Pacific Handbook for human rights, gender equity and social inclusion in tuna industries / by Francisco Blaha

I always remark that SPC does top-quality publications not only in terms of content but also in terms of design, and as such, I’m always proud (and humbled) when they use my pictures for their excellent publications, yet this time is a double pride since are not only my photos but also many references to the paper I co-authored last year with K Nakamura and Y Ota (A practical take on duty to uphold human rights in seafood workplaces) and many of my blog entries.

This one, the Pacific Handbook for human rights, gender equity and social inclusion in tuna industries comes from the hand of my friend Professor Kate Barclay plus  Aliti Vunisea, Megan Streeter, Senoveva Mauli and Natalie Makhoul, all of whom I interacted with in the past.

This publication follows the footsteps of the existing SPC Handbook on gender equity and social inclusion in coastal fisheries and aquaculture (that also used many of my pictures) as they adopted the idea of a practical handbook with tools, case studies, tips and stories to speak to fisheries practitioners and to support the application of gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) principles in the tuna industries.

This new ‘Tuna Handbook’ also includes human rights (HR) topics complementing gender equity and social inclusion concepts with an extended outlook into more specific human rights issues such as working conditions and labour rights. In addition, the ‘Tuna Handbook’ expands on the dual responsibilities of the public sector and the tuna industry as the private sector player.

In a nutshell, the handbook has 9 modules (all with my pictures in the covers) that are divided into four thematic areas:

  1. Introduction – the basics: Module 1 1 (Overview) and Module 2 (MEL and Social Analysis) 

  2. Site-specific human rights and GESI issues – from the sea to the shore: Modules 3, 4 and  5 (HR and GESI at sea/in port areas/in onshore processing facilities)

  3. Broader human rights and GESI relevance: Modules 6, 7 and 8 (HR and GESI in the informal SSF tuna sector/in fisheries science and management/stakeholder engagement)

  4. The national scale: Module 9 (Fiji case study)

All modules are also stand-alone publications, which can be downloaded separately.

The handbook is primarily addressed to fisheries practitioners working for national fisheries agencies but also to the private sector, civil society, and intergovernmental organisations. Educational institutions may also benefit from the handbook to support the integration of human perspectives, social science and their dynamics into course development and research.

Needless to say, I was even more flattered when Kate (she is at the top of this field) said publicly: “Apart from your amazing photos, Francisco, your blogs and papers have some of the best ideas and points for human rights in tuna fisheries for the region. Thank you!” as someone relatively new to the academic field of Labour rights at sea and coming from an operational angle, her words are really encouraging.

So, if you are interested in the topic, make sure you dig into this publication as it sets the stage in the Pacific with lessons learned for the rest of the world.