Ethical issues in fisheries [elektronische middelen]

2005·1.3 MB·English

by  Árnason, Vilhjálmur

FAO
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'''OfMCsS®*"
4
Ethical issues in fisheries
The Organization acknowledges the contribution ofVilhjalmur
Arnason,DevinBartley,SergeGarcia,RobertH.Haraldsson,Dagfinnur
SveinbjornssonandHiromotoWatanabetothepreparationofthis
publication.
FOODANDAGRICULTUREORGANIZATIONOFTHEUNITEDNATIONS
Rome,2005
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Contents
V
Foreword
1
3
7
Mainpthicalissuesinfisheries
12
Institutionalframeworks
Anethicalanalysisoffisheries
22
2a
References
Xhi

Foreword
•
Sinceancienttimes,fisherieshavebeenanimportantsourceof
food,employment,andeconomicandsocialbenefits,aswellasa
foundationforgreatcultures.Thattherearelimitstotheextraction
offisheryresourceshaslongbeenrecognizedbyscience,butpoliciesand
managementhavefailedtoconsiderthemadequately,leadingtoregrettable
environmentalandsocio-economicconsequences.Itisnowgloballyclear
thatfisheriesresourcescannolongersustainthehistoricalrapid-and
oftenuncontrolled-exploitationanddevelopmentrates,andthatnew
managementandconservationapproachesareneeded.
AnumberofFAOConferences,theUnitedNationsConferenceon
EnvironmentandDevelopment(1992),theMillenniumAssemblyofthe
UnitedNations(2000)andtheWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment
(2002)haveraisedawarenessofgrowingconcerns.Todate,thepolicyand
managementissuesrelatedtofisheriesresources,suchasoverfishing,bycatch
anddiscards,foodquality,safetyonboard,illegalfishing,endangered
species,resourceallocationsandfishingrights,havebeenexploredlargely
fromecological,technologicalandsocio-economicstandpoints,whilethe
ethicalcomponentsoftheseissueshavebeenaddressedimplicitlyatbest.
Themostadvancedandcompletepolicyframeworkandreferencefor
globalfisheriesistheCodeofConductforResponsibleFisheries,adoptedin
1995bytheFAOConference.AlthoughtheCodehasbeenelaboratedmainly
fromtechnological,social,economicandpoliticalperspectives,itcontainsa
numberoflessexplicit,butnonethelessfundamental,ethicalconsiderations
andaddressesbothhumanandecologicalconcernsdirectly.
Today,ethicalconcernsrelatedtothewell-beingofhumansandthe
ecosystemarecentraltothedebateaboutthefuturewewantforfisheriesand
fishers.Aglobalviewofethicsisemerging.Humanhealthandwell-being
andbasichumanrights,suchastherighttofood,areconsideredalongwith
environmentalstewardshipandtheintrinsicvaluesandalternativeusesof
naturalresourcesandtheenvironment.Attentiontotheseconcernshasbeen
increasing,andwillcontinuetoincrease,inpartasaresponsetotrendsin
anumberofspheres,amongwhicharedemographicchange;thesituation
oftheresourcesandtheirassociatedecosystems,includingincreased
fishingpressureandenvironmentaldegradation;progressinscienceand
technology,encompassingaquaculturedevelopment,biotechnologyand
geneticengineering,andtheso-called"informationrevolution";andsocial
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andeconomicevolutionworldwide,exemplifiedbyglobalization,the
increasingroleofthemarketandtheconcentrationofeconomicpower.
ThetimelyEthicali.sxiiesinfisheriesisthefourthstudyintheFAOEthics
Series.InordertoaddresstheethicalissuesbroadlyraisedbyFAOinfood
andagriculture,withaparticularfocusonfisheries,thisdocumentsuggests
andelaborateswaystoimplementtheethicalprinciplesdrawnfromagreed
internationalinstrumentsonfisheriesandecosystems.Thediscussion
outlinesthemainethicalissuesinfisheriesandthemoralimperativesto
whichtheygiverise,considerstheroleandscopeofethicsinthiscontextand
recallsbrieflytheinstitutionalfoundationsoffisheriespoliciesasreflectedin
theCodeofConductforResponsibleFisheries.Itpresentsaholisticethical
approachtofisheries,payingspecialattentiontotheeffectsoffisheries
managementandsocialpolicyuponpeople'slivingconditions.Concrete
examplesandcasestudiesareprovidedtosupportorillustratethethemes
presented.
Inthetwenty-firstcentury,fisherieswillseeafurtherincreaseinthe
impactoftheethicaldimensionsoffishingandnaturalresourcesmanagement
onfisheriesdevelopmentandenvironmentalconservation.Theobjectiveof
thisdocumentistostimulatereflectiononethicsinfisheries,withaneye
toinitiatingandsupportingaprocessleadingtoabetterandmorewidely
sharedandacceptedunderstandingabouttheroleofethicsinthesector
