The African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fisheries Organisations (CAOPA) celebrated World Fisheries Day 2021 from 19 to 21 November 2021 in Saly, Senegal.
The event brought together members and partners of the Confederation to celebrate World Fisheries Day on 21 November and to hold a two-day workshop to discuss issues of access to the resource, governance, sustainability and co-management, the challenges of the blue economy for artisanal fisheries and the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in their respective countries.
This celebration comes in a rather special context, namely, the launch of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) which took place via a webinar organised by FAO on Friday 19 November. CAOPA took this opportunity to discuss their priorities for IYAFA and the next steps to be taken. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to artisanal fisheries, in particular Goal 14b "Ensure access to fisheries resources and markets for artisanal fisheries", were taken up as a common target.
Furthermore, the primordial role of the Voluntary Guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication produced by the FAO was highlighted throughout the meeting. Indeed, these guidelines represent, as Mr Ngagne Mbao, technical support to CAOPA, reminded the participants, the only international instrument exclusively reserved for small-scale fisheries. Several presentations focused on specific chapters of these guidelines, such as the governance of land tenure in the artisanal fisheries sector and resource management (presented by Mr Daouda Saine, Secretary General of CAOPA) or social development, employment and decent work (presented by Ms Adama Djalo, Vice President of CAOPA).
Gender issues and equality between men and women in the artisanal fisheries and aquaculture sectors were also discussed: Ms Micheline Dion (CAOPA women's programme coordinator) explained the means of innovating in the value chain by integrating women and young people. She presented projects such as fish farming linked to off-ground vegetable growing or the construction of social housing in order to "give these women a home and decent living conditions". Ms Fatoumata Diallo, from Mali, also shared her experience, which could be replicated throughout the region. She practices pesticide-free agriculture, raises fish and processes it by smoking and drying. Ms Dion concluded: "It is essential to value women's actions for an inclusive and sustainable blue growth in Africa".
Ms Diallo also recalled the importance of inland fishing, which must be considered as important as maritime fishing. "No one can go it alone, everyone has a contribution to make", were the words of Mr Mbao who called for concrete but above all collective actions to better protect the rights of men and women in artisanal fisheries and aquaculture. He asked that fishing communities be given the opportunity to take part in the decisions that concern them because they rarely have the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process. "We must be attentive to their needs".
At the end of the celebration, Mr. Nana Kweigyah, from the youth wing, read out CAOPA's statement. "Our first objective is to ensure that our fishermen have safe access to the abundant fisheries resources they need, but this must not be ruined by bad governance," he said and insisted that "our efforts must not be ruined by oil and gas exploitation, destruction of mangroves and landing sites to build luxury hotels, polluting industrial sites or fishmeal factories.”
CAOPA members celebrated the election of their president, Mr. Gaoussou Gueye, to head the African platform of non-state fisheries actors promoted by the African Union and hope that this will allow their voices to be heard by policy makers.
Finally, the participants outlined the orientations for the next five years, but also the outline of CAOPA's priorities for IYAFA. This international year represents a source of hope for the different stakeholders involved in artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, so that their role in food security, sustainable resource management and poverty eradication is recognised and promoted.
Banner photo: Mrs Antonia Adama Djalo, Vice President of CAOPA, who gave the opening speech at the workshop in Saly, by Mamadou Aliou Diallo/CAOPA.
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