Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 24

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Paragraph text: For small-scale fishers in developing countries, increased demand in foreign markets may open up opportunities. In Sri Lanka, fishers targeting species for overseas markets, such as tuna, shrimp and lobster, have much higher incomes than those involved in fisheries for local markets. In other cases, however, where small-scale fishers sell fish destined for overseas markets, middlemen or fish-processing factories may pay relatively low prices, only marginally higher (or even the same) than those paid by local markets and consumers. In a study of fish trade in India, it was noted that fishers had little information on the prices paid for fish for export and relatively few actors controlled the supply chain and points of final sale. Although there are promising counter-examples, small-scale fishers generally face considerable obstacles, such as competition from larger firms and tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, including difficulties in meeting the stringent hygiene and sanitation standards demanded by importing countries.

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Person(s) affected