Fifty-one representatives of various organizations from 16 African countries, having met at a workshop in Ghana, Accra, have issued a Statement urging governments, agencies and organizations, working closely with the African Regional Advisory Group, to implement the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) in a participatory manner at national levels.
The Africa Workshop Statement, made on behalf of fishworker associations, co-operatives, trade unions, community-based associations, academicians and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), expressed concern about the destructive impacts of climate change, including coastal erosion, and emphasized that the cost of inaction, which can lead to internal and external migration, is far greater than the cost of early investments in mitigation and adaptive management measures.
The following is the full text of the Statement:
We, the 51 representatives of small-scale fishworker associations, cooperatives, trade unions, community-based associations, academicians and non-governmental organizations, from sixteen African countries, accounting for 14% of Africa’s coastline and nearly 22% of the global fisheries population;
Having met in Accra, in the context of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (Resolution 72/72), appreciating the emphasis on the participation of small-scale fisheries stakeholders in policy development and fisheries management strategies, and also in the context of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
Welcoming the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the master plan for re-dedication towards the attainment of the Pan African Vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena, and that Agenda 2063 is the concrete manifestation of how the continent intends to achieve this vision within 50 years from 2013 to 2063, we emphasize that this Agenda should ensure free and equitable access to Africa’s seas, oceans, lakes, rivers and floodplains and the resources within;
Particularly concerned about the destructive impacts of climate change, including coastal erosion, and emphasizing that the cost of in-action, which can lead to internal and external migration, is far greater than the cost of early investments in mitigation and adaptive management measures;
Upholding the principles of regional and international co-operation, as well as collaboration and consensus-building among all types of small-scale fishworkers, support organizations, and governments, and the collective negotiations needed to achieve concrete results;
Celebrating the valuable knowledge and skills of Indigenous Peoples and marine and inland small-scale fishing communities;
Call upon the African national governments, African Union, ECOWAS, regional fisheries and advisory bodies, FAO and fishing communities to:
Implement a uniform closed season to protect shared fish stocks in Africa, and explore the possibilities of closed areas and the employment of input control methods;
Develop measures to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities that continue to constitute a serious threat to many marine fish stocks and ecosystems, including the destructive fishing techniques employed by small-scale fishing communities, which is detrimental to the realization of sustainable fisheries;
Adopt a sound fisheries management system for artisanal fisheries at the national level to address overcapacity and overfishing problems, particularly by disincentivizing the indiscriminate expansion of fishing efforts;
Promote the certification of fisheries products at the national level to regulate and ensure production and consumption of safe and healthy food from small-scale fish processing facilities, especially through creating awareness of, and promoting the use of, improved smoking and handling technologies and tools, including by providing fisheries and fish products certification training programmes;
Reduce trade barriers between countries, and introduce and support better monitoring, control and surveillance in a participatory way;
Designate and implement artisanal and small-scale fishing zones to provide secure tenure and protect the access rights of small-scale fishers to their traditional fishing grounds and resources, including through strict monitoring, control and surveillance of these zones;
Protect customary rights and traditional methods for granting tenure to small-scale fisheries communities by traditional and Indigenous leaders, and prevent the privatization of water bodies;
Promote and strengthen regional co-operation for fisheries management, both marine and inland, and develop effective monitoring, control and surveillance mechanisms to co-ordinate and harmonize stakeholders’ efforts and capacities for the conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources;
Develop adequate mechanisms and technology to track the movement of canoes, introduce guidelines for safety at sea and inland waters, and invest in research, stock assessment of fish species, and small-scale fisheries data at the national level;
Ensure that bilateral fisheries access agreements protect the rights of small-scale fishers to their traditional fishing grounds and resources, consistent with international laws and national legislation;
Reduce the size of fishing fleets and minimize the negative impacts of fishing practices and gear on small-scale fishing communities, such as by using uniform mesh sizes for small pelagics;
Remove barriers to regional trade in fish and fish products to promote greater access to fish as a source of food and nutrition, and promote equitable access to market information for fishers and fish processors;
Ensure consultation, participation, transparency and accountability in declaring Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and government implementation of the 30×30 agenda, and ensure the protection of mangroves, nursery grounds and water bodies from pollution;
Develop policies for economic activities in coastal areas, including tourism, ports, fish landing facilities, oil and gas extraction, and Blue Economy initiatives, intended to minimize negative impacts on fishing communities, protect fishers from being evicted from their traditional lands, and protect their human rights;
Ensure that the development of tourism also includes opportunities for fishers to engage in alternative livelihoods;
Reaffirm the importance of small-scale fishing communities’ participation in fisheries governance, including in participatory management or co-management of fisheries resources, and skills and capacity development;
Create adequate training and employment opportunities for youth in fishing communities, especially to prevent risky emigration;
Strengthen the social pillar of sustainable fisheries, and improve the participation of fishing communities, especially women, in decision-making processes, including in developing adequate safeguards against the criminalization of fishers and fishworkers;
Recognize the crucial social reproduction role of women, support and empower women’s organizations, and develop policies to transgress the perpetuation of gender-related discrimination in informal fisheries;
Reduce overlapping challenges and hardships faced by women, by developing specific measures to address their issues as both fish and shellfish harvesters and processors;
Develop culturally appropriate platforms and modern fish processing and storage facilities for women, and accessible public transportation facilities for women vendors;
Undertake research on more energy-efficient fishing and processing technologies to support decent working conditions of fishers and fishworkers;
Provide improved and safe infrastructure and landing sites, and promote equitable access to these for registered fishers;
Develop national-level guidelines for value addition in the post-harvest sector, and provide easy and fair access to credit, especially by providing preferential rates for fishers and fishworkers;
Emphasize the importance of the timely forecast of weather for the safety of fishers;
Develop adequate forms of social protection schemes, occupational healthcare facilities, and provide direct support during health crises such as pandemics.
We urge governments, agencies and organizations, working closely with the African Regional Advisory Group, to implement the SSF Guidelines in a participatory manner at the national level.