Market Initiatives of Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean: Innovation in Support of Sustainable Blue Economy

Abstract

AbstractThe study of traditional marine stakeholders, such as small-scale fishers in the Mediterranean, represents a site of a changing seascape. This is characterized by impeding factors of the past but also a possibility for improved future trajectories. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) have played a crucial socio-economic role in the Mediterranean for decades, and they continue to comprise over 80% of the fishing fleets and provide direct and indirect economic contributions to coastal communities. Their contribution to blue economy has so far been described as low, but this is largely due to a narrow conception both of benefits to be drawn from the development of maritime sectors (which have focused strongly on economic growth) and types of innovation that are capable of supporting the transition to sustainability (which have overlooked social innovation). This chapter outlines the multi-scale contributions of the small-scale fisheries and presents innovative approaches of the sector towards the markets, both of which support the inclusion of SSF in the blue economy sector. The chapter focuses on key instances of recently developed initiatives by the SSF across the Mediterranean with impacts on the supply chain and the marketing of their products. We argue that these market interventions contribute to the ultimate governance objectives, and challenge the conception of SSF as a non-innovative sector. We propose that a richer engagement with the blue economy paradigm supports the perception of the SSF as a prospective sector, to match the promotion of aquaculture among others.