ICSF calls for collaborative and community-based or customary marine and inland fishery management systems, consistent with the SSF Guidelines
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The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has called for collaborative and community-based or customary marine and inland fishery management approaches to be tailored to become participatory management systems, consistent with para 5.16 of the SSF Guidelines, particularly in a gender-responsive manner.
This call was made on 15 January 2024 in a Statement on Agenda Item 2: Current fisheries management practices with special consideration for small-scale fisheries, at the First Session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management.
The Statement suggested the Sub-Committee may develop guidance for fishery management and governance to: (i) assess how the status of targeted fish stocks varies according to the type of the management systems the stocks are under; (ii) examine if fish stocks under participatory management such as collaborative, community-based or customary management systems pertaining to small-scale fisheries, or enjoying secure tenure rights, are better managed; and (iii) investigate how social
protection, social development and decent work contribute to better fishery management.
The Statement noted that participatory management approaches and systems would draw strength from the
promotion and protection of a human-rights-based approach as upheld in the SSF Guidelines, and by protecting tenure rights to fishing areas of small-scale fishing communities, and to territories of Indigenous Peoples. A human rights-based approach and secure tenure rights can be tailored to empower fishing communities, both men and women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to participate in decision-making processes and to assume responsibilities for sustainable use of fishery resources (para 1.2 of the SSF Guidelines).
In order to reduce errors and to achieve greater coherence across national and subnational definitions or characterizations of “small-scale”, “large-scale” or “industrial” fisheries, and to help draw meaningful inferences for effective fisheries management, the Statement also urged the Sub-Committee to develop a
cost-effective reporting format for fishing fleet composition based on relevant factors and best practices around the world, and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including fishers and fishworkers.
