Making Pescatourism Just for Small-Scale Fisheries: The Case of Turkey and Lessons for Others
Kitapta bölümler > Diğer · 2022
Yazarlar: Vahdet ÜNAL, Irmak Ertör, Pınar Ertör-Akyazi, Sezgin Tunca
MARE Publication Series, Diğer, Springer International Publishing, B, Uluslararası, 2022, ss 315-333, ,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-89624-9_17
Özet
Marine tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in the Blue Economy. Pescatourism has been considered as a positive strategic sub-sector of marine tourism within the Blue Economy to generate and diversify income sources for small-scale fishers in many Mediterranean countries. However, pescatourism opportunities have not yet been officially recognized in Turkey and many other countries. There have been several resultless attempts to introduce pescatourism in Turkey during the last decade. The main reason seems to be the lack of supportive mechanisms at the second order of governance and legal recognition of this activity, which would allow tourists onboard fishing vessels. Considering the present status of pescatourism and small-scale fisheries, this chapter uses the interactive governance framework as a lens to investigate the constraints and political will for the legal recognition and promotion of pescatourism for the benefit of small-scale fishers in Turkey. We review recent international and local initiatives, including those emanating from a FAO Technical Cooperation Programme – the Blue Hope Initiative in the Mediterranean. The discussion aims at providing guidance for decision-makers and stakeholders for the implementation of the institutional and legal frameworks to initiate pescatourism not only in Turkey, but also in other countries. In conclusion, pescatourism can improve the livelihoods of small-scale fishers while contributing to their recognition, empowerment, and the maintenance of their fisher culture and identity. We argue that, as a first step of establishing Blue Justice, national legal frameworks could allocate the right to conduct pescatourism to small-scale fishers.