Policy disconnections in the regulation of sustainable seafood in Australia

Dr Sonia Garcia Garcia (PhD awarded 2020)

sonia garcia

Wild capture fisheries are managed by governments on behalf of their populations to address societal concerns related to the exploitation of marine resources, among which environmental sustainability. At the global scale, trade is one of the main pressures on fisheries’ sustainability, with demand from markets around the world driving unsustainable fishing practices. In Australia, ensuring that domestic seafood is sustainably fished is seen as the responsibility of the public governors, but this does not apply to imported seafood. This shows a disconnection between strong government efforts to regulate domestic fisheries to prevent overfishing and the lack of government effort to ensure a level playing field for Australian fisheries in the domestic market. This research explored whether the specific sociocultural environment in the governance of fisheries production and trade could explain this disconnection and examined potential avenues for policy change. The analysis showed that the Australian government’s strong fisheries management record for domestic fisheries is undermined by its reluctance to intervene in processes downstream. This reluctance produces regulatory inconsistency in the treatment of imported and domestic seafood and inhibits the capacity of domestic fisheries to communicate their sustainability at the consumer interface. In the past few years, the control of imports to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has provided a justification for regulations based on traceability systems in the United States and European Union. These regulations aim to provide a level playing field for well-managed fisheries and prevent seafood fraud. This justification has yet to be institutionalised in the Australian context; however, traceability regulations may become a feasible response to future industry demands.

Meet the researcher

Sonia’s original background is language and literature studies, and she worked for over 14 years in international arts policy and projects related to the promotion of minorised literatures. This resulted in a keen interest in how specific socio-cultural contexts shape the interface between policy and management, which she pursued through her PhD project. After graduating from UTS in 2020, she moved to Aotearoa New Zealand and had the privilege of contributing her research management skills to the advancement of Māori research. She is now about to embark on the beautiful challenge to bring her PhD knowledge into practice in the governance of international fisheries, while exploring the Hauraki Gulf as a newbie boatie.

Publications

  • Sbrocchi, C., Garcia Garcia, S., Barclay, K., Brooks, K. (2021). Australia, in ‘Unlocking’ some legal and policy frameworks for small-scale fisheries, Too Big to Ignore, Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries research. http://toobigtoignore.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Legal-analysis-e-book-Australia_F_s.pdf 
  • Garcia Garcia, S., Barclay, K., Nicholls, R. (2021). Can anti-IUU fishing trade measures spread internationally? Case study of Australia, Ocean and Coastal Management 202, p. 105494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105494
  • Garcia Garcia, S., Barclay, K., Nicholls, R. (2020). Policy and the meanings of fish: the differentiation of sustainable seafood in Australia, in Probyn, E., Johnston, K. & Lee, N. (eds.) Sustaining Seas. Oceanic Space and the Politics of Care, Rowman & Littlefield.

Supervisors: Prof Kate Barclay, Dr Jeremy Walker, Dr Rob Nicholls

Contact: sonia.garciagarcia@alumni.uts.edu.au

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.