When the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) began revising its Standard, CFFA saw it as an opportunity to ensure that transparency in fisheries governance serves not only institutions and experts, but also the coastal communities whose lives depend on the sea.
The revised FiTI Standard 2.0, as well as the FiTI Secretariat responses to CFFA’s contribution, reflects a genuine effort to broaden the scope of fisheries transparency and to make it more relevant to questions of equity, accountability and sustainable development, while leaving space for national processes to adapt implementation to local realities.
Bringing small-scale fisheries into the picture
A particularly welcome development is the stronger visibility given to small-scale fisheries. By introducing a dedicated focus on national definitions of small-scale fisheries, support measures and gender equity considerations, FiTI 2.0 acknowledges that transparency must cover not only the fishing activity, but also how different subsectors, particularly marginalized groups, are recognised and supported.
Encouragingly, early implementation experiences illustrate how FiTI can lead to concrete improvements. In Cabo Verde and Sao Tomé & Principe – countries that recently joined the FiTI initiative –, national processes under FiTI have helped the development of fisheries information systems (FIS) that provide data on licenses, catches and sector performance. These systems demonstrate what these countries commitment to transparency means in practice for the development of national data infrastructures, making information more usable for decision makers, and more accessible to stakeholders like fishers.
At the same time, FiTI chose to make the publication of some elements, such as maps of preferential access zones, ‘encouraged’ rather than ‘mandatory’, recognising resource constraints. This pragmatic approach allows countries to move forward progressively. National multi-stakeholder groups (MSGs) can build on this flexibility by prioritising the publication of such elements in places where regular conflicts occur between industrial and small-scale fleets.
Lifting the veil on who really benefits
The introduction of beneficial ownership provisions is a significant progress in addressing who effectively controls fishing interests. FiTI 2.0 requires transparency on how ownership information is collected, verified and shared, reinforcing global efforts to shed light on opaque corporate structures, also contributing to deter IUU fishing.
According to the FiTI 2.0 standard, national authorities must publish a brief summary provided by the main national fisheries authority on the rules and procedures for collecting, verifying and using information on beneficial owners. Photo: Port of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, by an anonymous source.
At the same time, the Secretariat clarified that the Standard does not make public registers mandatory, instead focusing on disclosure of policies and procedures. This reflects both legal and practical constraints identified during consultations.
Many countries lack comprehensive beneficial ownership registries across sectors, and fisheries authorities often depend on company registries or other agencies to collect such information. Requiring immediate public registers could therefore delay implementation or create uneven compliance. Instead, FiTI 2.0 requires governments to disclose how beneficial ownership information is collected, verified and shared, including when legal entities must provide such data (for example, when registering a vessel or obtaining a licence), how authorities verify accuracy, and what rules govern public access.
This constitutes a more realistic entry point, enabling civil society and oversight bodies to assess whether safeguards exist while creating pressure for stronger disclosure in the future.
The growing emphasis on ownership transparency is increasingly reflected beyond FiTI processes. Building on the results of the 7th Meeting of the Ministers of Fisheries in 2022, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) contributed to the UN General Assembly resolution on the law of the seas, highlighting the importance to report on beneficial ownership, calling on flag or coastal states to require the disclosure of beneficial owners of fishing vessels as part of their authorisation requirements.
European stakeholders, through the Long Distance Fisheries Advisory Council (LDAC), have recently called for stronger transparency on beneficial ownership in fisheries, particularly in joint ventures involving EU operators. In its advice, LDAC highlights that opaque joint-venture structures can obscure control and financial flows, undermining accountability and fair competition.
These positions from ACP States and EU stakeholders highlight the shared expectations of coastal states and EU civil society regarding clarity on who ultimately benefits from fisheries access provided by developing coastal states to vessels of foreign origin.
Following the money in the blue economy
FiTI 2.0 makes notable progress in covering development finance, including new blue finance deals, such as “blue bonds”. By improving transparency over these financial flows, the FiTI Standard creates an entry point for assessing whether investments support sustainable livelihoods and food security. While the Standard does not require explicit analysis of links between finance and national policy objectives, the publication of these elements should enable stakeholders to conduct such analysis, increasing accountability on such opaque deals.
Turning transparency into communities real participation
FiTI 2.0 strengthens disclosure requirements while also recognising that accessibility to information is essential. This responds to calls for information that is not only available but understandable and usable by citizens, particularly small-scale fishing communities. By committing to support countries in producing summaries and encouraging publication in accessible formats, FiTI is showing the way for more inclusive transparency.
FiTI 2.0 enhances fisheries transparency by ensuring that information is accessible and understandable to local communities. Summaries, translations, visual formats and radio broadcasts encourage their participation and appropriation of the data. Photo: The late Antónia Adama Djaló (second from right), president of the national network of women in small-scale fisheries in Guinea-Bissau, among women fish processors in Cacheu, by Carmen Abd Ali.
The next step will be implementation. Governments and national MSGs can build on these provisions: translating summaries into local languages, using radio and community meetings to share findings, presenting data visually. Such measures require no changes to the FiTi Standard, yet they can significantly increase the appropriation of information by coastal communities.
The Standard also strives to create an enabling environment for stakeholder participation, so that they can express their reasoned opinions, without restraint, coercion or reprisal. In this context, the new FiTI compliance channel acts as a safeguard, providing a secure avenue for stakeholders to raise concerns about non-compliance or intimidation when such issues cannot be safely addressed at national level. This mechanism is particularly relevant in contexts where civil society actors, observers, or whistle-blowers face risks when exposing illegal fishing or governance failures.
The Standard creates opportunities: further practical steps by stakeholders can bring transparency closer to fishing communities.
A strong foundation to build on
Seen through the lens of civil society input, including detailed proposals from CFFA, FiTI Standard 2.0 reflects meaningful progress. Small-scale fisheries, development finance and beneficial ownership now have a central place in the framework.
The transformative potential of FiTI 2.0 will depend less on further revisions and more on how ambitiously it is implemented. By enhancing accessibility, promoting disaggregated data, and strengthening outreach through national processes, stakeholders can ensure that transparency supports accountable decision-making and fairer outcomes for those who depend most directly on marine resources.
In this sense, FiTI 2.0 is both an achievement and an invitation: an achievement in expanding the scope and relevance of fisheries transparency, and an invitation to governments, civil society and fishing communities to make that transparency count where it matters most, in the lives and livelihoods of coastal people.
Banner photo: Port of Palmeira, Cabo Verde, par Bruno Martins.
The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) has updated its standard to broaden the scope of transparency in the sector. Version 2.0 focuses on defining small-scale fisheries at the national level, publishing fishing licence procedures and tracking financial flows of development finance.