Artisanal fisheries in the spotlight at the first FAO Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management

The FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), that convenes generally every two years, has always had a busy agenda. That has made it difficult for members to have in depth exchanges on a series of issues related to fisheries management. In 2022, the COFI agreed to create a new Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management.

This proposal was supported by the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishers Organisations (CAOPA), drawing the attention of FAO members on the need for this Sub-committee to discuss, as a standing item, the implementation of the FAO guidelines on sustainable small scale fisheries. They also insisted it was essential to allow artisanal fisheries organisations to participate actively to its discussions.

The first meeting of the Sub Committee was held, virtually, between January 15-18. It was attended by 95 Members of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and around 50 observers from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

Considering artisanal fisheries in management: human rights based approach only

First on the agenda, were debated “Current Fisheries Management Practices with Special Considerations for Small-Scale Fisheries”. Several artisanal fishers organisations and support NGOs made a joint statement insisting that taking small scale fisheries into consideration in fisheries management can only be achieved through a human rights based approach, prioritizing “transparent, gender sensitive, collaborative management schemes, whilst ensuring at the same time that the artisanal fishing communities’ tenure and access rights are respected and secured”. In line with the Call to Action from artisanal fisheries, the signatories of the joint statement called for reserving inshore areas to artisanal fishers, closing them to industrial fishing and to other destructive and polluting activities, and for these areas to be fully co-managed.

Defining small scale fisheries: a case of ‘horses for courses’

During the discussion on fisheries management, several FAO members emphasized the need to better clarify what constitutes small-scale fisheries, to inform the development of an internationally agreed definition.

On this topic, the FAO Guidelines on Sustainable Small scale fisheries do not prescribe a standard definition of small-scale fisheries - defining small-scale fisheries should be done and applied at the most appropriate level, be it regional or national, as it is very much characterised by the fisheries and the fishing communities whose livelihoods depend on them.

The FAO efforts to define small scale fisheries by looking at its characteristics, - an approach used also in the Illuminating Hidden Harvests report-, provides the necessary flexibility for encapsulating the diversity of small scale fisheries, something that would not be achieved with a generic definition of small scale fisheries.

However, taking into account recent developments in international ocean governance, it is increasingly relevant to know to whom some specific measures targeting small scale fisheries apply, like for example in the WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies, which exempts developing countries small scale fisheries from a raft of disciplines.

The signatories also emphasized “the need to broaden current practices of fisheries management to include ecological, social, economic, nutritional and gender objectives. A first step to achieve this will be to collect gender disaggregated data to, on the one hand, highlight the contributions of small scale fisheries to food and nutrition security, livelihoods, conservation”. They also fully supported the FAO proposal, to develop a roadmap for ensuring that one hundred percent of marine and inland fisheries are placed under effective management: “In the light of this, we call for resource access allocation systems to give priority access to those who fish most sustainably from an environmental and social point of view, and contribute most to food security, prioritizing fish for human consumption rather than for the reduction value chain (for fishmeal and fish oil)”.

These concerns were echoed by many FAO members, who called on the FAO to review participatory management processes and institutions, with a particular attention to gender, as a way to better involve small scale fishing communities. The EU delegation insisted on the vulnerability of small scale fisheries facing other competitors and encouraged participatory approaches: “small scale fishers should participate in all decisions that affect their lives, including in this sub-committee”. The representative of Senegal shared about the challenge posed by fishmeal plants, which in the past used fish waste but now use fresh fish: “we question the relevance of keeping these plants open, as they are putting food security at risk”.

To fight IUU, African fishers call on the FAO to support efficient participatory surveillance

A recurrent issue on the COFI agenda is the fight against IUU fishing, and the discussion in the Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management gave the opportunity to explore some specific aspects of it, including its importance for small scale fisheries. In its preparatory document, the FAO emphasized that combating IUU fishing in all types of fisheries, including small scale fisheries, is crucial to effective fisheries management. This is something CAOPA, with the support of AWFISHNET (the African Women Fish processors and traders Network) and AFRIFISH Net (the African platform of non-state actors in fisheries), welcomed in a joint statement: “For Africa's small-scale fisheries, IUU fishing, in particular incursions by vessels using destructive gear in coastal areas, such as coastal trawlers, remains a scourge as it is directly linked to overfishing and therefore poses a risk to food security”.

