TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Transforming 'blue foods' for food security
Small-scale fishers and fishery businesses must be an integral part of the effort to build global food security.
Change Size
Small fry: A fisher uses a bucket to transfer his catch onto another boat on Oct. 13, 2022 at a fish auction center in Rumbia district, Bombana regency, Southeast Sulawesi. The local price of fish has declined due to oversupply. (Antara/Jojon)
T
he tag line of Indonesia’s Group of 20 presidency, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, sends a clear message regarding its focus on recovering from more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impacts on the economy.
Particularly in the fisheries sector, all players from industrial to small-scale have felt the pinch, despite their significant role in global consumption. The industry is recovering slowly, and this may be a good time for us to rethink how food systems work and how to enhance the role of so-called blue foods in our overall food policy.
One of the main problems is that blue foods are often left out in discussions and policymaking related to food systems. This leads to fisheries policies that focus more on economic interests than efforts to ensure food security and the sustainability of fishery resources. The current fisheries policies do not address the present challenges, which range from the growing population to climate change. Simply increasing the production of blue foods is therefore not a solution.
The T20 policy brief on “Integrating Blue Foods Into Food System Policy and Practice” identifies five critical elements needed to transform the blue food system.
They are: (i) manage blue foods as an integral part of the food system, including by integrating policies and governance; (ii) identify and reform policies and practices that impede transformation, especially any existing harmful subsidies that can endanger the sustainability of fishery resources; (iii) protect and harness diversity for nutrition, resilience, livelihoods and environmental sustainability, taking into account the severe climate change impacts that will occur in the next few years; (iv) recognize and support the central role of small-scale actors; and (v) commit to human rights in policies and practices.
As we commemorate World Food Day on Oct. 16, we are reminded of the crucial contributions that fulfilling the rights of small-scale fishers and workers make to food security.
While 11.34 percent of small-scale fishers live below the poverty line, the country has yet to fully implement policies and programs that effectively prioritize improving their welfare, despite the fact that Indonesia is the third largest wild fishery producer in the world.
