Exploring cross-country externalities and viable resilience and sustainability options among small-scale fishing communities in the Tropics

Ming-An Lee¹Mubarak Mammel^1*Baker Matovu^2,3*Louis George Korowi¹Biraj Kanti Mondal⁴Irene Martins⁵SANJIB MAHATA⁴Mary Grace Sedanza⁶

• ¹National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
• ²Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, Coimbatore, India
• ³Future Earth Coasts, Kampala, Uganda
• ⁴Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
• ⁵University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
• ⁶University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Philippines

Small-scale fishing communities are important for the development of emerging economies, sustaining livelihoods, and global food systems. However, the increasing human environmental pressures are threatening the provision of these sustainability benefits. Findings revealed that small-scale fisherfolk have shared commonalities, especially in the fisheries systems, activities, and vulnerabilities. There is gender-specific specialization in fishing activities. Fishing is not just a job; it embodies a social identity. Fisherfolk's identity is protected using century-long fishing methods. Most fisherfolk, especially in Papua New Guinea, are semi-literate and use semi-modern fish preservation techniques. Social-demographic vulnerabilities are increasing, such as the aging population. The declining fishing population leads to unsustainable livelihood futures. The burden of securing household livelihood often falls on a single individual. Increased vulnerability has increased the use of unsustainable fishing practices. Ocean temperatures have increased by 2 O C since 2000. From 2018-2020, the Indian Ocean Dipole increased to almost 1. Sea surface temperatures are increasing along the northwest fishing coast of India. Increasing illegal and exploitative fishing by distant fleets was reported. Fisherfolk are experiencing a socioeconomic identity crisis. Hard and soft measures, including community-based fisheries rights and licensing of fishing operations, exist with mixed results. This calls for collaborative governance mechanisms that are flexible and integrate the fisherfolk communities. Six sustainable leverage points are co-identified and co-created that can enhance sustainable marine fisheries transformations. The leverage points incorporate critical marine social science and fisheries science theoretical and conceptual perspectives and narratives. Incorporating the key components of the leverage points increases the possibilities of aligning sustainable fisheries targets to regional and global blue transformation programs in India and Papua New Guinea. In regions with small-scale fishing communities, findings revealed that although building resilience is complex, due to increasing human-environmental pressures in fishing zones, collaborative actions, including the recognition of the value of conventional fisherfolk, indigenous communities, and fisherwomen inclusion are critical. This helps in creating voluntary actions on sustainable fishing practices, governance, and management. To further drive social-natural 2 science sustainability research in vulnerable tropical fishing regions, emphasis should be placed on conducting research that engages/captures the perspectives of the vulnerable fisherfolk.