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The fisheries sector is rarely a strategic
sector for national economic development. Although
it plays a prominent role in only a few countries
such as Iceland, Namibia, Maldives and other small
island developing states rich in fishery resources
relative to their populations, it is nonetheless an
important economic activity in many coastal regions
of the world. Indeed, in many countries, fish
export is a major contributor to foreign exchange
earnings, often ranking far higher than other
agricultural commodities. In 1998 some forty
percent of the world fish production was traded
with an export value in excess of US$50 billion.
The major trade flow - from south to north -
underlines the significance of this sector for the
trade balance of many developing countries.
Licensing fees of foreign fishing fleets are
another source of foreign exchange revenue from
marine fishery resources, especially in West
African and South Pacific countries.
The more considerable and substantial
contribution of fisheries worldwide is the supply
of highly nutritious animal protein for human
consumption and the employment and income
generation in often-remote coastal areas. While
globally some seventeen percent of the animal
protein supply is derived from fisheries, in many
developing countries - especially in the Asian
region that is home to nearly two-thirds of the
world's population - this share is above fifty
percent. Finally, the growing importance of
recreational fishing is also notable, especially as
its contribution to economic benefits is often
difficult to assess and still insufficiently
recognized.
Nature of positive impacts
The fisheries sector usually makes a valuable
contribution to economic development of coastal
areas. The relative dispersion of coastal
small-scale fisheries adds to maintaining
economically viable rural communities and balancing
the trend towards growing coastal urbanization. In
history, fisheries have often been the basis for
human settlements and coastal development in both
the rural and urban environments. For example,
Iceland was established as a fishing settlement and
the United States owes a lot to the cod fisheries.
In Africa, artisanal fisheries often generate the
capital needed by fisher-farmers to invest in
agriculture. In well-managed fisheries, high
resource rents can be generated and used to finance
investments within or outside the sector. The sight
of fishing activities (e.g. ports, fishing boats,
landing sites and fish markets) is attractive to
many people and often has considerable aesthetic
value to both those living permanently in the area
and tourists.
In addition to its direct contribution, the
indirect multiplier effects of the fisheries sector
on economic development are often significant
through intrasectoral interactions (e.g. between
capture fisheries and ancillary activities such as
net-making, or between capture fisheries and
aquaculture through the supply of fishmeal), as
well as intersectoral interactions (e.g. between
forestry and fisheries through the supply of timber
for boat-building, or between agriculture and
aquaculture through the supply of feed). Fishing or
fish farming is often undertaken next to other
economic household activities including farming and
small trade. These multiple economic occupations
not only bridge the often-great seasonality in the
abundance of fishery resources, but also insure
against risks of failing production in any one of
these activities. Moreover, these complementary
pursuits may in some cases determine part of the
fisheries sector dynamics; for example, the supply
of capital and labour of the fishing activity may
evolve in close relation to agricultural activities
undertaken by the household.
The infrastructure developed for fisheries
(feeder roads, landing sites and coastal havens,
water-retaining ponds) tend to trigger further
economic developments in other sectors such as
tourism or agriculture.
An important contribution of the sector is the
employment opportunities it generates, especially
in remote and marginal areas. And not only in
fishing but also in boat-building and maintenance,
mechanical workshops for engines and gear,
net-making and repair, handling, processing,
packing and transport. In developing countries, it
is estimated that some 36 million fishers
(including those engaged in production, harvesting
and landing site-based activities) are dependent
for all or part of their livelihoods on fisheries.
Together with their dependents, as many as 200
million people may rely on fisheries for their
livelihood. The rapid development of aquaculture,
for the local and export markets, and its rapid
transformation in many areas into a commercial or
semi-industrial activity is also contributing
substantially to the development of rural
areas.
The fisheries sector can also be an inexpensive
"observer" and, potentially, "guardian" of the
aquatic resources and environment of a country or a
region, capable of alerting the relevant
authorities in case of some major hazard such as
pollution. Fishers and fish farmers often first
witness major changes in ecosystems. Under this
angle, and provided fisheries adopt a responsible
attitude "across the board", as provided in the FAO
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,
fisheries could significantly increase their future
contribution to sustainable development.
Negative impacts
Most negative impacts result from the fact that
resources used for fisheries cannot be used by
other sectors. The "thinning" effect of fisheries
on the biomass reduces the interest of a fished
area to tourism and recreation. Damage to fish
habitats caused by some destructive fishing
practices (e.g. dynamite) are deterrents to
tourism. The destruction of coastal wetlands and
mangrove areas by aquaculture pond construction and
water pollution by intensive coastal aquaculture
can have the same sort of effect. The presence of
set fishing gear or aquaculture installations can
be an impediment to navigation and tourism (through
"hard" occupation of space and aesthetic damage to
landscape) and the development of these activities
competing for space need to be carefully
integrated.
Negative impacts can also reflect a
misallocation of development resources. If heavily
subsidized, the fishery sector may, however, be
drawing excessive economic resources that could
otherwise be used for other developments. In
addition, if overdeveloped, the fishery sector may
also be drawing on excessive fishery resources that
will not be available for future generations.
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