Tracing the double negative: Marine ecologies and worker precarity in Southeast Asian trash fish supply chains

Trash fish, also known as forage fish or low value fish, are a critical ingredient in animal feed, and are often caught unsustainably. Despite its importance for resiliency and ocean ecologies, we know very little about it.

This project aims to develop a novel empirical approach, in that it will be based on data produced through working with supply chain participants, including fish workers and pre-processing workers, in mainland Southeast Asia, with a focus on Thailand* and Vietnam.

We approach our research question: how do trash fish supply chains impact marine resource depletion and worker precarity?, through a so called ‘double negative framework’ (rather than defining what sustainability is, the emphasis is shifted to definitions of what is unsustainable, thereby identifying safe and just spaces).

We build this framework out by drawing on three bodies of literature, to comprehend the complex narratives of trash fish in Southeast Asia:

1. supply chain analysis,
2. ecological resilience studies,
3. labour precarity. 

Using trash fish as methodological object to trace both the stage of the ocean and the working conditions of workers, this project will engage with broader policy implications for government authorities and policy makers in coastal states where trash fish is caught, as well as private actors responsible for supply chain sustainability.