The Missing Link: Social Data Needs in Small-Scale Tuna Fisheries

Suggested Bibliographic Reference: Challenging New Frontiers in the Global Seafood Sector: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, July 11-15, 2016. Compiled by Stefani J. Evers and Ann L. Shriver. International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET), Corvallis, 2016.Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.Pole-and-line and hand-line tuna fisheries, hereafter referred to as one-by-one fisheries are believed to provide large social benefits to fishing communities. Unlike industrial high seas fishing, large numbers of fishing vessels are involved - engaging many people from coastal communities. In the unique case of the Maldives, where fishing communities are small and geographically dispersed, the social benefits to the fishing communities are believed to be substantial; including contributing to livelihoods, wellbeing, identity and local economies. To date however, there has been minimal research focused on the social impacts of the one-by-one tuna sector. The field of social analysis of fisheries is relatively young compared to that for fisheries economics and biology/ecology. Even when supply chain and governmental actors collect some social data it often remains in silos and is not synthesized or communicated. This paper introduces an innovative research programme in the Maldives that the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) has embarked upon, in consultation with relevant stakeholders from the government, fishing industry and supply-chain. The paper outlines the results of the first stage of this programme to develop a system for collecting ‘hidden’ social data and explain how this data will be used to answer the following research questions:\ud - What are the social contributions of one-by-one fishing to communities?\ud - What would the social impacts be if one-by-one fishing were to (in)decrease?\ud - What could be done to improve the social and economic contributions of the fishery?\ud - What learning can be shared to other geographies