3 Slow Fish : Creating New Metaphors for Sustainability

Analogous to the recently emerging ‘slow food’movement for the protection of the right to taste (see www.slowfood.com), the concept of ‘slow fish’may be used to convey important messages for protection of fisheries and the right to fish. The slow food movement talks about striking the right balance of respect and exchange with nature and the environment, while enhancing eating pleasure. Similar notions also occur in fisheries, when fishers talk about their personal attachment to the sea and how they consider fishing a satisfying and fulfilling lifestyle. The rapid development of fishing technology during the past decades has brought about many undesirable changes in the underlying ecosystems, causing many fisheries to fail. Governments, mired in day-to-day tactical decision-making, have been so far unable to contain the industry, leaving the public at large with increasing doubts about the future of fisheries and fish supply.