-andaboutpossiblewaysforwardtoaddresstheissue.FAOintendsto
continueadvancingtheethicaldiscoursepertainingtofoodandagriculture,
includingfisheriesandaquaculture,asacomponentofitseffortstosecure
sustainableutilizationofaquaticlivingresourcesandfoodsecurityforall
peopleintheworldinthecurrentandfuturegenerations.•
JacquesDiouf
FAODirector-General
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1
Introduction Iisheriesandfishingpoliciesdeeplyaffecl
Fithelivingconditionsofpeopleinmany
partsoftheworld.Sinceancienttimes,
fishinghasbeenaveryimportantsourceof
food,employmentandeconomicandsocial
benefits,asw'ellasafoundationforgreat
cultures.Despitecenturies-oldrecognition
thatnaturalcommonresourcescanbedepleted,fisheryresourceswere,until
recently,treateddefactoasifinexhaustible,withlittleregardforenvironmen-
talconsequences.Inthefaceofgrowinginternationaldemandforfishandfish
products,worldfisheriesbecamea"market-driven"anddynamicallydeveloping
sectorofthefoodindustry.Fromtheearly1970s,andwiththeadoptionofthe
UnitedNationsConventionontheLawoftheSea(UNCLOS)in1982,coastal
statesendeavouredtotakeadvantageofnewopportunitiestodeveloptheir
newlyacquiredexclusiveeconomiczone(FEZ),investingheavilyinmodern
fishingfleetsandprocessingfactories.
However,duringthisperioditbecamegloballyclearthatfisheriesresourcescould
nolongersustaintherapidandoftenuncontrolledexploitationanddevelopment,
andnewapproachesofconservationandenvironmentalconsiderationwould
beneeded(FAO,1993).AwarenessincreasedrapidlywiththeUnitedNations
ConferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopment(UNCED)in1992,theMillennium
AssemblyoftheUnitedNationsin2000andtheWorldSummitonSustainable
De\elopment(WSSD)in2002.
Theneedtointegratebio-ecological,socio-cultural,legal,institutionalandtechno-
economicconsiderationsintodiscussiononfisheriesresourceshasbeenwidely
accepted.Aneffortisnowbeingmadetoarticulatetheethicaldimensionsofthe
sustainabledevelopmentoffisheriesasanimportantpartofthisawareness.
Thedegreetowhichfisheriesactresponsiblyshouldbejudgedagainstthe
principlesandcriteriaofthesustainableuseofnaturalrenewableresourcesand,
inparticular,theircontributiontohumanandecosystemwell-being.Evidence
indicatesthat,inmanyareas,fishingmanagementisfailingonbothcounts
(Cochrane,2000).Insomecases,fishstockshavecollapsed,andthemajorityarc
atthelimitsoftheirbiologicalproductivityorareseverelyoverutilized(Garcia
andNewton,1997;FAO,2005a).Althoughaggressiveexploitationhas,insome
areas,resultedineconomicbenefits,conserx'ativeestimatesindicatethatthe
globalsystemhasbeenoperatingatatotaldeficitofUSS14.5-20.0billionper
year(Milazzo,1998).Thesystemis,therefore,notoperatinginasustainableand
efficientmanner.Furthermore,althoughlargelygearedtowardsfullemployment
andsocialpeace,themanagementoffisheriesrunsshortofprovidingsocial
benefitstotheextentitcouldandshould.
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2 Ethicalissl'esinfisheries
Fisheriespolicyandmanagementhavemainlybeenconsideredfromecological,
technologicalandsocitT-economicstandpoints.Someofthekeyissuesrelatedto
human,scientificorenvironmentalethicshavebeenaddressedimplicitlyfrom
thesestandpoints.Inmanycases,however,theyhavebeenlargelyignored,e.g.
intheslowlydevelopingfieldofanimalwelfare.Thereisnoexplicitframework
fordealingwithethicalconcerns,despitetheirpotentialsignificantcontribution
tosolvingtheproblemsfacedbyfisheriesandfishingcommunities.
ToaddresstheethicalissuesbroadlyraisedbyFAO(2001a)infoodandagriculture
inthespecificareaoffisheries,thisdocumentwillsubstantiateandsuggestways
toimplementethicalprinciplesdrawnfromagreedinternationalinstrumentsinthe
managementoffisheries.Thedocumentstartswithageneralintroductiontothe
roleandscopeofethics,exploringthemesthatpertaintofisheriesethics.Itfollows
withanoutlineofthemainethicalissuesinfisheriesandthemoralimperativesto
whichtheygiverise.Afterrecallingbrieflytheinstitutionalfoundationsoffisheries
policies,itpresentsaholisticethicalapproachforaddressing,inmoredetail,the
numerousethicalissuesassociatedwithfisheries,payingspecialattentiontothe
effectsoffisheriesmanagementanddevelopmentstrategiesandsocialpolicy
uponpeople'slivingconditions.•
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