Important to neutralize power balances to get all voices heard

During the Science Policy Lab in Mombasa, different stakeholders met. Scientists, large and small-scale practitioners, and representatives from governance and management were among the participants.  

- The challenge is to make all voices heard; from the small-scale actors, people involved in aquaculture and traders along the value chain, to the large actors and the policy makers. There is also a challenge in power relations, says Dr Berkström.

In Mombasa, the participants did a power exercise where they were asked questions related to education, economic resources and the possibility to travel. 

One difference between the groups was that the ones with less power wanted more producer-centred technological innovations towards accessing nutritious food and cooperation, whereas the more powerful group focused on innovations to enhance the consumption of aquatic foods in both fishing and non-fishing communities.[CB1]  

- You must think about how to neutralize these power balances when you have these sorts of meetings so that everyone’s voice is heard. Some were a bit quieter during the discussions.

More time needed

Another of Dr Berkström’s reflections from the Mombasa Science Policy lab was that there was a good mix of stakeholders, and it was great that childcare was offered, but more time for the workshop would have added value.

- It was a bit squeezed with only one day for the workshop, I would have appreciated another day for more time to dwell a bit on the conclusions when people felt more comfortable. A challenge is that the results become a bit fluffy because you want to have only a few concrete statements on how to move forward.

There were many concrete suggestions from the participants during the lab but since the aim was to come up with answers to three specific questions this framing diluted the suggestions. Dr Berkström thinks that, sometimes, it is better to have concrete suggestions or ways to move forward that work on the ground level.

- We wanted policy actions that can be used on a rather abstract level, but we might need a step in between with more concrete actions.

She reflects that you often think of technical development when you discuss  innovation, but what is needed when it comes to gender and fisheries is also to acknowledge the role of the women in the value chain, and provide them with things like childcare, opportunities to be part of groups and cooperations where they can exchange knowledge and ideas and get training.

- Traditionally, the men go out in the boats and the women take care of the fish, sell it or prepare it. One problem is that many products cannot be taken care of before they go bad so technical innovations like cooling facilities are also important. 

Sustainability is complex

She thinks the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in East Africa is complicated when thinking of both the aim to supply nutrition for the population and the land use and fish feed.

- I think that aquatic food has the potential to provide nutritious food to the local population and that it should reach everyone, but we have the challenges of transportation and waste along the value chain. Cooling technology that helps reduce waste can also improve the income of women. With aquaculture we have the problem with fish feed, we catch fish to feed farmed fish. 

One solution for aquaculture would be to focus on fish feed based on alternative feeds such as insects or waste from fish. Another solution is to focus aquaculture more on species from the lower part of the food chain, like fish that feed on plants or algae. A third way of making aquaculture more sustainable is encouraging more circular farms where waste from the farmed fish is taken up by co-farmed filter feeding organisms or plants and algae.

Consequences of climate change

When areas get warmer, species move, and the ecosystems change. Climate change not only changes the temperature but also alters the current systems and upwelling patterns affecting productivity of fish. Dr Berkström is currently leading some projects on how fish population distributions will be altered by climate change, linking this to their nutritional values and the social and economic consequences that follows.

- There was a recent paper on tuna in Kenya and Tanzania, showing tuna were particularly impacted by future climate change, with biomass reductions of at least 70% in both Kenya and Tanzania during the 21st century. These predicted alterations in landings will have consequences on the availability and accessibility of nutrient rich fish to local communities[CB2] .

She also leads a project in Tanzania looking at the consequences of the demand for certain species by tourists where some indications show that the most valuable fish in tourist areas tend to be eaten by the tourists, the less valuable fish is left to the local population which might have some impact on the nutritional value.

Dr. Berkström also points to the need to get fish to reach people that are not on the coast by drying or cooling fish and make people eat other species than what they are used to. There is a need to change perception and open new food options.

- It’s difficult because it’s a cultural thing. In Sweden for example, we have this thing about not eating bream because it has too many bones and are difficult to prepare, although historically it was consumed. SLU are involved in projects producing burgers from bream to see if we can change the opinion on eating it in Sweden.