When harmonising regional closed seasons in SRFC and FCWC regions, CFFA calls for considering social and environmental perspectives and ensuring the participation of affected communities.

At the occasion of the 20th session of the FAO subcommittee on trade, more than 19 CSOs and small-scale fisheries organisations, the signatories ask that FAO and its members adopt “blue food systems” that align with the ecosystem-based approach, the principles of social equity and animal welfare, and that they stop supporting the mass production of seafood through industrial feedlot aquaculture without consideration for the environment or local communities.

FAO and its members should ensure that trade rules are fair, that investments go into infrastructure and services that communities themselves have identified, that women’s and youth’s contributions are fully valued, and that binding social and environmental protections underpin every initiative.

Encouraging the reform and enlargement of the Inshore Exclusive Zone (IEZ) in Liberia would reinforce the EU leadership on responsible fisheries governance and build on recent regional trends, such as the IEZ expansion in Ghana and the Senegalese government commitment to enlarge the area reserved to artisanal fishers.

13 Civil Society and Small-scale fishing organisations (CSOs and SSF) sign a joint statement during the 13th Session of the FAO Subcommittee on Aquaculture, a forum for consultation and discussion and advises the Committee on fisheries (COFI) on technical and policy matters on aquaculture.

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.

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.