Fishing on the Edge: How Climate Change Makes it Difficult for Small-Scale Fishers to Cope

One can agree that climate change brought about a myriad of issues, particularly among small-scale fishers, one of the marginalised and vulnerable groups in South Africa and globally.

Climate change and the limitations in resources and regulations are some of the many issues that are faced by small-scale fishers. The exacerbation of small-scale fishers’ vulnerability is through numerous ways, including rising temperatures, changes in ocean currents, income generation, and extreme events such as storms, flooding and drought.

Rising Temperatures

The rise in temperatures due to climate change impacts small-scale fishers in various ways, including changes in the availability and distribution of marine species, particularly fish species. The rising temperatures also change the spawning cycles and feeding behaviour of fish species. Additionally, the rising temperatures significantly contribute to marine habitat degradation.

Changes in Ocean Currents

Changes in ocean currents are one of the many issues which immensely impacts small-scale fishers. This includes impacting their livelihood, especially when proceeding to the sea as they rely on observations of ocean conditions as well as utilising their traditional knowledge. Apart from ocean currents impacting the ability of small-scale fishers to proceed to the sea, changes in the speed and direction of the current can damage fishing gears, especially those not designed to withstand harsh conditions.

Despite the changes in ocean currents, small-scale fishers in some cases manage to adapt to the changing conditions, albeit at a slow pace.  For those small-scale fishers who have some experience with technology, they can be able to access weather-related data and prediction tools.  Those who do not have technological experience with weather prediction tools, training can be offered to them to improve their adaptive capacity.

The Impact of Extreme Events on Income Generation and Food Security

Extreme events such as heavy rainfall, storms, flooding and drought heavily impact small-scale fishers. Apart from damages to fishing gear, extreme events, particularly storms and rough seas, also damage the infrastructure, including landing sites.

These extreme events also impact the ability of small-scale fishers to proceed to the sea as they would normally do in great weather conditions. The limited ability to proceed to the sea heavily impacts the livelihood, and threatens the food security of small-scale fishers.  For instance, in South Africa, about 28,000 small-scale fishers rely on marine resources for food security (Macdonald, 2019). It is therefore important to find ways to ensure food security in the long term.

Among small-scale fishers, safety is a major concern, especially during the occurrence of extreme events. From a global and South African context, a lot of incidents have been reported due to extreme events, and such incidents include the loss of lives and injuries (e.g., Wu, Pelot and Hilliard, 2009; Niclasen, Simonsen and Magnusson, 2010; Saksono, Nissa and Suadi, 2023). These incidents are further exacerbated by the lack of weather prediction tools.

Flooding, on the other hand, sometimes deposits pollutants into water bodies and changes the quality of the water. The deposition of pollutants into the water bodies often leads to a reduction in the availability of fish stocks, more especially in freshwater and estuaries. This does not only pose a threat to the availability and productivity of fish stock, but it also forces small-scale fishers to travel longer distances to acquire their catch.

Similarly, droughts also impacts small-scale fishers by reducing the water levels in water bodies (e.g., rivers, estuaries); making it difficult for marine species, particularly fish species, to survive. Apart from droughts impacting fishing, they also impact agricultural productivity, which is an important alternative livelihood for small-scale fishers.

Extreme events have profound impacts on the income generation of small-scale fishers. For example, the limited ability of small-scale fishers to proceed to the sea means that they must borrow money from their family, loan sharks or from the bank. This is often difficult as some small-scale fishers may not possess collateral that may be used in case they fail to honour their promises. In addition, without stable income, small-scale fishers may resort to either relocation to other places where alternative livelihood opportunities are available, or some may end up selling their available resources to sustain themselves.

I can say without a doubt that fishing for small-scale fishers is on the edge because of climate change, coupled with limited support and conservation efforts, as Sigmar Gabriel said, “Without sound conservation and management measures, fisheries will quickly become depleted and a basic component of global food security will be lost”.

Urgency to Action

It is worrying how climate change has made it almost impossible for small-scale fishers to support their lives and livelihoods. It is also disheartening to witness how their ability to adapt to changing conditions has been limited because of little to no support from the higher authority. Without the necessary support; small-scale fishers may continue to face economic strain and other hardships.

This also includes the potential of losing their culture and identity that have been passed on from generation to generation. It is therefore important to consider the urgency of providing support to small-scale fishers because, without meaningful support, small-scale fishers are at a tipping point. The support could be in the form of provisioning of better infrastructures, weather predictive tools, preservation of their culture and identity, and social or financial support.

In conclusion, climate change has major impacts on small-scale fishers through disruptions of ecosystems (i.e., rivers, estuaries and marine, threatening their safety and in turn their ability to acquire their income and the). This is exacerbated by their limited adaptive capacity.

References

1. Macdonald, A., 2019. Small-scale fisheries in South Africa: A decade of challenges and opportunities. Marine Policy, 103, pp.54–60.
2. Niclasen, B., Simonsen, J. and Magnusson, M., 2010. Occupational accidents and fatalities in the Greenland fishing industry. International Maritime Health, 61(1), pp.5–16.
3. Saksono, H., Nissa, C. and Suadi, A., 2023. The impact of extreme weather on the safety of small-scale fishers in Indonesia. Ocean and Coastal Management, 237, p.106513.
4. Wu, H., Pelot, R. and Hilliard, C., 2009. The influence of weather on the relative risk of vessel accidents in Canadian Atlantic waters. Risk Analysis, 29(10), pp.1431–1444.

Written By: Humbelani Netshithuthuni

Edited By: Takudzwa Taruza