The Ibero-American Artisanal Fishing Network (RIPAPE) calls on the European Parliament to revalue the role of artisanal fishing in the European and American continents, recognizing that they face common issues and problems.
RIPAPE, which represents more than 20 fishing organizations, 15 Latin American countries, as well as Spain and Portugal, and over 20 million artisanal fishermen and women, advocates in favour of the fight against climate change, the incorporation of gender policies and the promotion of generational change in order to improve the quality of life of coastal communities who account for more than 10% of the world’s workforce. RIPAPE also campaigns for compliance with the SSF Guidelines and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
On October 23, at the European Parliament, RIPAPE’s president, Nicolás Fernández, pointed out that artisanal fishing is much more than what is practised by 12-meter-long boats in Europe. “Artisanal fishermen are the most humble in terms of economic resources and the ones who have the least capacity to influence the policies of different institutions; in fact, we are the ones who receive the least attention. However, we are the guardians of the sea on our coasts because our livelihoods depend on them.”
He added that artisanal fishermen are the first to seek more resilient ecosystems, and promote the participation of women and young people in the development of sustainable fishing activities, even in tḥē face of daily problems caused by other interests opposed to fishing, like offshore wind energy projects, offshore prospecting, and the pursuit of lucrative leisure activities.
Artisanal fishing accounts for the smallest carbon footprint in the sea, he said, and is the most conservationist of all economic activities that have the sea as a setting. Hence, artisanal fishermen must stop being seen, even by government agencies, as the cause of the ills of our coasts.
The President of the EU Fisheries Commission, Pierre Karleskind, recognizing that the problems for artisanal fishing are common on the European and American shores, stressed the need to continue to work from Parliament to achieve food security and work on fairer free trade for fishing communities, in the light of proposing solutions to the challenges of climate change, security measures, digitalization of economies, and the use of space in different types of fishing.
Attending the presentation (either in person or online) were the following: RIPAPE’s president, Nicolás Fernández Muñoz; treasurer,Hugo Martins (Quarpesca); president of the Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds of Cádiz, Manuela Leal; on behalf of South America, Zoila Soledad Bustamante Cárdenas, president of the National Confederation of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile, and Flavio Lontro, General Co-ordinator of the National Commission for the Strengthening of Extractive Reserves and Traditional Coastal and Marine Extractive Peoples; and, on behalf of Central America Caribbean, José Luis Carrillo Galaz, president of the Mexican Confederation of Fishing and Aquaculture Co-operatives of Mexico; on behalf of the European Parliament, the MEP, Clara Aguilera, Member of the Fisheries Committee who co-ordinated and organized the presentation; the Portuguese MEP, Joao Alburquerque. The President of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament, the MEP Pierre Karleskind, attended, and for the European Commission, the Deputy Director General of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs of the DGMARE, Kestutis Sadauskas, attended.
José Luis Carrillo Galaz, president of the Mexican Confederation of Fishing and Aquaculture Co-operatives, pointed out the need to review global instruments on fisheries, and make the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the SSF Guidelines a reference for public policies and actions to achieve food and social security.
Zoila Bustamante, president of the National Confederation of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile and president of the Latin American Union of Artisanal Fisheries, pointed to the effects of climate change and the El Niño pḥenomenon on artisanal fishermen. She also called for the ending of subsidies to predatory industrial fishing that depletes the oceans and their resources.
The President of the Fisheries Commission, Pierre Karleskind, committed to address the issues discussed at the meeting in the EUROLAT (Euro-Latin American) Parliamentary Assembly, and to invite the representatives of RIPAPE to the next session of EUROLAT that will feature fisheries among the topics to be discussed.