
Fair and sustainable fisheries arrangements
EU fleets access African waters through a variety of schemes…

Call to Action
from Artisanal Fisheries
In 2022, the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, small-scale fishers from 6 continents gathered to….

More transparency
Publicly available and credible information is essential
for sustainable fisheries management…

The dangers of Blue Growth
The international governance agenda often forgets small-scale fisheries…
As the European Commission launches a campaign to promote the consumption of EU aquaculture products, several NGOs warn of worrying developments in the aquaculture sector and recall that some forms of aquaculture are harmful and impact the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities across the world.
Hand in hand with financial giants, environmental NGOs wield increasing influence over natural resource management in debtor nations, undermining their sovereignty. The author warns against the rising financialization of conservation and calls for safeguarding the rights of local populations from the expanding influence of US financial interests.
The EU should guarantee rights-based and equitable decision-making processes about ocean uses, ensuring the protection of the most vulnerable facing more powerful blue economy industries. Taking into account the role of artisanal fisheries in food security and poverty eradication in developing countries, the EU should also support SSF and sustainable fisheries management in its ocean partnership with African countries.
SSF are threatened by competition from foreign industrial fleets, declining fisheries resources, and management measures that undermine its sustainable development. While EU-funded projects aim to address these issues by promoting sustainable fisheries governance, structural challenges, including inadequate enforcement of the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ), remain.
The Joint Committee of the EU-Mauritania SFPA will meet in Nouakchott from 4 to 6 December 2024. In this article, the author makes a number of recommendations in the light of the conclusions of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF). In its latest report, CECAF described the catastrophic situation of shared stocks of small pelagics and recommended a substantial and immediate reduction in fishing effort of 60% for flat and round sardinella.


Photo: Samuel Aboh.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.b calls on states to secure access to marine resources and markets for small-scale fisheries.
Action is urgently required to address the key challenges so that small-scale fisheries are protected and restored, and that they continue contributing to economies, health, culture and wellbeing.
Small-scale fishers (SSF) from six continents identified five areas of action for their governments.
To mark International Women's Day, and taking advantage of her visit to Brussels as part of the Fisheries and Oceans Dialogues organised by the European Commission, we interview Raïssa Madou, a fish processor in Côte d'Ivoire.
The European Commission seeks to unlock further benefits from the ocean whilst ensuring conservation; however small-scale fishers warn that this will bring compromises in which they are going to be the most vulnerable sector.
The EU Long Distance Advisory Council (LDAC) and CFFA have published the report of the seminar on European fishing investments in third countries they jointly organized last May in Berlin, in the headquarters of the NGO Bread For the World.
At a conference on working conditions for non-European fishers on board EU vessels, participants raised the need to bring more transparency and better supervising for the practices of fishing agents.
The declaration touches upon most fisheries’ hot topics: the fight against IUU fishing, good governance, transparency, fisheries subsidies, among others. On most of these topics, emphasis is put by the Ministers on small scale fisheries.
The Cypriot commissioner-designate faced the questions of the European Parliament fisheries committee (PECH) regarding the strategic framework which should bring coherence among ocean-related policies, including the Common Fisheries Policy. PECH backed him for his future mandate.
In September 2024, the Ministers responsible for Fisheries of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) met in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to discuss the theme ‘ Accelerating action for sustainable and resilient oceans, fisheries and aquaculture in OECP member countries and regions’.
A new study presented to the European Parliament Fisheries Committee outlined the strengths and weaknesses of the CFP and other EU policies in addressing current and future challenges in fisheries and aquaculture.

No caminho para a costa da Guiné Bissau
A portrait of the West African country’s artisanal fisheries value chain, by photojournalist Carmen Abd Ali.
Taking the example of the Mauritius law and looking at the general principles in international law, Pieter van Welzen looks specifically at the obligations of coastal states and their obligations to regulate their own vessels who fish in the waters of another state or in the high seas. The author also looks at cooperation between states in the monitoring of foreign vessels and finally, at how the EU can support developing coastal states in fulfilling their obligations.