Blue Justice in Three Governance Orders

Abstract

AbstractSecuring access to resources and markets for small-scale fisheries is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14b). Yet, judging from the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, endorsed by FAO member states in 2014, all of the SDGs are relevant for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries. Small-scale fisheries people are vulnerable, marginalized from decision-making, and can be excluded from physical spaces, resulting in food insecurity and poverty. In this chapter, we are particularly interested in SDG 16, which aims to create justice and strong institutions. Drawing on the interactive governance framework and existing academic literature on social justice, we argue that small-scale fisheries in the Blue Economy need more than just institutions. Justice must also permeate the ongoing interactions between small-scale fisheries actors and other stakeholders, including governments, and be integral to the process and outcome of marine spatial planning where small-scale fisheries have high stakes.KeywordsBlue JusticeSustainable Development GoalsSSF GuidelinesMarine spatial planningGovernance ordersSmall-scale fisheriesInstitutionsMarine Spatial Planning