Legal and Policy Frameworks of Small-Scale Fisheries in Nepal: A Move in the Right Direction

Small-scale fisheries in Nepal can be defined as an ancient activity centered around outdoor subsistence fishing and harvesting other aquatic organisms for nutrition and livelihoods, practiced in rivers, streams, tributaries, swamps, lakes, wetlands, ditches, ponds, rice fields, and other water bodies. To safeguard small-scale fisheries along with aquatic biodiversity, dignity of small-scale fishers, and human rights, several countries have endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). Researchers have not yet assessed the alignment of national and provincial policy and legal frameworks of Nepal with the SSF Guidelines. Thus, in the present study, we examined the status of policy and legal frameworks relevant to small-scale fisheries using focus group discussion and key informant interviews. The results showed that most legislation has ignored small-scale fisheries, but customary rules and practices apply strongly in Nepal in several sectors with high regards. Therefore, it can be anticipated that small-scale fisheries would be get recognized importance and accommodate as one of the main policy and legal framework of Nepal. In general, the governance of small-scale fisheries requires to be strengthened through formulating legal frames based on the recently promulgated National Fisheries Development Policy 2022 for environmental, socioeconomic benefits and embracing human rights development index.