UC Santa Cruz

Using forage fish for direct human consumption in the U.S. could reduce the social and environmental pressures associated with eating higher trophic species, increase jobs in the fishing industry, and improve seafood security. This dissertation explores the opportunities and limitations of using forage fish for direct human markets in the U.S using California’s Pacific herring fishery as a case study. To do this, I developed an approach for integrating fisheries conservation and food security using literature from fisheries, political ecology, and global commodity chain studies. I collected ethnographic data, including participant observations and interviews, from the point of harvest in San Francisco, California, to consumption in the U.S. and Japan. I crossed referenced primary data with state and national landings (harvest) data, national export data, and several state archives. I found restricting gear diversity, a common fisheries harvest control tool, seafood product forms became more unified and seafood marketing channels narrowed (Chapter 1). Policy is not the only deterrent to more sustainable and equitable seafood systems. I also demonstrated that the Pacific herring value chain governance structure – one built upon secrecy, reciprocity, and economic dependence on a few international buyers – perpetuated exported U.S. harvested seafood (Chapter 2). Improving seafood systems requires a shift in social and economic barriers to entry, such as reducing investment risk for mid-chain intermediaries who play a vital yet under-recognized role in seafood chains. Lastly, my research showed that Californians enjoy the taste of Pacific herring but prefer more sophisticated product forms that require more processing (e.g., filleted or no bones) (Chapter 3). The mismatch of forage fish supply and consumer purchasing trends is not necessarily driven by taste but rather by a series of environmental and political-economic conditions limiting seafood security in the U.S.