Small-scale fishers' "little babel" speaks with one voice at UN oceans conference

Among the 6000 representatives who attended the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Lisbon in the last week of June, a small group of 20 men and women active in artisanal and small-scale fisheries across 6 continents made some waves.

Coordinated in advance, a “little babel” of small-scale fishers gathered in Lisbon with a “Call to Action” which demands that governments set up national strategic action plans, inspired by Guidelines to Secure small-scale fisheries, to implement priority actions by 2030.

While the UNOC has the ambition to put the focus on the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, small-scale fishers reminded the rest of stakeholders that they are “the most numerous users of the ocean” and that they have been using it sustainably for centuries. One of the points of SDG 14, which governments have committed to, is to secure access to resources and markets to small-scale fisheries, but the agenda and subsequent final declaration showed that priorities are elsewhere.

However, small-scale fishers from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Central and South America and Europe, coordinated and managed to organise, intervene or attend and question many of the 300 side-events organised around the official program of the conference. They took every opportunity to raise the 5 key issues they want the governments to urgently act on, as shown in the following summary.

1) Urgently secure preferential access to small-scale fisheries, and co-manage 100% of coastal areas

Breakfast for decision-makers: a call to action from small-scale fishers

The official launch of the call to action, which had already been published on World Oceans Day (June 10), counted with the interventions of 8 representatives of small-scale fishing communities across the world.

The Minister of Fisheries from Ghana, Hon. Hawa Komsoon (right, with the microphone), and the SG of the OACPS, HE Georges Chikoti (left) committed to support the call.

You can watch a recording of this event here.

an informal dialogue with NGOs and civil society

A “safe haven” for CSOs during the UNOC 2022, the Ocean Base Camp provided space to drop in, chill out, meet up, engage in discussions. Small-scale fishers hit the ball rolling on the second day of the conference.

The aim was to open the dialogue on SSF perspectives on conservation with environmental NGOs and ask the wider civil society to support their call to action.

A Sea Change: Preferential Access for small-scale fishers

The event explored the role of inshore exclusion zones free from industrial fisheries and preferential access areas for small-scale fisheries in safeguarding livelihoods and ecosystems.

Dawda Saine (left), SG of CAOPA, from The Gambia, explained how foreign trawlers compete for already scarce marine resources with artisanal fishers by coming in coastal areas where they operate.

2) Guarantee the participation, foster recognition and support the empowerment of women in fisheries

interactive dialogue: access for SSF to Resources and markets

During the official session called “Interactive dialogue: making fisheries sustainable and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets”, which lasted 3 hours, Josefina Mata, an indigeneous small-scale oyster farmer from Mexico, with Adama Djaló, woman fish processor from Guinea Bissau were the only small-scale fisheries representatives to address the audience.

Mrs. Mata spoke about the role of women, often heads of single parent households, who struggle to put food on the table and educate their children, whilst carrying out their livelihoods.

Women’s contribution to food and nutrition security in West Africa

This event organised by BMZ and Bread for the World focused on the competition the fishmeal industry poses to small-scale fisheries.

With a very diverse panel, Micheline Dion, president of the union of cooperatives of women fish processors in Côte d’Ivoire, talked about the challenges to access raw materials. However, she also presented several initiatives to remedy the issues.

Adama Djaló, fish processor from Guinea Bissau, insisted on the need for an alternative to fishmeal: “Small pelagics are the fish that we can afford and that we eat. But the price is increasing”.

leveraging human rights and gender equity to achieve sdg 14

The roundtable discussed the human rights and gender equity dimension of fisheries and aquaculture governance.

Lavenia Naivalu, a fisherwoman from Fiji, and Micheline Dion, fish processor from Côte d’Ivoire, stressed that the visibility, inclusion and meaningful participation of women in decision-making processes in fisheries is needed and can lead to immense positive changes to ensure food security and poverty eradication.

The panel insisted on the pressing need for capacity building, and for increased collection of gender-dis-aggregated data in the sector.

3) Protect small-scale fisheries from competing Blue Economy sectors

ThE future of the ocean: cooperative pathways to 2030

Small-scale fishermen and women from Fiji, Guinea Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, Senegal, Costa Rica, Gambia, Mexico, Panama and Honduras (left to right) stood up at this side-event organised by IUCN, FAO and others.

Vivienne Solis, from CoopeSolidar RL, reminded the audience and the panel: "For a dialogue you need to be fair and have someone to talk to. So far, the fishermen have not had a fair dialogue. They have demands but they haven't had the opportunity to present them."

During the Q&A time, the dialogue finally happened. Several fishermen asked questions, including Dawda Saine, Secretary General of CAOPA, the African confederation of artisanal fishers organisations, who questioned the current blue economy approach: “For small-scale fishers, blue economy is blue fear. Blue economy says inclusive, we fear competitive exclusion.”

Policy Pathways for a Sustainable Future for Small Scale Fisheries

Co-organised by the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the Government of Ghana, and the Directorate General of International Partnerships (European Commission) (DG-INTPA), this event aimed at raising awareness of policy actions drawing from practice to promote a productive, resilient, and sustainable small-scale fisheries sector.

Unfortunately, most of the speakers focused on actions around blue economy rather than specifically small-scale fisheries.

Gaoussou Gueye, president of the African confederation of artisanal fishers organisations (CAOPA), highlighted the marginalisation of small-scale fisheries within the African blue economy strategies: “We cannot survive if we have to compete with powerful, polluting, and environmentally destructive sectors in the marine and coastal environment.”

4) Establish transparency and accountability in fisheries management

a recurrent topic: more transparency is needed

Lavenia Naivalu, the Nacula District Representative from Yasawa Islands in Fiji and fisherwoman, spoke at several events throughout the week calling for accountable and transparent fisheries management plans and policies that include indigenous and local communities and women fishers.

“We need to know the number of fishing licences given, whether they are compliant with management plans, how much revenue are they earning and can some of this be reinvested back into management?”

She also called for better participatory processes to ensure small-scale fisheries communities are made aware of outside-funded and supported projects and commitments, including foreign aid projects and financing.

5) Build the resilience of communities to face climate change and enhance the prospects for youth

DIALOGUES FOR MARINE CONSERVATION AND ARTISANAL SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES

This breakfast event presented a vision from artisanal small-scale fisheries to conservation, which seeks equity, social justice, sustainability and peace. More than 10 representatives of fishing communities asked to be empowered to participate effectively in the decisions that most affect them, they are custodians of marine resources and knowledge holders.

Aarón Chacón, a young fisherman from a fishing community in Costa Rica explained: “They are displacing us, restricting our access to food and decent employment. And this triggers other problems to which our generation is vulnerable, such as drug addiction.”

You can watch a recording of this event here.

youth’s contribution to the future of coastal communities

At the BMZ/BfdW event regarding small-scale fisheries contribution to food security in West Africa (mentioned above), Angelo Matagili, youth coordinator of CAOPA, presented the main challenges African youth in fisheries are facing. Issues such as illegal migration, involvement in crimes, such as drug trafficking and addition, poor access to resources or credit, and lack of access to decision-making.

“For generations our ancestors had fish from the ocean. It has sustained us whilst we have protected it. New threats are arising every day to challenge this. Neither us nor the government can face these challenges on our own.”

Banner photo: almost all the group of small-scale fishers present at UNOC, on Thursday 30 June, after their last coordination meeting.

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