The latest editions of two popular publications on fisheries SAMUDRA Report and Yemaya — have been released by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).
SAMUDRA Report is ICSF’s triannual journal on fisheries, communities and livelihoods, while Yemaya is its unique newsletter on gender issues in fisheries.
SAMUDRA Report No. 63, dated November 2012, features articles from Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Chile, Alaska and South Africa, apart from an analysis of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and an interview with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on fisheries and the right to food.
The reports from Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam focus on national consultations held to discuss the international guidelines proposed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) for small-scale fisheries.
The analysis of COP11 centres around the issue of ecologically and biologically significant marine and coastal areas (EBSAs), while the interview with Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur, answers questions on his report on fisheries and the right to food, highlighting the crucial contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security.
SAMUDRA Report No. 63 also features an article on the traditional fishermen of Lamalera, Indonesia, who have been catching whales for their livelihoods in a time-honoured manner. A report from Timor-Leste details a collaborative, community-based approach to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region.
Other articles in the latest issue of SAMUDRA Report deal with the outcomes of government subsidies for small-scale fisheries in Chile; how fishing people of the North face steep challenges in maintaining their livelihoods; and how improvident legislation has denied South African fishers access to the waters of protected areas.
Also in the current issue is a review of Shifting Undercurrents, a documentary film on the problems facing women seaweed harvesters in the Gulf of Mannar region in India. The back-of-the-book Roundup section features a mix of news snippets, announcements and briefings.
SAMUDRA Report No. 63 can be accessed at http://www.icsf.net/en/samudra/article/EN/63.html?limitstart=0
The latest issue of ICSF’s gender-in-fisheries newsletter, Yemaya No. 41, dated November 2012, includes articles on women fish processors in Senegal; the conditions of fishing communities in Sri Lanka after the civil war and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; how women participate in decision-making processes in the Philippines; and how, in India, they are turning to farm-feed production as alternative livelihood options.
The editorial of Yemaya No. 41 focuses on some of the key points raised by the Women’s Caucus at the recently concluded COP11, held in October 2012, in Hyderabad, India.
Also in the issue is a profile of Rajashree Bahnji, who, as the chairperson of an association of women fish vendors in Mumbai, organized them to fight for their rights and better amenities.
An interview with Tahira Ali Shah, Senior Vice Chairperson of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), brings out how the Fisherwomens’ Convention on Livelihood Rights, held in July 2012, highlighted the specific rights of Pakistan’s fisherwomen who have been in the forefront of the struggle for the collective rights of the country’s fisherfolk.
Website and film reviews, as well as the ever-popular cartoon Yemaya Mama, complete the latest edition of Yemaya.
Yemaya No. 41 can be accessed at http://www.icsf.net/en/yemaya/article/EN/41.html?limitstart=0
ICSF is an international NGO that works towards the establishment of equitable, gender-just,self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector.
For more, please visit www.icsf.net
2012, ICSF