The Blue Economy in Small-Scale Fisheries – An Ocean-Land Interface Perspective: The Case of Chile as Support for a Generalizable Analysis for Latin America

Abstract

Abstract With regard to the blue economy, there is a scarcity of discussion on the land-ocean interface. The article’s aim is to fill that gap, focusing on land tenure rights of coastal territory and its governance. For that purpose, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries is key to bringing the concept of the blue economy into the lives of small-scale fisheries stakeholders. The article attempts to analyse whether Chilean legislation complies with the FAO framework, particularly in the area of tenure rights over fishing inlets as well as whether this framework is accepted by those engaged in small-scale fishing. The hypothesis is that, in areas not covered by statutory law, which is mandatory, fishermen have already been intrinsically applying the FAO framework, which is voluntary. Thus, it is important to acknowledge their practices when developing legislation and legal reforms that attempt to introduce such a framework.