Access agreements, Artisanal fisheries, Governance, Transparency, Sectoral support
Anaïd Panossian
What future for Sustainable Fisheries ...

In view of the global evaluation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) that will be carried out by the Commission in 2021, the author highlights the key points which will need to be assessed from the perspective of the impacts on African coastal communities. The author also suggests essential improvements to be made for the future of SFPAs so that they better respond to the needs of these communities.

What future for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements?
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Policy Coherence for Development and Fisheries

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The principle of coherence was introduced by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. It introduced an obligation on the EC to consider the impact of all its policies (including fisheries) on the stated objectives of its development policy.

This notion has been mentionned several times during the parliamentary hearing on Fisheries Partnership Agreement, on November 17 in Brussels. We feel it is necessary to remind what is meant by policy coherence for development and how it is currently being applied in fisheries.

Read our briefing:

Policy Coherence for Development and Fisheries

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The benefits and limits of transparency

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The European Union is currently reforming its Common Fisheries Policy. Initial discussions suggest the issue of improving transparency and accountability in EU fisheries will be taken seriously, with specific recommendations being made on introducing transparency and anti-corruption clauses in EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements signed with third countries. Such recommendations come at a time when calls for improving transparency and accountability in fisheries are gaining momentum, not only from civil society, but also from the fishing industry. The CFP therefore represents an opportunity to advance the notion of access to information and accountability in international fisheries, not only within the EU. Yet this call for improving transparency that has accompanied the CFP reform process has yet to be elaborated on, and recommendations remain vague. This paper aims at deepening the debates on how transparency can be achieved through the CFP reforms, considering both the benefits and the limitations to transparency reforms. The paper puts forward some key discussion points that could be used as the basis for the development of a coherent and thorough strategy on transparency in fisheries, driven by the EU in collaboration with partner organisations, including the fishing authorities of developing countries.

Read our publication:

The benefits and limits of transparency

Visit of a delegation of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee in Mauritania

The issues at stake in the EU-Mauritania Fisheries Partnership Agreement were raised in a joint paper by Pêchecops and CFFA, at the occasion of the visit of a delegation of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee in Mauritania. The paper will be distributed this week in Mauritania.

"In 2006, Mauritania and the European Union have signed a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the period 2006-2012. The current protocol of this agreement, covering the period 2008-2012, provides a 4-year financial support of 305 million euros to the fishing sector, as a counterpart of the acces to Mauritanian fishing grounds. This FPA is the most important agreement between the EU and an ACP state, authorizing EU vessels from 12 member states to fish in the Mauritanian waters. […] Today, the CAF (Coastal Artisanal Fisheries) is the only national fishing fleet to remain viable."

More information:

Pêchecops-CFFA: Challenges for future EU-Mauritania FPA

Tuna Fisheries Management discussed at LDRAC meeting

The issue of RFMO management of tuna fisheries was raised at a LDRAC meeting attended by CFFA, last wednesday in Madrid. It provided an opportunity to present the points raised by Greenpeace and CFFA in June in Brisbane, Australia.

More information:

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First Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Banjul

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NEPAD and African Union Fisheries Summit: Livelihoods should come first urge small-scale fishers and NGOs

Banjul, Gambia, 22 September 2010. Artisanal and small scale fishers and associated civil society representatives from seventeen African countries met in Banjul, Gambia on 21 September, 2010, in advance of the first NEPAD Conference of African Ministers on Fisheries and Aquaculture (CAMFA) to be held on 23 September 2010. The meeting was organized by the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishery Professional Organizations and the Commonwealth Foundation, under the banner of "Our Fish, Our Future".

Following the meeting, participants issued the Banjul Civil Society Declaration on Sustainable Livelihoods in African Fisheries (http://www.camfa-cso.org). The declaration highlights key issues in African fisheries and provides recommendations on how the 2005 NEPAD Action Plan for Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture should be taken forward.

The declaration warns that a purely economic approach represents a threat to the sustainable development of fisheries resources and livelihoods of poor marginalized artisanal and small scale fishing communities. It emphasizes the importance and value of small-scale and artisanal fisheries in the African context towards providing food security for 200 million Africans and jobs for more than 10 million people engaged in fish production, processing and trade. It further highlights the negative impacts of climate change, industrial fishing and illegal unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), including dwindling catches, displacement of communities and the destruction of fishing grounds. In turn this affects the social stability of entire regions, the Declaration states.

The significance of IUU fishing in African waters was echoed by Tim Bostock, Fisheries advisor to United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) in the opening session of the CAMFA on Monday 20th September, who noted that illegal fishing alone accounts for removing fish valued at some $1billion from the waters of Sub-Saharan Africa every year.

The CAMFA is a follow-up to the 2005 Abuja "Fish for All" summit, and African fisheries ministers are expected to assess and validate a fisheries plan of action for the region.

The meeting of small scale and artisanal fishers and civil society organizations is also part of an ongoing process, which since 2006 has included a growing network of West African journalists for responsible fisheries (REJOPRAO). From 15-23 September, the REJOPRAO organized training workshop for journalists, with the objective of focusing on responsible fisheries and related topics and issues in West Africa. Following the training, the journalists from sub region will carry out the media coverage, as observers, of CAMFA.

