SSF-VALUE

This project aims to identify and evaluate socio-cultural and economic contributions of small-scale fisheries to rural communities in the Galician coast of Spain. This information is needed due to the relatively low input of these fisheries to national economies which usually masks their genuine societal and contributions to wellbeing, and fosters their marginalization. 

Using the Galician women on-foot shellfish collectors fishery as a case study and applying an inter and trans-disciplinary methodology involving scholars from social and economic sciences and participation of stakeholders, the objectives of this research are a) to identify the socio-cultural (place identity, heritage, social capital, gender equality, experiential knowledge etc) and economic contribution of Galician small-scale fisheries to coastal communities using a wellbeing and an economic approach, b) to estimate the value of the socio-cultural and economic contributions of SSF using economic valuation tools, c) to co-develop indicators that encompass socio-cultural and economic data for monitoring and evaluating impacts regarding marine resources allocated to the SSF’s fleet, and d) to communicate the contributions that flow from SSF inside and outside academia.