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EARLY DAY MOTIONWorldwide impacts of shrimp production (no 1528) tabled by Helen Clark MP "That this House is: Contact your MP and ask him/her to sign the EDM! IN THE PUBLIC EYE MEP Chris Davies has been particularly supportive of the campaign. Meanwhile, in the Lords in 1999, In 1997, the |
The explosion in prawn farming as western demand spirals is having a disastrous impact on the environment and workers across developing countries. Laurence Pollock reports
A deadly cocktail
In the late 19th century, Scottish landowners evicted thousands of crofters
from their smallholdings to make way for sheep. It was easier and more
profitable than collecting rent.
The ‘Highland clearances’ were an early example of environmental
degradation and human rights abuse jointly destroying a way of life sustained
for centuries. It could not happen today – or could it?
The Environmental Justice Foundation was set up four years ago to tackle
this kind of double threat to fragile ecosystems and the people who depend
on them. Its disturbing new report Smash and Grab: Conflict, corruption
and human rights abuses in the shrimp farming industry spells out
the human exploitation and damage to the natural world which western demand
for shrimp is causing.
It is an issue which UNISON members take seriously. Recent resolutions
at National Delegate Conference confronted the danger to communities and
sustainable development posed by the World Trade Organisation, globalisation
of production and the removal of so-called ‘anti-competitive’
practices (protection of local small scale industries and cultivation).
The EJF campaigns and informs on several platforms. It raises issues
with big retailers, lobbies parliament, talks to the Department for International
Development about what the UK government should be doing. But it also
relies on key stakeholders with a progressive track record, such as trade
unions, to help build public awareness.
A young organisation, Smash and Grab is putting EJF on the map as a campaigning
group to be reckoned with. The romantic, exotic image of shrimp fishing
is replaced by land seizure and the displacement of thousands of people,
pollution of agricultural land and intimidation of traditional coastal
dwellers.
The expressions ‘shrimp’ and ‘prawn’ are interchangeable
but campaigners are protesting against the warm water prawn industry producing
king or tiger prawns - not the smaller, cold water prawns, mostly from
the north Atlantic.
The global export value of the farmed shrimp industry is worth about
£4.6bn - producing a retail turnover of nearly £40bn. But
the human cost is enormous. In Ecuador, the source of much of Britain’s
warm water prawns, an acre of native mangrove swap can support five families.
A shrimp farm of more than 200 acres employs six people during preparation
and five during harvest.
About one-third of prawns eaten each year are from farmed sources in
50 countries.
The EJF report documents child labour in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh,
Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador and Burma. Children are exposed
to chemicals and unsanitary conditions. They sometimes spend up to 13
hours in the water collecting shrimp fry to stock farms in Bangladesh
(see Bangladesh report, right). Many suffer skin and respiratory disorders.
In many countries, mangroves have been cleared for shrimp farm construction
with the loss of many species of fish and shellfish, leaving coastal communities
with reduced food security and potential for income generation.
Mike Shanahan of the EJF says the campaign should get support across
the board - evidence shows that foreign exchange generated by the trade
does not ‘trickle down’ to the most affected by the farming
process. He also warns that other areas, particularly Africa, are being
sized up for further exploitation. Mangrove forests in Nigeria are one
target.
The EJF wants food retailers in the UK to agree a standard for shrimp
farming that is environmentally and socially just.
"The retailers fall into three classes," Mr Shanahan says.
"Some acknowledge there is a problem and are prepared to do something
about it, others are lackadaisacal and just state 'All our shrimp are
fine', and some have not even replied to our enquiries."
He cites Marks and Spencer and Waitrose as among the most progressive
companies. We did our own basic investigations into some other stores.
On the back of a 250 gramme pack of Tiger prawns from Sainsbury's (‘a
firm meaty texture with a subtle flavour’ it says) the label adds:
‘Fully traceable to farms that comply with welfare, environmental
and safety standards’. It then gives the Sainsbury’s careline
number. After a menu of options including Nectar card, reward card, mailings,
home shopping and mobile phones; key five gets you through to Paula.
Asked about the ‘requirements’ Paula puts us on hold while
she talks to the ‘knowledge analyst’. After several consultations
she states that the careline cannot provide this information and we must
write to Sainsbury's. But she stresses that Sainsbury’s would not
let the prawns into the country unless they were safe to eat.
EJF wants UK government action both on helping to set international standards
and also on ‘by-catch’ reduction (the destruction caused to
other marine life which get trapped in trawler nets designed to catch
deep sea (unfarmed) shrimp). It is calling for MPs to back the Early day
Motion (see below) in the House of Commons.
There is currently no internationally agreed standards but campaigners
say this is a practical goal: Already forest stewardship and fair trade
labelling for coffee demonstrate that products can be sourced and checked
for their environmental and human rights impact.
Smash and Grab is raising fundamental questions about how third world
countries develop and the heavy casualties caused by unrestricted economic
development. As with campaigns against oil development in Nigeria which
saw the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa, there is a clear link between poverty
and the destruction of the natural environment. Being green is not a concern
of wealthy western liberals. It is a concern for everyone – whether
they are hungry or well fed.
For further information or copies of Smash & Grab: Conflict, Corruption
and Human Rights Abuses in the Shrimp Farming Industry, contact Steve
Trent or Dr Mike Shanahan on 020 7359 0440 or download the report in PDF format directly from 
www.ejfoundation.org
Contact the article's author
|
BANGLADESHThe EJF wants the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) to direct funds towards developing alternative
livelihood options for those involved in, or affected by, shrimp
culture in Bangladesh. As many as 400,000 people work as fry collectors in Bangladesh, many of whom are among the poorest sectors of society, unskilled and untrained. However, it is an ecologically devastating fishery, during which an estimated 98 billion individuals of other species are caught every year in Bangladesh during collection of Penaeus monodon (tiger shrimp) fry. Wild shrimp fry collection has been estimated
to remove up to 90% of the Penaeus monodon stock in Bangladesh,
while the high bycatch is likely to have serious impacts on biodiversity
and capture fisheries production. Fry collectors are also looked down upon socially, risk their health, and there are reports of sexual abuse against women fry collectors, who often have to work at night. Children have been reported to spend 13-14
hours a day in and around the water, typically earning only around,
or less than, US $1 per day. In a bid to reduce the impacts of shrimp fry fisheries on the coastal ecosystem and its dependent communities, the Government of Bangladesh announced a complete ban on wild shrimp fry collection in 2000. However, without sufficient resources to
enforce the ban and with very few alternative livelihood options
available for many collectors, wild shrimp fry collection continues,
while some of the poorest sectors of society have been criminalised.
DFID has published a report outlining an
integrated management of the shrimp fry fishery, which it is hoped
that the government will follow. The EJF believes that DFID should be directing funds to facilitate the transition for these fry collectors to alternative livelihoods. Aid should be specifically targeted towards relief and alternative livelihood programmes – focussed primarily at women and children, and be location-specific. Alternative employment within the shrimp sector should not be the only or major options promoted; village level farming projects should be encouraged that diversify food sources and methods of income generation. |
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