“People think the fishing business is for the illiterate, but they cannot be more wrong”

“People think the fishing business is for the illiterate, but they cannot be more wrong”

Three African youth working in small-scale fisheries discuss the challenges they face in their day-to-day and talk about the prejudices and other difficulties that are making the sector not attractive to youth.

Small-scale fishers' "little babel" speaks with one voice at UN oceans conference

Small-scale fishers' "little babel" speaks with one voice at UN oceans conference

Around 20 small-scale fishers, men and women,from 6 continents gathered in Lisbon and jointly called to action” their governments to urgently implement 5 priority actions by 2030.

MEPs call on the Commission to use fisheries partnership agreements as a lever for regional management in West Africa

MEPs call on the Commission to use fisheries partnership agreements as a lever for regional management in West Africa

The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee has highlighted the impact of the fishmeal industry in Mauritania on the food security of West African populations and called on Mauritania, the EU and neighbouring countries to support and "initiate an international dialogue" for the creation of an RFMO for shared stocks.

FPAOI calls on countries and actors in the region to engage in the FiTI

FPAOI calls on countries and actors in the region to engage in the FiTI

The Federation of Artisanal Fishers of the Indian Ocean, which includes 36 artisanal fisheries organisations from the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion, highlighted the importance of transparency for the sustainable management of fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean region.

Doors wide open for the San Pedro cold store

Doors wide open for the San Pedro cold store

The 40-foot container is the first real impact perceived by fishmongers and processors from the sustainable fisheries partnership agreement between Côte d'Ivoire and the European Union, but the women face another challenge: access to credit and thus to the liquidity needed to build up working capital, which is necessary to buy fish.

Guinean Artisanal fishermen complain that Asians are fishing in the area reserved for them

Guinean Artisanal fishermen complain that Asians are fishing in the area reserved for them

According to a decree from December 2021, the so-called "advanced artisanal" fishery that local stakeholders complain about is now officially called "semi-industrial" and is reserved exclusively for Guinean fishermen.

A local initiative to save turtles to turn into the biggest co-managed MPA in Côte d'Ivoire

A local initiative to save turtles to turn into the biggest co-managed MPA in Côte d'Ivoire

The Grand Béréby Marine Protected Area will cover about 2400 square kilometers of ocean and will include a 54 km stretch of coastal water, to be “free from industrial fishing”. Besides vital fisheries, the area is home to endangered populations of leatherback, olive ridley and green sea turtles and threatened populations of sharks and rays.

When people are starving, footage of fresh fish used for fishmeal is disturbing

When people are starving, footage of fresh fish used for fishmeal is disturbing

In Mauritania, artisanal fisheries organisations and civil society are frustrated by their government's passivity regarding the use of overfished sardinella and other small pelagic fish fit for consumption by meal factories.

AU-EU Summit: High-level commitments, but artisanal fishing communities want concrete action

AU-EU Summit: High-level commitments, but artisanal fishing communities want concrete action

Nearly a hundred representatives of artisanal fisheries, CSOs and African and European institutions participated in the CAOPA webinar "How the EU-AU partnership can support sustainable artisanal fisheries? The perspective of civil society organisations".

EU-AU Summit: African fisheries stakeholders speak with one voice

EU-AU Summit: African fisheries stakeholders speak with one voice

With two weeks to go before the summit that will bring together the leaders of the European Union and the African Union in Brussels on 17 and 18 February 2022, the team that has taken over the reins of AFRIFISH - the continental platform that brings together non-state actors in African fisheries - is determined to make itself heard.

Fishmeal and fish oil production in West Africa destroys the region’s resources to the benefit of foreign countries

Fishmeal and fish oil production in West Africa destroys the region’s resources to the benefit of foreign countries

A FAO report on the impacts of the fish-based feed industry in sub-Saharan Africa calls for “effective harvesting and post-harvesting practices” to prevent fish from being redirected away from human consumption.

Something cool for Côte d'Ivoire women fish processors will give them more power in the marketplace

Something cool for Côte d'Ivoire women fish processors will give them more power in the marketplace

Access to refrigeration is difficult for women in fisheries in many West African countries. With a first trial in San Pedro which has guaranteed the supply of fish to women in Abidjan, now it’s the Grand Béréby women fish processors who are expecting a refrigerated truck, a container and an ice machine. An article by Rich Press.

Local fishing communities’ involvement will be key for making OACPS-EU fisheries relations a success

Local fishing communities’ involvement will be key for making OACPS-EU fisheries relations a success

The new Partnership Agreement between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union, that should be signed in the first half of 2022 in Apia (Samoa), will guide the relations between the two blocks for the next twenty years.

EESC: “Aligning EU food production with SDGs requires legislation to ensure sustainable sourcing”

EESC: “Aligning EU food production with SDGs requires legislation to ensure sustainable sourcing”

During its plenary session on 9 December 2021, the European Social and Economic Committee (EESC) adopted a report on how to align EU food production, which includes seafood production, with the UN Sustainable Development Goals “for a sustainable post Covid 19 recovery.”

Looming clouds in the Gambian coastal skies

Looming clouds in the Gambian coastal skies

In this story by Béatrice Gorez and Dawda Foday Saine and first published in the Yemaya magazine in November, the authors look at the obscuring future of women in fisheries in Gambia as the dense fumes of fishmeal factories are being regurgitated into the environment. Fishmeal factories compete with women for access to small pelagics, and encourage overfishing and illegal fishing.

Blue Economy: MEPs call for a “balance” between new sectors and traditional activities, particularly small-scale fisheries

Blue Economy: MEPs call for a “balance” between new sectors and traditional activities, particularly small-scale fisheries

Discussing the draft of an own-initiative report, the European Parliament PECH committee reminds the European Commission that artisanal fisheries are the most vulnerable and fragile sector of the Blue Economy and insists on the strategic role of aquaculture and fisheries as providers of healthy food and jobs for the future.

CAOPA celebrates World Fisheries Day and commmits to work for sustainable small-scale fisheries

CAOPA celebrates World Fisheries Day and commmits to work for sustainable small-scale fisheries

As part of the launch of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, African artisanal fisheries organisations and their partners met in Saly (Senegal) for a three-day workshop on the issues of access to the resource, governance and sustainability, and the blue economy.

"Small in scale, big in value", IYAFA is officially launched!

"Small in scale, big in value", IYAFA is officially launched!

The official launch ceremony of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture took place on Friday 19 November, two days before World Fisheries Day, through a webinar in which several speakers provided their visions and expectations for this year.