Since 2005, organizations representing the professionals (fishers, traders, processors and fishmongers) from the artisanal fishing sector have worked to establish a regional body to represent their interests. Earlier this year, this initiative led to the founding of CAOPA - the African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fishery Sector Organizations.

More information:

WWF/CFFA/Greenpeace Joint Statement on Solomon Islands FPA

 

Letter adressed to the PECH Committee on Fisheries, European Parliament:

Dear Member of the PECH Committee,

The Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA), WWF and Greenpeace would like to express their support for the Committee’s Draft Recommendation regarding a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) between the European Union and Solomon Islands that will be voted in Committee in September.

However, we urge the Committee to press the EC for higher standards in future FPAs. Improvements should focus on:

 Greater transparency; 
 Sustainability and equity of resource exploitation; 
 Coherence with development policy; 
 Integrating the regional dimension and 
 Phasing out subsidies.

It is essential that the EU show leadership in ensuring that its fishery agreements result in improved fishery management capacity for its partners. Therefore, we strongly recommend you to flag these crucial principles for coming FPA negotiations. (Our recommendations are spelled out in more detail in the attached document).

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these recommendations with you.

Thank you very much in advance.

Sincerely,

Béatrice Gorez (CFFA) cffa.cape@gmail.com,

Jessica Landman (WWF) jlandman@wwfepo.org and

Saskia Ritchartz (Greenpeace) saskia.richartz@greenpeace.org

Read the recommendations:

EU-Solomon FPA Recommendations

CFFA-EED comments on the UNEP draft "Green Economy Report"

 

In the framework of the Green Economy Initiative, launched in October 2008, UNEP started working on a global Green Economy Report, together with over 70 research institutes around the world. This report targets decision-makers and aims to identify the key “enabling conditions” required to achieve a transition to a green economy globally, as defined in the report preview published in May 2010.

CFFA’s first input in this process took place during the ICTSD/UNEP meeting on “Fisheries, Trade and Development”, held in Geneva on the 16th of June. Comments were made on the “Aid for Trade” aspects of developing countries fisheries. This discussion and the contacts made with UNEP led us to this official multi-stakeholder consultation on the GER.

According to the agenda, the purpose of this two days workshop was for the authors of the GER to share initial results/key messages and respond to questions and comments from a broad range of stakeholders. The issues discussed at the workshop, together with comments from a technical peer review process (to take place in late 2010), will be assembled for guiding the final revisions of the various chapters: renewable energy, industry, transport, cities, buildings, waste management and recycling, fisheries, water, forests, agriculture, tourism, finance, modeling, and enabling conditions.

CFFA-EED’s contribution to this workshop focuses on the "Fisheries" chapter of the GER and especially on the four proposals made for "greening the fisheries": "Reforming fisheries subsidies and other economic distortions", "Adjustment costs", "Building effective national, regional and international institutions" and "Strengthening regulatory reforms and fisheries management".

More information:

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Hearing: CFP reform, the external dimension

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CFFA was in the European Parliament on June 22, for the public hearing held by the Fisheries Committee on the external dimension of the CFP reform, where it presented a paper “The Future of Fisheries Partnership Agreements in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy reform”. Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Cherif, from the Mauritanian organisation PECHECOPS also gave a presentation on how the SFPAs can be improved.

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CFFA Workshop on IUU fishing at European Maritime Day in Gijon

On May 19th, CFFA organised a workshop entitled "Implementation of the IUU regulation in developing countries: Organising the dialogue with third countries stakeholders". Developing countries fisheries stakeholders, particularly the small scale fishing sector, are facing specific challenges for the implementation of the IUU regulation.

Although there is still little experience of the implementation (5 months), third countries fishing sector stakeholders (fishermen, exporters, competent authorities, NGOs) already have some examples to share about the concrete issues, - problems and opportunities-, arising from the implementation of the regulation, and suggestions to make about how to ensure the smooth implementation of the regulation, and how a sustained dialogue can be established between the EU and third countries stakeholders to ensure the objective is met: fight efficiently IUU fishing.

Presentations of the panel:

SSNC - Report on EU fisheries agreements in West Africa

Along the West African coasts, EU fishing is contributing to reduced fish stocks and increased difficulties for local fish workers to earn a living.

To Draw the Line, a new report from the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) blames the Swedish government for playing a notably passive role in the development of, and during negotiations within the Fisheries Partnership Agreements.

The European Commission claims but cannot ensure that the payments for these agreements contribute to sustainable development and the implementation of domestic fisheries policy to the benefit of coastal communities. To Draw the Line report demonstrates that they do not.

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Trade: CFFA’s contribution to the Green Paper

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In a global context of decreasing fish resources, the way fish trade is conducted can play an important role for supporting the transition towards sustainable fisheries in European waters and beyond.

We feel there are three important aspects to be looked into in the process of reform:

  • Promoting sustainable fisheries through EU trade (imports) policy; 

  • Ensuring a fair price for the producers;

  • Promoting a change of the consumer’s attitude and adapt labelling accordingly.

Read our contribution:

Trade: CFFA’s contribution to the Green Paper