Introduction

The journey from trawler to table (or farm to fridge in the case of aquaculture) can be swift or extended. In many developing countries the path is usually short with the catch being sold fresh either from the quay-side or beach or in an adjacent market. However, the fish chain is extended when processing – curing, smoking, pickling, salting, drying, freezing or burying – is undertaken, although the destination of the final transformed product may remain local. Canning – preserving and protecting the product – affords additional commercial opportunities, while the despatch of fish to inland or overseas markets further lengthens the chain.

As humans consume over one thousand species of fish extracted from a variety of ecological habitats and geographic quarters across the world – the ensuing fish chains are inevitably disparate, being a reflection (to varying degrees) of local, national, regional and global market arrangements and the socio-cultural settings in which harvesting, processing, distributing and consuming take place. Moreover, the complexity of the chain has evolved over time. One of the consequences of the creation of Exclusive Economic zones, and with it the establishment of Extended Fisheries Jurisdiction, has been a marked growth in the national fleet of coastal nations, often aided and abetted by a favourable macroeconomic policy environment, particularly regarding subsidies (Thorpe et al. 2000; Milazzo 1998). The recent exponential growth of aquaculture production has added to this complexity, whilst the increased global integration of fish markets has contributed to a dramatic growth in the international fish trade, up from 4.5 million metric tonnes (mt) in 1960 (export value US$1.3 billion) to 42.9 million mt (export value US$52.9 billion) in 1999 (Ruckes 1995; FAO 1999b).

This growth has highlighted the relationship between fisheries management decisions and events in seafood markets (Johnston and Wilson 1987). While regulatory policies may be associated with lost market opportunities if fishers are prevented or dissuaded from extracting high-quality products (as is the case with the growth of ‘no-take’ reserves, for example), it is equally true that changes in market conditions may have undesirable implications for those boat owners, shellfish collectors or aquaculturists at the beginning of the supply chain (as was the case with the US embargos on Mexican tuna imports during the eighties).