The Sub-Committee on Fish Trade, established by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), is holding its 19th session this week in Bergen, Norway.
Among the topics discussed at this meeting are global developments in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, market access issues and topics concerning social responsibility in these sectors.
Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that UN member states have agreed to achieve by 2030, Goal 14b calls on governments to ensure access to resources and markets for small-scale fisheries. We take a look at what is at stake for small-scale fisheries in Africa, in the context of the issues being discussed by this sub-committee.
More light on women’s work in fishing
In Africa, as in many developing countries, women are the essential link for bringing fish to consumers. Nevertheless, their work is still not recognised, their contribution, including in terms of innovation, is not valued, and their working and living conditions are disastrous. The preparatory documents for the sub-committee mention that women have been hard hit by the restrictions linked to the COVID-19 crisis, but it should also be remembered that often, during this crisis, women in small-scale fisheries continued, despite the difficulties, to supply the market with fish, thus avoiding a food crisis.
Given that the sub-committee is providing guidance for the FAO's future work in the field of international trade in fishery and aquaculture products, "primarily to enable developing countries and small-scale producers to participate more effectively", it is vital to recognise the role of women in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, and to work to improve their living and working conditions. This could be done at several levels:
Collection of gender-disaggregated data
Artisanal fishing as a whole is neglected in official statistics, particularly women. It will be important to improve the collection of gender-disaggregated data, and the dissemination of information about the sector and the role of women, so that their contributions, via fish processing and trade in particular, to food security, livelihoods and the sustainable use of the ocean are more visible.
Capacity building and participation in management decision-making processes
It is important to give women the means to organise themselves actively and to become involved in existing professional organisations and decision-making processes, including decisions relating to fisheries management and the use of coastal areas. Poor fisheries management, leading to overexploitation of resources, or the development of other activities in competition with small-scale fishing (tourism, gas/oil exploitation, fish meal factories, etc) have a direct impact on fish landings and on women supplies of raw materials.
Creating an enabling environment for innovation
Women are the engines of many innovations in coastal communities. A favorable environment in which these innovations can develop is essential to improving access to markets for small-scale fisheries and its contribution to food security. To achieve this, priority must first be given to investment in services and infrastructure that improve the living conditions of women and their families, such as decent housing, day care for children close to fish processing sites, and training in the use of new technologies. But it also means providing access to coastal space for their activities and access to finance to support innovation in processing and marketing techniques.
National and regional action plans
Provisions exist in many regions enshrining the free movement of goods and people, but in practice there are still many barriers to regional trade in fisheries products, including harassment of women at processing sites, markets, along trade routes and at border controls.
The FAO's support for the introduction of national action plans for small-scale fishing is welcome. However, as the Confédération africaine d'organisations professionnelles de pêche artisanale (CAOPA) (African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisations) points out, "it is essential that these action plans are implemented using a transparent, participatory and gender-sensitive approach".
In addition, in order to facilitate trade in artisanal fisheries products at regional level, thought should also be given to developing regional action plans. This has already been discussed, for example, at the level of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, in April 2022, where the ministers of fisheries and aquaculture agreed to "prioritise the creation of a legislative and regulatory environment favorable to small-scale fishing and its specificities at national and regional levels".
A Regional approach
In addition to the FAO's support for national action plans for small-scale fisheries, regional action plans should also be developed to address the barriers that exist to regional fish trade. All these plans must be transparent, participatory and gender-sensitive.
The link between markets, the use of aquatic resources and food security
The Sub-Committee will also discuss the connection between markets and the use of fish resources. Emphasis has been placed on the issue of the use of small pelagic fish, which in many West African countries are the basis of food security, but which, on the other hand, are diverted to produce fishmeal and fish oil. As civil society and artisanal fishing organisations in Africa have been denouncing for years, the production of fishmeal and fish oil in West Africa is totally incompatible with the sustainable and rational use of resources.
Priority to human consumption
It is essential to prioritise the use of these resources for human consumption. For example, by studying how to increase the availability of these small pelagic fish to local populations through traditional commercial channels, but also by improving facilities for preserving and processing fish.
Banner photo: A woman fish processor stores fish in a freezer in Guinea Bissau, by Carmen Abd Ali.
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’.