 SFL Members Reach Out to Fisheries that Count
Almost one year ago, Sustainable Food Lab (SFL) members traveled to China to meet with fisherman and fishers’ organizations. No other country comes close to China in terms of global significance in wild catch and aquiculture production and the outcomes of this trip continue to ripple through the Food Lab. Participants in this two week workshop visited fishery operations and, as with other Learning Journeys, learned as much from the fact that different participants interpreted the same events differently as from the events themselves. The Chinese fishery industry accounts for one quarter of the world catch. Its aquaculture production accounts for 54% of the world total (FAO data, figures 1 and 2). Fish Team members know that if are to make an impact world wide, they can not avoid working with the Chinese fisheries industries.
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figure 2 Lab member Pierre Vuarin said, “It appeared important to us, within the framework of the Sustainable Food Laboratory fisheries team, to pay close attention to events in China, to establish relationships with the Chinese actors involved in this sector, and to envision different types of action. For all these reasons we proposed a workshop (or learning journey) in China. That appeared to us the best means of understanding the current reality there and of understanding the different perspectives held (political leaders, fishermen, experts, and NGOs, companies). We also thought of it as a means of involving Chinese participants and to also allow an exchange from their points of view.” The trip laid the foundation for ongoing relations with Chinese partners, a two-week workshop or “Chinese mini-Food Lab” is now proposed for October 2006 and two Chinese delegates will likely join the rest of the Food Lab for the meeting in New Orleans. In addition, workshop participants who came from other parts of the world, Africa (Uganda), South America (Chile) and Canada have formed close working relationships. Some of these have launched other projects together, most notably, a project centered on the fishing conditions around Lake Victoria. Vuarin said that the U-process technique used during this learning journey for confronting different points of view was new and unfamiliar to the participants. Twice a day trip organizers devoted an hour to sharing perspectives, insisting that participants avoid analyses and instead express their own impressions, reactions, surprises and feelings from the visits and meetings. “The fact of taking time at the end of the morning and the end of the day for this ‘assessment of astonishment’ required much prodding on our part at the beginning,” Vuarin said. “Indeed, although we described and insisted on this methodology in our writings and at the beginning of workshop visits, our Chinese friends had programmed many activities, visits, and meetings. Days were often full. We needed a great deal of insistence to maintain these two points of daily expression. But after a few days, our Chinese friends perceived the group interest in this time of expression." As in previous Food Lab learning journeys, this insistence paid off. “This point of method appeared key to creating a very favorable group dynamic, allowing the integration of the Chinese into the whole group and also increasing their understanding of our questions and issues,” Vuarin said. Participants shared their view points while interpreters (English-Chinese and French-Chinese) worked to ensure that all participants understood what was said. Here are some examples of the types of differences participants confronted: Impressions of an Export and Processing Company The participants visited a large export and processing company that the Chinese considered a model of good practice. The company imports fish from Russia, Latin America, and other countries, processes them, transforms them and packages them to re-export to developed countries. This company had very good sanitary conditions and paid particular attention to the pollutant emissions but for the non-Chinese, it appeared that this type of company did not represent "sustainable" production because the fish traveled far and the complex processing consumed a great deal of energy. From this point of view, it appeared contrary to sustainable development objectives. This point created a debate. Chinese Shrimp Fishing Evocative for American Participant The participants visited lakes where traditional shrimp fishing was practiced. A couple of fishermen worked simply on a small wooden boat, moving it manually, and collecting shrimp with a pole and a scoop. At the "assessment of astonishment", Margaret Curole President of the Louisiana Shrimp Harvesters Association, expressed, with tears in her eyes, the feeling of this situation. She explained what few others in the group could have imagined: this system of shrimp harvesting was the same one used in Louisiana and Curole herself had practiced it for years with her husband. With the advent of the shrimp imports to the USA from China and other countries, they had had to give up this production practice. Are the Chinese Aquaculture Systems Sustainable? For the local people the fresh water aquaculture enterprises appeared powerful and productive. For the members of the group coming from countries other than China, it appeared that these systems were very fragile from the point of view of sustainability. The near-by agricultural fields received manure, chemicals, insecticides, and pesticides. Garbage dumps were not far away either. The issues of the quality control of the fish, control of the residues, and of the traceability of the products, in general, were not very high in the minds of the companies. Vuarin said, "through these examples, we see occasions to confront our viewpoints, our feelings, and our theories. These created a great richness in exchanges, reflections, and also expression of our visions." Outcomes:
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