Breastfeeding and fisheries management: Exploring infant nutrition as a socioeconomic driver in artisanal fisheries of the Philippines

Destructive fishing practices and overfishing are common throughout the Philippine archipelago. This, coupled with a rapidly increasing human population, puts the marine resources at risk as more and more people become reliant upon the fisheries for sustenance. This paper unpicks infant nutritional choices as a potential socioeconomic driver in fishing effort. Research from a larger study focusing on the viability of tourism as a supplemental livelihood for remote artisanal fishing communities in the Philippines unexpectedly exposed five cases of fishing families going into debt to purchase breast milk substitutes for their children. Building upon previous research that has demonstrated the influence of economic need on fishing effort, infant nutritional choices, specifically the unnecessary use of milk substitutes is discussed as a potentially overlooked driver in fishing effort. This paper discusses potential impacts of infant nutritional choices in the context of economic need, population growth and fisheries management.