The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has released three publications on fisheries that deal with (a) marine protected areas (MPAs), (b) traditional knowledge of fishing communities, and (c) the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The publications are:
Marine Protected Areas and Small-scale Fisheries in South Africa: Promoting Governance, Participation, Equity and Benefit Sharing
(http://www.icsf.net/en/monographs/article/EN/140-marine-protecte.html?limitstart=0)
A Participatory Study of the Traditional Knowledge of Fishing Communities in the Gulf of Mannar, India
(http://www.icsf.net/en/monographs/article/EN/141-a-participatory.html?limitstart=0)
Report on the International Workshop on Towards Socially Just and Sustainable Fisheries: ICSF Workshop on Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines)
(http://www.icsf.net/en/page/436-Publications.html)
The first monograph, on MPAs in South Africa, studies the progress achieved by conservation partners in South Africa on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Programme Element Two components of governance, participation, equity and benefit sharing, from the perspective of small-scale fishing communities. It explores the strategies and mechanisms used by different authorities to create the conditions whereby local communities can benefit from MPAs, of which South Africa has gazetted 24, highlighting examples of best practice.
The second monograph is the first in a series of case studies undertaken by ICSF to document the traditional knowledge of fishing communities dependent on marine and coastal resources in protected and conserved areas in different parts of the world. Done with the support of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) project, the study documents the traditional knowledge of fishing communities in the Gulf of Mannar in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It focuses on two fishing villages, Chinnapalam and Bharathi Nagar, whose communities have traditionally depended on Krusadai and Appa Islands for their livelihood. The traditional knowledge relating to oceanographic, meteorological, biological, ecological and navigational aspects of fisheries has been documented in the study.
The third publication is a report of the proceedings of the workshop on Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). The ICSF Pondy Workshop brought together
71 participants from 20 countries representing civil society organizations (CSOs), governments,
FAO, academia and fishworker organizations from both the marine and inland fisheries sectors. Over four days, between 21 and 24 July 2014, participants discussed the implications of the SSF Guidelines. The Pondy Workshop was the first CSO-led meeting organized to address the implementation of the SSF Guidelines since its adoption at the 31st session of the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI 31).
These publications will be found useful for fishworker organizations, students, researchers, scientists, policymakers, members of civil society, NGOs, and anyone interested in small-scale fisheries, traditional knowledge, MPAs, food security, poverty eradication and livelihoods.
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
ICSF 2014