The United Nations report by Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food (A/67/268, “Fisheries and the Right to Food”), focusing on the contribution of small-scale fisheries to progressive realization of the right to food, has been welcomed by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).
In a release, ICSF noted that the UN report seeks better appreciation by the world community of the contribution of the global fisheries sector to the right to food and food security.
The report observes that fish provides the most important source of animal protein and helps address hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiency in low-income food-deficit countries. It shows how small-scale fisheries and related upstream and downstream activities support the livelihood of over 150 mn people worldwide, especially in developing countries, and cautions against undervaluing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to employment, food security and poverty eradication.
Fishing provides part-time income or free food during agriculture failure, conflicts or economic recession, the report observes. Considering the safety-net function of small-scale fisheries, the report seeks to keep fisheries relatively open and free, and argues against the introduction of transferable fishing quotas.
To improve supply of fish for human consumption, the report seeks to protect oceans, lakes and rivers from pollution, habitat destruction, destructive fishing and overfishing pressures. It asks States to refrain from large-scale development projects that may affect the livelihoods of marine and inland small-scale fishers.
To reduce overfishing pressures, it seeks to curtail fishing capacity by eliminating subsidies for construction of new fishing vessels, on the one hand, and by reversing fishing down the food web, on the other. It also seeks to control destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling
Towards protecting the right to food of fishing communities, the UN report advises States to (i) seek free, prior informed consent of small-scale, artisanal and indigenous fishers while adopting any policy that affects their territories and activities; (ii) protect access rights of small-scale and artisanal fishing communities from industrial fishing, especially by granting exclusive rights to coastal areas for small-scale fishers; and (iii) ensure long-term sustainability of fisheries resources.
Towards reducing overfishing pressures, the report further supports meeting commitments under the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the outcome document of Rio+20. It seeks participation of fishing communities and incorporation of fishers’ knowledge into fisheries management to make it more participatory and effective. It advises States to ensure that progress in moving towards sustainable fisheries management is not impeded by developments in other sectors such as mining, tourism and infrastructure.
The report recommends swift and wide ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (No. 188) to improve working conditions on board fishing vessels. It further seeks improved conditions of work in the fish-processing industry, especially by improving safety, sanitation and hygiene standards, and by improving social-security measures.
The UN report welcomes the important initiative under FAO to develop international guidelines for sustainable small-scale fisheries as a complement to the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and seeks [l]inking the content of the guidelines to the norms and standards of international human-rights law, including the right to food .It seeks, in this context, the active and meaningful participation of fishers’ organizations in the preparation of FAO guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries, consistent with existing international human-rights norms and standards.
Olivier De Schutter was due to present the report Fisheries and the Right to Food to the Sixty-seventh Session of the UN General Assembly on 30 October 2012 at the UN Headquarters in New York but the interactive dialogue was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.
The full text of the report can be accessed at http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20121030_fish_en.pdf
An executive summary is available at http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/otherdocuments/20121030_fish_execsumary.pdf
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