Abstract
Fishery includes farmed fisheries and wild fisheries; of which, wild fisheries are comprised of marine and freshwater fisheries that provide an important source of food, nutrition, employment and income, mostly in the developing countries including India. However, now-a-days, environmental factors, such as climate change, global warming, heat stress, unpredictable weather patterns, ecological imbalance, etc., causes either direct, or indirect effects on the fishery and fish processing industry; thus, encompass numerous challenges to the quality of life (QoL) of the target communities. Also, the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through man-made activities worsen the situation. Besides, occupational exposure is another major factor due to physical, chemical, biological and psychological stressors that affect the overall productivity of this informal sector. Globally, millions of people are employed in the fishery and fish processing industry though women are the majority in the fish processing work in the developing countries; thereby it demands need-based support programs, national policies and action plans for the benefit of the stakeholders. Further, industry's resilience is dependent on the effective governance, sustainable practices and strong mitigation strategies, where fishing industry is not an exception. Hence, the present book chapter scrutinizes a wide range of environmental and occupational issues confronting the QoL of the communities, as well as explores the potential strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and occupational hazards in the fisherfolk and fish processing communities.
TopIntroduction
The basic quality of life (QoL) includes physical, mental and spiritual health, relationships, education and social status, belongingness, physical surrounding, workplace environment, wealth, a sense of security and safety, and freedom of speech, movement and decision-making of an individual, which is attached with human needs and well-being (Costanza et al., 2007; Smith & Clay, 2010; Ali et al., 2018). Climate change is a global threat in the 21st century, as several challenges like global warming, heat stress, glacier and Arctic/Antarctic ice melting, rise in sea level and sea temperature, changes in precipitation, etc., directly, or indirectly affect the QoL of the people. The situation become worsen due to anthropogenic activities, workplace malpractices, lack of awareness, safety measures, education, and many more, especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries though data from the underdeveloped countries are scanty. In the developing countries, fishery industry is one of the major sources of living for the common people who are largely dependent on the several climate change issues. Fishery industry includes numerous activities, such as farming, fishing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting and marketing of fishes, and related fish products that cover both farm fisheries and wild fisheries; of which, wild fisheries are comprised of marine and freshwater fisheries. In broad sense, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) defined aquaculture, or aquafarming of crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae, and other organisms along with fishes (FAO, 2018a); however, the present book chapter deals with fisheries considering the huge production and market demands of fishes and fish products (Figure 1), as well as the number of skilled and unskilled workers employed in this informal sector.
Figure 1. Worldwide scenario of fishery and aquaculture. A. Types of fisheries. B. Capture fisheries and aquaculture from inland and marine water. C. Diversity of fish capture and aquaculture. D. Utilization of fishes
Globally, fishes and fish products are one of the important sources of animal protein in diet due to low cholesterol and high amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids (FAO, 2012), which commercially accounts to 240.99 billion USD in 2017, and is expected to reach 438.59 billion USD by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.88% (Research & Markets, 2019).The worldwide fish trade is worth of more than 50 billion USD, of which 50% comes from the developing countries (International Labor Organization [ILO], 2004). According to FAO, the rise in global capture of fisheries production from 1990 to 2018 is about 14%, while the total consumption of fishes and fish products increases 122%, suggesting a remarkable growth of the employment and revenue in this profitable sector during the period (FAO, 2022). In 2018, the total global capture of fishes reaches a record of 96.4 million tons, which is equivalent to 5.4% increase from the average since 2015 (ILO, 2004). Further, worldwide around 35 million people is employed in the fishery industry including 27 million full-time, part-time and occasional fishermen, mostly comes from the developing countries of Asia (83%), Africa (9%) and South America (2.5%), while the rest is divided from the fish exporting countries of North America, Europe and Russia (FAO, 2022). India is the 2nd largest country in fish production (6.3%) after China (more than ⅓ of global production), and 6th in the list of fish and seafood export countries (6.6%) with an annual export value of 4.6 billion USD after European Union (36.2%), China (22.7%), Norway (11.9%), Vietnam (9.5%) and USA (6.7%) (Shahbandeh, 2022; Nag, 2017). Though significant changes in the global fish production indicating a major shift in dominance towards the developing countries and China (Delgado et al., 2003); however, the supplies from capture fisheries are slowly being replaced by the farmed and/or cultured supplies i.e., 50% of the present global consumption of fishes and fish products (FAO, 2016).