“In a joint statement regarding IUU fishing, African artisanal fishers and non-state actors in fisheries cautioned about the unduly criminalization of traditional SSF practices”

CAOPA also insisted on the need to provide better support to participatory surveillance initiatives which, at the moment, lack administrative, logistical, and financial support: currently, “artisanal fishers who try to defend their local fisheries do so at their own expense and at considerable risk, often with no guarantee that the authorities will actually arrest the offenders”. They called on the FAO “to organize a discussion, with interested members and fishers, on how to promote efficient participatory surveillance”.

The signatories also cautioned about unduly criminalizing the traditional practices of small scale fishers, in case when new regulations are introduced without sufficient consultation. To combat IUU fishing in small-scale fisheries, solutions tailored to the socio-economic and cultural contexts in which small-scale fisheries operate should be designed: “the solution lies in involving fishers in fisheries management, including to combat IUU fishing. Fishers themselves can contribute to this fight, in particular by using inexpensive digital technologies on vessels and at landing sites, for example, to record their catches and thus avoid their fishing being considered undocumented”.

Several members mentioned that they pay particular attention to small scale fisheries in their strategies to fight IUU fishing, and the FAO was encouraged to support members to design and implementing Monitoring, Control and Surveillance strategies, with a particular attention to participatory approaches particularly for small-scale fisheries. The EU announced that it will strengthen its support to FAO “to help build the capacity of countries in monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing activities and in fighting IUU fishing”.

Biodiversity

The subcommittee meeting also included a discussion on how to “mainstream” biodiversity conservation into fisheries management to meet the targets established under the new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and what support they need from the FAO to do so.

A joint statement by 15 organisations, - artisanal fishers and NGOs-, highlighted that artisanal fishing communities have, for hundreds of years, governed, conserved, and sustainably managed habitats, fish stocks and other natural resources they depend on: “their contributions to a healthy aquatic environment are deeply rooted in their culture, knowledge and practices”. The signatories welcomed the commitment by FAO to expand its support to small-scale fisheries actors in their role as resource stewards: “we strongly believe that FAO can play a key role in supporting the implementation of human-rights based conservation and fisheries management”. They detailed that the FAO should support its members to identify and recognize both existing and new community conservation initiatives; to improve information, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting mechanisms; and to mobilize resources to initiate and sustain these efforts. They stressed, however, that conservation initiatives, like Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), should not take place in isolation, but should be considered as part of wider transparent, participative management processes: “this for us, is essential for ensuring the objectives of the GBF while respecting and ensuring the rights of small-scale fishing communities, as well as Indigenous Peoples, and securing the future of their livelihoods”.

For hundreds of years, artisanal fishing communities have governed, conserved, and sustainably managed habitats, fish stocks and other natural resources they depend on. The global community, FAO and its members need to expand the role of small-scale fishers as resource stewards.

FAO Members supported the need to channel the perspectives of fisheries stakeholders in the implementation of the GBF, highlighting the role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in mainstreaming biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture.

Next steps

With the 36th session of COFI planned for July 2024, and to be preceded by the second Small Scale Fisheries Summit, this first meeting of the FAO fisheries management Sub-committee provided a forum where FAO members, Artisanal Fishers Organisations and support NGOs have been able to voice a serie of concerns and proposals on key topics. With this first meeting, the FAO has received a roadmap from its members for the more technical work that the SCFM will need to carry out in the years to come. It seems the majority of members are aware and reaffirm the relevance of artisanal fisheries. It remains to be seen how this will unfold in practice.

To be continued.

Banner photo: a carpenter carving a canoe on Grand Popo beach, in the West of Benin, by Joëlle Philippe.

Box photo: a fish processor in Kafountine, in Senegal, by Agence Mediaprod.

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