Social and solidarity economy in small-scale fisheries: An international analysis

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) play an important role in food systems, the environment, culture, the livelihoods of millions of people and sustainable development as a whole. They frequently operate on common resources and carry out their activity in a collective, traditional and more sustainable way than other forms of fishing. Moreover, many SSF communities are organised in associations, community -based organisations or even cooperatives, which fall under the object of study of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). SSE has been gaining relevance within the political and scientific global agenda and applying it to the fishing sector could provide new insights on its viability, resilience and sustainability. However, fisheries studies do not seem to apply SSE methodologies often, nor does SSE seem to focus on fisheries. Consequently, to find out which studies analyse small-scale fisheries from a SSE perspective and what the main trends in these multidisciplinary studies are, this paper conducts a systematic literature review. Results suggest that works focused on this area of study are limited but have grown over the last decade, with great potential for development. In this sense, this review presents the state of the art of a multidisciplinary field, while the cases analysed allow us to show the SSE as an opportunity to improve SSF management and sustainability. Specifically, we conclude that SSE can provide insights into the entrepreneurial nature of fisheries, social and environmental dynamics, and regional development.