As part of a series of regional workshops1, ICSF organised the European regional workshop from 13-16 November 2023, at Vilanova de Arousa, Galicia, Spain in collaboration with Asociación de Mulleres Salgadas – a member of the AKTEA platform and Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE).
Forty-five representatives from small scale fish worker organisations, indigenous peoples, civil society organisations and academia across sixteen European countries convened in Vilanova de Arousa to forge a shared vision and define pathways for sustainable fisheries and seafood systems in Europe.
The participants acknowledged that defining and shaping a future for small-scale fisheries in Europe is a difficult task considering that fishing communities are being wiped off the map and policy spaces. The current economic model of development based on the unsustainable extraction of natural resources, privatisation and consolidation are disenfranchising communities dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, increasing vulnerability and reducing their resilience. These are systemic dynamics that affect and disrupt many realms of human activity; livelihoods, cultures, equity, well-being. In addition, they also threaten the ecological pillars that sustain life on Earth.
In the case of coastal and inland fisheries, the dominant development narrative and the blue economy scenario have enabled activities such as industrial fishing, oil, gas and renewable energy exploitation, industrial scale aquaculture, pollution, and mass tourism. This has adversely affected the livelihoods of small-scale fisheries and disrupted the ecological balance necessary for sustaining life. In addition, this has a long lasting impact on sustainable fish supply, stewardship of aquatic resources, employment, and generational renewal. This narrative justifies privatisation policies that have deprived our coastal and rural communities of a sustainable future.
The workshop attendees acknowledge that if the logic of such fisheries development is not questioned, and corporate ownership and investment is not controlled, fishing communities and small-scale fisheries will cease to exist. During four days of the workshop, the group crafted positive narratives and strategies for small-scale fisheries (SSF) in Europe, within a human-rights-based approach.
The Workshop Statement and Call for Action is available at
https://www.icsf.net/resources/iyafa-europe-regional-workshop-statement/