In a a joint statement made on 16 January 2024 to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI) Sub Committee on Fisheries Management, three Pan-African networks that defend artisanal fisheries have called on the FAO to organize a discussion, with interested members and fishers, on how to promote efficient participatory surveillance to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the context of effective fisheries management.
The three networks that presented the Statement on the topic of ‘the fight against IUU’ are the Pan-African Platform of Fisheries Non-State Actors (AFRIFISH-NET – officially recognized by the African Union), the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), and the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing Organizations (CAOPA).
Pointing out the problems reported by fishers involved in participatory surveillance, the Statement noted that for the system to work, artisanal fishers must be provided with adequate equipment to enable them to inform the authorities directly of suspicious activities, and the respective roles and responsibilities of fishers and the authorities must be clearly defined.
The Statement pointed out the necessity of designing and implementing solutions tailored to the socioeconomic and cultural contexts in which small-scale fisheries operate. This means ensuring that the informal, traditional management that exists in many small-scale fisheries is recognised and taken into account when designing new regulations.
To avoid criminalising the traditional behaviour of fishers, the solution lies in involving them in fisheries management, including for the design and introduction of mechanisms to combat IUU fishing in small-scale fisheries, the Statement urged.
The full text of the Statement is available at www.icsf.net