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Fisheries subsidies and potential catch loss in SIDS Exclusive Economic Zones: food security implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2013

U. Rashid Sumaila ,
Andrew Dyck  and
William W.L. Cheung
U. Rashid Sumaila
Affiliation:
Fisheries Economics Research Unit, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1E4, Canada. E-mail: r.sumaila@fisheries.ubc.ca
Andrew Dyck
Affiliation:
Fisheries Economics Research Unit, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Canada. E-mail: a.dyck@fisheries.ubc.ca
William W.L. Cheung
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK. E-mail: wwlcheung@gmail.com
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Abstract

We study the effects of providing subsidies to the fisheries in small island developing states (SIDS), where fisheries are important to both the food security and livelihoods of the populations. By analyzing data on current and potential catch and computing the potential catch losses from the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of SIDS, we find that, collectively, SIDS have currently overfished their waters to the extent that their current catch is just under 50 per cent of the maximum catch potential. This catch loss results in direct and indirect food security impacts in terms of losses in healthy, varied and nutrient-rich food, revenues, incomes and economic impacts in SIDS. Our results also demonstrate that capacity-enhancing subsidies contribute to overfishing while the effect of good subsidies is unclear and needs further analysis.

Type
Special Section on Biodiversity-based development in Small Island Developing States
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 427 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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