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.
Fish is becoming increasingly scarce on African tables, even though African waters continue to supply international markets. As the EU is about to reveal its future strategy for external fisheries action, the next generation of SFPAs offers an opportunity to address this challenge. Their contribution to food security should ultimately be judged by a simple test: do they help more sustainably caught fish reach local consumers in good condition and at an affordable price?
For the agreement to contribute effectively to the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential that the forthcoming negotiations, prior to the thirteenth ministerial conference, focus on the main threat to artisanal fisheries in Africa: overfishing and overcapacity, especially by foreign-owned vessels.
On the occasion of the World Fisheries Day, held on the 21st of November 2012 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the African Confederation of Small Scale Fisheries Professional organizations (CAOPA) and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives in Ivory Coast (FENACOPECI) organized a meeting with experts and women representatives of the small scale fishery sector of 16 African countries on the following topic: “Improving the contribution of artisanal fisheries to food security: The role of women”.
This workshop was organized from the 18th until the 21st of November 2012 in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast, with the support and collaboration of CFFA, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), Pain pour le Monde, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ISCF) and Journalists network for sustainable fisheries in West Africa (REJOPRAO)
During these three days, participants made some field visits (aquaculture site and landing/processing site) and proceeded to debates and exchanges which allowed to elaborate recommendations to include in the Voluntary guidelines for sustainable small scale fisheries, in the framework of the consultation process, directed by FAO. The Abidjan Declaration, which was read on the World Fisheries Day was also written on the basis on the work from the working groups.
On November the 22nd, a meeting was organized by ICSF in order to improve the work on FAO voluntary guidelines.
See the full report and the Abidjan Declaration.
