in various parts of the world, many of whom participated at the first World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress (WSFC), held in Bangkok in October 2010, and are members of the global research network for the future of small-scale fisheries, Too Big To Ignore. The editor, Ratana Chuenpagdee, the initiator of the WSFC, is Canada Research Chair in Natural Resource Sustainability and Community Development at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada.
