Abstract:
Resource-intensive forms of aquaculture, particularly of carnivorous species like salmon, require aquafeeds containing fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO), which are produced using either by-products from fish processing or wild-caught small pelagic fish. As global production and supply is highly volatile, while FMFO prices have reached an all-time high, the FMFO industry has moved to West Africa, in particular Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia, and established production there over the past two decades to secure resource access and supplement global supplies of FMFO. However, this has come with considerable implications for local small-scale fishers, fish processors and the environment, with many factories operating at un-sustainable levels. The concern is that small pelagic fish that were previously used for direct human consumption, are now directed towards foreign aquaculture markets. To get a better understanding of the local situation, looking at it from a more systemic perspective is helpful.
In this thesis, I use a political economy approach to explore how the underlying dynamics of the capitalist production system have impacted the emergence and operation of the FMFO industry in West Africa. I conducted a purposive literature review to find out how the underlying system manifests in the empirical case. After thoroughly exploring studies and reports about the FMFO industry in West Africa, as well as the aquaculture industry and reduction fisheries more broadly, I gathered useful political-economic theories and concepts such as metabolic rift and fix theories. These two literature bodies were then synthesised to get a comprehensive picture on how theory and reality can be connected. The synthesis of the literature showed that there are numerous systemic mechanisms and dynamics appearing in and shaping the FMFO industry in West Africa. Processes of capital accumulation, expansionary and crisis tendencies, as well as fix logics and legitimising discourse have supported the emergence and perpetuated capitalist dynamics. Aquaculture, and the FMFO industry as a supporting component, have emerged to overcome barriers to accumulation that capital faces due to overexploited fish stocks. Yet they fail to resolve the issue adequately and permanently, while creating new and displacing old social and environmental pressures. Although this theoretical approach does not produce actionable steps to mitigate the negative outcomes of the FMFO industry in West Africa, it provides a comprehensive picture of the underlying dynamics, an important foundation on which further governance and policy actions can build.