During the following Technical Consultation Session on International Guidelines for securing small-scale sustainable fisheries conducted in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the national executive defended the protection of the artisanal fisheries sector.
The head of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Nation, Néstor Miguel Bustamante, led the Argentinian delegation participating in the meeting.
As part of this meeting, the final text of the guidelines was negotiated to be presented for approval at the 31st Session of the Committee on Fisheries of the FAO, which is to be held in June 2014.
In February 2011 the 29th session was held and the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of FAO recommended the development of an international instrument for small-scale fisheries.
According to the press release issued by the Undersecretariat, that decision has been due to the recognition of the important contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security.
In addition, this action was taken considering the guidance provided by a number of global and regional conferences and consultation meetings to discuss the best way of connecting and strengthening the concepts of responsible fisheries and social development in coastal and inland fishing communities.
These guidelines were developed through a participatory and consultative process, composed of representatives of the member countries, of the small-scale fishing communities represented by civil society organizations (CSOs), regional organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders.
And the international document was developed to supplement the 1995’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of FAO and has several objectives:
Improving the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and nutrition worldwide, and support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food;
Contributing to the equitable development of artisanal fishing communities and to the eradication of poverty and improving the sector worker and fishermens socioeconomic situation in the context of sustainable fisheries management;
Achieving the sustainable use, the prudent and responsible management and conservation of fisheries resources under the Code and related instruments;
Promoting the contribution of small-scale fisheries to an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and its inhabitants;
Providing guidance, proposing principles and criteria for consideration by the Member States and stakeholders with a view to the development and implementation of policies, strategies and participatory legal frameworks that are respectful of the ecosystem to strengthen management, local governance and the development of a responsible and sustainable small scale fishing activity;
Improving public awareness and promoting the progress of knowledge on the culture, the role, the contribution and potential capacity of small-scale fisheries, considering the ancestral and traditional knowledge as well as the constraints and opportunities related to them.
Currently, small-scale fishing accounts for 50 per cent of world’s fish catch.
And taking into account the catches for direct human consumption, the contribution of the subsector increases to two thirds of the total, the authority added in a press release.
Small-scale fisheries employs over 90 per cent of the fishermen and fishery workers in the world, and about half of them are women.
According to Bustamante: “The implementation of national action plans, the measures adopted to modernize monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries and products, measures to manage their fisheries, coupled with the active participation of the Undersecretariat in various international fisheries forums have gained recognition for Argentina as a fishing nation with leadership in the region.”
“We must invest more in research, generating departments that address the social aspects of artisanal and small-scale fisheries as although we have come a long way, we know that we have a lot to do,” the official added.
“We will work with each community providing them with tools, for which we will promote events, activities and participatory management processes for each of the communities,” explained the official.
Moreover, in 1995 the FAO Conference adopted the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in order to promote long-term sustainable fisheries.
In the Code, international principles and standards are set for responsible practices to ensure the conservation, management and effective development of living aquatic resources, with due respect for the ecosystem and biodiversity.
Argentina, along with 49 other countries, voluntarily adhered to the Code, committing to develop sustainable fisheries with respect to the environment.
Bustamante chaired the Argentina delegation comprising Director of Fisheries Control and Monitoring, Mauricio Remes Lenicov; and representatives of Argentinean Chancellery, Holger F. Martinsen and Carlos Tagle.
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