Linking Fisheries Policy to Sustainable Diets: The Case of Lake Superior

Abstract

The contribution of fisheries to food systems are largely absent from conceptions of sustainable food systems. At the root of this problem is that fisheries are often seen in terms of maximizing economic efficiency rather than local food security. This perspective piece engages with sustainable diets as a framework for linking fisheries policy with broader food systems considerations asking, how would fisheries policy be different if fisheries were governed with sustainable diets in mind? My discussion is oriented around the case of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and home to commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries. I review the key policies and legislative frameworks influencing the region’s fisheries from a sustainable diet lens to put forward some recommendations for how policy change in support of sustainable diets may be fostered.