4WSFC planning

This is a planning document for the two Dried Fish Matters sessions at the 4th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress (4WSFC).

Roundtable (May 11, 2022 at 16:00)

The roundtable session reports on progress towards understanding the social economy of dried fish in South and Southeast Asia under the umbrella of the Dried Fish Matters project. Rather than a traditional paper presentation format, the session is organized around a series of thematic mini-workshops on themes of transdisciplinary collaboration, social economy, nutrition, and ‘improvement’.

The 90-minute panel is designed to reflect the work-in-progress stage of the DFM project. It takes inspiration from the idea that out of uncertainty and contingency, valuable new insights and suggestions for new directions may emerge.

Mapping dried fish social economies

Prompt for presenters: What are the top 3 surprising findings about dried fish value chains in your area or study?

1. E01 Maldive fish processing in Southern Sri Lanka (Sujani Anupama, University of Ruhuna)
2. E02 Asadgonj Dried Fish Market: Actors' relations and challenges (Mahfuzar Rahman, University of Manitoba)
3. E03 Dried fish processing in Gujarat: An overview (Tara Nair and Rudra Mishra, Gujarat Institute of Development Research)
4. E06 Transition of women's labour in dried fish production in Kerala (Nikita Gopal, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology; Abhijith S, Snehakunja Trust; Jiswin Joseph, Snehakunja Trust; Holly Hapke, University of California, Irvine; Amalendu Jyothishi, Azim Premji University; Ramachandra Bhatta, Snehakunja Trust)
5. E07 Towards a social economy of dried fish in Southeast Asia (Ben Belton, Michigan State University and WorldFish; Kyoko Kusakabe, Asian Institute of Technology)
6. E08 Towards a social economy of dried fish in South Asia (Nikita Gopal, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology; Amalendu Jyothishi, Azim Premji University; Emdad Haque, University of Manitoba; Ramachandra Bhatta, Snehakunja Trust; Holly Hapke, University of California, Irvine)
7. E09 Living on the edge: Perspectives of the small-scale women fish processors of northern coastal Andhra Pradesh, India (Arjilli Dasu, District Fishermens Youth Welfare Association / DFYWA)
8. E10 Lead response (Sisir Pradhan, University of Waterloo)

Guiding questions for discussion: What are DFM’s key comparative findings about dried fish social economies in Asia and about the mapping of ‘knowledge’ as an emergent practice? How do dried fish social economies support small-scale producers and other actors?

Dried fish as food

Guiding question: What are the top three findings from your study on dried fish as food?

1. F01 Myanmar dried fish consumption survey (Si Thu Lin, Network Activities Group; Ben Belton, Michigan State University and WorldFish; Wae Win Khaing, University of Manitoba)
2. F02 Shopping for dried fish in Thailand (Nova Almine, Memorial University of Newfoundland)
3. F04 Comparative study on physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptic properties of local and imported dried fish in Sri Lanka (Poornima Thennakoon, University of Ruhuna)
4. F05 Microplastics and other food safety issues in Bangladesh (Mostafa Hossain, Bangladesh Agricultural University)
5. F06 Food science in the global dried fish literature survey (Eric Thrift, University of Manitoba; Ben Belton, Michigan State University and WorldFish; Derek Johnson, University of Manitoba; Jonah Olsen, University of Manitoba; Mostafa Hossain, Bangladesh Agricultural University; Shakuntala Thilsted, WorldFish)
6. F07 Lead response (Ben Belton, Michigan State University and WorldFish)

Guiding question for discussion: What is DFM's emerging understanding of the nutritional benefits of and threats to dried fish consumption for low income consumers?

Examining “improvement” in dried fish social economies

Guiding question: What are the top three findings from your research on "improvement" in DFM?

1. I01 The role of policies, governance and development in small-scale fisheries and dried fish sector: How are they working on-the-ground in South and Southeast Asian countries? (C. Emdad Haque, University of Manitoba; Mahed Choudhury, Dalhousie University)
2. I02 A political ecology of dried fish in West Bengal, India (Raktima Ghosh and Jenia Mukherjee, IIT Kharagpur)
3. I03 Dried fish value chains: Preliminary findings from Karnataka (Amalendu Jyothishi, Azim Premji University)
4. I04 Policy to address nutritional consequences of changing preferences in Bangladesh (Mirza Taslima, Jahangirnagar University)
5. I05 "Improvement" in the global dried fish literature survey (Derek Johnson, University of Manitoba; Ben Belton, Michigan State University and WorldFish; Eric Thrift, University of Manitoba; Jonah Olsen, University of Manitoba; Mostafa Hossain, Bangladesh Agricultural University; Shakuntala Thilsted, WorldFish)
6. I06 Lead response (Tara Nair, Gujarat Institute of Development Research)

Guiding questions for discussion: To what degree are policy, governance, and development attuned to the needs of actors in dried fish value chains? In particular, how do policy, governance, and development help or hinder small-scale actors?

Cross-cutting discussion and conclusion

1. C01 Short reflection on findings (Kyoko Kusakabe, Asian Institute of Technology)

Introducing the Dried Fish Matters e-book (May 12, 2022 at 16:00)

Dried Fish Matters: Exploring the Social Economy of Dried Fish

Edited by Eric Thrift, Madu Galappaththi, Ratana Chuenpagdee, Raktima Ghosh, Wae Win Khaing, Mahfuzar Rahman, Aklima Akter, and Derek Johnson

Dried fish matters: Exploring the social economy of dried fish

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Dried and fermented fish is of vital nutritional, economic, social, and cultural importance throughout South and Southeast Asia. Despite this, the diverse and complex economy that produces and distributes dried fish is nearly invisible in research and policy. The Dried Fish Matters Partnership brings together a network of interdisciplinary research teams in six countries to address this major oversight.

This volume, consisting of essays, recipes, stories, and reflections contributed by members of our research partnership, provides a commentary on why dried fish matters – to us as researchers, to the communities in which dried fish is produced and consumed, and to the gastronomic heritage of humanity. Launched in commemoration of Sustainable Gastronomy Day 2022, this book celebrates the cultural value of dried fish as food, alongside its social and economic value for development and sustainability.

The chapters in this book describe and analyze dried fish products and value chains, share the stories and experiences of people who produce and sell dried fish, and reflect on efforts to find new ways to learn and to communicate knowledge about dried fish.

About the pre-launch

The Dried Fish Matters E-book will be launched formally on June 18, to coincide with the global observance of Sustainable Gastronomy Day. Our volume celebrates the cultural value of dried fish as food, while promoting the idea that dried fish can contribute to sustainable development according to its economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

The session will include readings from six of the chapters, pre-recorded by the contributing authors, with introductions and thematic commentary by the volume editors. A selection of these chapters will be made available for early download to coincide with the pre-launch event. The formal presentations will be followed by a virtual reception and Q&A hosted by the editors.