Global literature review - Policy and governance

Policy and governance is a pre-eminent theme in the wider fisheries literature but comparatively underrepresented in work on dried fish. The bulk of dried fish literature referring to policy or governance does not emphasize either topic as a central theme. Among publications foregrounding policy and/or governance in relation to dried fish, we identify four clusters. These are addressed below in order of the scale and scope of their contribution to the literature

First, publications addressing the history of policy impacts on fishery development. These publications cover a wide range of geographies and time periods. Most explicitly, Reeves et al. [1] analyze the effects of colonial salt tax policy on the organization of Indian's fish curing during industry in the 19th Century, and Durrenberger & Palsson [2] evaluate state regulation of fishing gears, effort, prices, and quotas in Iceland in relation to the evolution of catching and processing fish and the international dried fish trade. Two classic volumes, The closing of the frontier [3] and Cod [4] take a wide ranging approach to documenting the economic and ecological history of fisheries, in Southeast Asia and the North Atlantic, respectively, including the effects of specific policy interventions on the production and trade of dried, salted and fermented fish products. Other authors examine the historical interplay of state-led fisheries policy and informal market and commons governance mechanisms in contexts where a large share of fish is traded and consumed in dried form, including Nova Scotia [5], Lake Victoria [6], and the Democratic Republic of Congo [7].

Second, a small number of development policy oriented studies combine analysis of the effects of trade and fisheries management policies of fish marketing and trade, of which dried fish are explicitly referred to as comprising a large part, and provide policy recommendations based on extensive field research [8]. Kent [9] provides a prescient early policy oriented overview of the role of fish production and consumption (including dried products) in alleviating malnutrition throughout the Global South, and provides policy recommendations for maximizing their potential to contribute to this goal.

Third, a substantial amount of academic work addresses the governance of the modern Norwegian and Icelandic salted cod trade to Iberia, including an entire edited volume on the subject [10]. These studies are rooted in conceptions of value chain governance derived from economic sociology and industrial organization theory, emphasizing the role of quality conventions and standards, and examine the intersections with innovation, competitiveness and public policy [11].

Finally, a rather unusual anthropological study by Amilien and Hegnes [12] examines the cultural smell of fermented fish in Norway, investigating how relationships between producers and policy-makers has shaped the cultural construction and evolution of a 'traditional' food product with protected geographical indication status.