Key Terms in this Chapter
GDP: Gross Domestic Product represents the total monetary value, or market value, of finished goods and services produced in a country during a particular period, which is an indicator of the income earned from that production, or the total amount spent on that goods and services. GDP is the indicator of the government for measuring the economic health of the country.
IgE: Immunoglobulin E is a type of antibody (immunoglobulins), which is basically a protein in the mammalian immune system. Asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, cutaneous diseases, neoplastic diseases and in immune deficiencies, IgE levels are elevated in serum, because immune system produces IgE against each of the specific allergen, thus determines the individual susceptibility against different allergic conditions.
HPV 7: Human Papilloma Virus type 7is a DNA virus from Papillomaviridae family, which causes sexually transmitted infections and cancers of cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth, throat, or tonsils. Prevalence is high among butcher’s and fish handlers though 90% infection resolves within two years, but some infection persists, leading to pancreatic lesions, or warts.
EAA: Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture is a holistic approach, or integrated strategy for management of aquaculture that considers all different components within a specific boundary of ecosystem, which characterizes the aquatic animal production and promotes sustainable development, equity, and resilience of interlinked socio-ecological systems.
PCD: Protein Contact Dermatitis is an allergic skin reaction induced by animal, or plant proteins through foods that causes chronic dermatitis in hands and/or forearms eczema of occupational origin, especially in food handlers, resulting from IgE-mediated allergic reaction. However, it is difficult to differentiate between allergic contact dermatitis and other eczematous dermatoses.
EEZ: According to UN convention 1982 on the law of the sea, Exclusive Economic Zone is an area that extending 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond a nation’s territorial sea, within which the said nation has jurisdiction over both living and non-living resources, and a right to explore/use of marine resources/energy production from water and wind.
GHGs: Carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour are the Green House Gases that absorb infrared radiation and heat emitted from earth’s surface and return them back to the surface. The name implies as the glass walls of the green houses works the same way as earth surface upon trapping heat coming from the sun.
PPE: Personal Protective Equipment, is the specific range of items that worn by the people of different occupations, such as construction workers, miners, healthcare workers, researchers, workers in chemical and pharmaceutical industries, etc., to minimize the workplace exposure and provide protection from workplace hazards, injuries, accidents and illness resulting from the contact with chemical, radiological, physical, mechanical, electrical, and biological agents.
PAHs: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are a class of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil and gasoline. Burning coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, tobacco and high heat during cooking of meat and other foods also generate PAHs, which bind to, or form small particles in the air. Exposure to PAHs and its metabolites cause cataracts, kidney and liver damage, jaundice, skin redness, inflammation, RBC lysis and mutagenesis.
LCA: Life Cycle Assessments is a methodology for quantifying environmental impacts arise from material inputs and outputs, such as use of energy, emission of air, extraction of raw material, processing/manufacture of product, distribution/use of product/service, recycling/disposal of product/service, etc., over their entire life cycle. It helps consumers to make a right decision without compromising environmental benefit.
GIS: Geographic Information System is designed to capture, evaluate, manipulate, handle, and view all forms of geographical and spatial information, data, etc., for conducting spatio-temporal analysis, managing large data, viewing the data in maps, or graphical formats for presentation, analysis and providing information to an organization for better management.
RCP: Representative Concentration Pathway is a greenhouse gas concentration trajectory (not emissions) by IPCC in concert with the predictive modelling techniques to measure the intensity of future changes in the marine fishery sector. For example, RCP predicts the future carbon dioxide emissions and its impact on the fishery sector, as well as possible reduction of its concentration in the environmental throughout a century.
CPAs: Climate Change Preparedness Activities includes a set of standard operative procedures i.e., policies, infrastructures, relationships, behaviors and functions to address the climatic change issues and recovery measures at personal, local, regional and national levels for ensuring protection of life, property and benefit of community.
Hsp: Heat Shock Proteins are widely distributed in nature and highly conserved molecules of biosphere, which are expressed in cells during stress condition to perform crucial roles in protein folding/unfolding/translocation as well as assembling/disassembling of the protein complexes. According to molecular weight, Hsp are divided into five categories: - Hsp90, Hsp70, Hsp60 and Hsp100.