A Social Wellbeing in Fisheries Tool (SWIFT) to Help Improve Fisheries Performance

Tracy Van Holt, Wendy Weisman, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Sofia Käll, Jack Whalen, Braddock Spear and Pedro Sousa
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Tracy Van Holt: Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Program, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm SE-104 05, Sweden
Wendy Weisman: Centre for Social Innovation, New York, NY 10001, USA
Jeffrey C. Johnson: Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Sofia Käll: Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Program, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm SE-104 05, Sweden
Jack Whalen: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
Braddock Spear: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA
Pedro Sousa: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: We report on a rapid and practical method to assess social dimensions of performance in small-scale and industrial fisheries globally (Social Wellbeing in Fisheries Tool (SWIFT)). SWIFT incorporates aspects of security (fairness and stability of earnings, benefits of employment to local fishing communities, worker protection, and personal safety and health in communities associated with fisheries); flexibility (including opportunity for economic advancement); and the fishery’s social viability (including whether the fishery is recruiting new harvesters and diverse age classes of workers, whether women’s participation and leadership in global production networks are on an upward trajectory.). We build on resilience research by conceptualizing wellbeing in terms of security , flexibility , and viability , and assessing wellbeing at individual, community, and system levels. SWIFT makes social performance measures more broadly accessible to global production networks, incorporates an everyday understanding of wellbeing for people involved in the seafood industry, and helps put social sustainability into measurable terms that are relevant for businesses.

Keywords: fisheries improvement; corporate social responsibility; social sustainability; seafood; supply-chain; well-being; global production networks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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