Understanding group capabilities for small-scale tuna fishery certification in Indonesia

Fair Trade USA Capture Fisheries Standard (CFS) requires small-scale fishers to be organized in groups before getting certified against its voluntary sustainability standard. This raises questions about what groups (can) do to enable individual fishers to participate in and benefit from certification. This study uses a capabilities framework to understand this dynamic. We use a case study of handline tuna fishery in Maluku, Indonesia. Three clusters of groups are included: the groups in Buru Island that have been certified by Fair Trade USA Capture Fisheries Standard and Marine Stewardship Council, the groups in Seram Island that have been certified by Fair Trade USA, and the groups in Buru and Seram Islands that have been excluded from Fair Trade USA certification. The results show how group capabilities play an essential role in group and individual fisher certification. We conclude that there is a need to support group certification as a mechanism to govern sustainability in small-scale fisheries. To achieve group certification policy interventions beyond the certification stakeholders are needed to provide conditions supportive for group capabilities.