2nd Small-Scale Fisheries Summit (SSF Summit 2024), FAO, Rome, Italy

The SSF Summit 2024 is poised to be a pivotal event that seeks to transform from mere discussions to a collective endeavor, with a common objective: advancing the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), this 2nd SSF Summit is dedicated to not only acknowledging this milestone, but also assessing the current status of the SSF Guidelines implementation at the national, regional and global level to inform future actions. It will serve as a global platform to collaboratively address governance and development challenges in small-scale fisheries while proposing and sharing solutions to foster and strengthen the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

The 2nd SSF Summit builds on the 1st SSF Summit held on 2-4 September 2022 in Rome, Italy, on the occasion of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA 2022) . Attended by 145 participants from 47 countries (mainly small-scale fishers and stakeholders’ representatives), the 2022 SSF Summit raised awareness on the role of small-scale fisheries, enabled discussions to strengthen interaction, empowered small-scale fisheries stakeholders to take action, and to build new and strengthen existing partnerships. It also advanced the visibility and uptake of the SSF Guidelines an

d required actions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Agenda
• Concept Note in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic
• List of Participants

ICSF’s Studies on Social Development and Sustainable Fisheries

The ICSF’s conducted a series of studies called ‘Social Development and Sustainable Fisheries’ in eight countries to examine how social development of small-scale fishing communities contributes to responsible and sustainable small-scale fisheries: Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Ghana, The Philippines, Bangladesh, Brazil, Thailand and India (Kerala/Tamil Nadu and West Bengal). Although the interdependence of economic development, social development and environmental protection is recognized by the 1995 World Summit on Social Development, in fisheries, the emphasis has mainly been on economic and environmental issues and less on social development of fishers and fishing communities. However, ICSF’s study shows that improved social development of small-scale fishing communities, without a doubt, strengthens the environmental pillar of sustainable development.

IYAFA Film on Tenure Rights, Social Development and Women in Fisheries (17 mts.)

Relevant Resources

• Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication: Publications guide 2024
• The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024: Blue Transformation in action by FAO, 2024
• Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) – Summary in English,  Burmese, Khmer, Bahasa, Vietnamese, Laos, Kiswahili, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Urdu, Thai, Hindi, Telugu, Odia, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada and Marathi
• Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) in Arabic , Chinese , French , Russian , Spanish ,   Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja , Indonesian , Tumbuka , Turkish , Yao ,   Japanese , Portuguese, Sinhala; Sinhalese ,  Malayalam ,    English, Swahili, Burmese, Thai, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Odia, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati
• SAMUDRA Report and Yemaya Newsletter articles on the SSF Guidelines implementation from 2014 to 2023
•  COFI meetings small-scale fisheries documents compilation from 2003-2022
• 1st SSF Summit held on 2-4 September 2022 in Rome, Italy
• IYAFA 2022 – Small-Scale Fisheries 1st Summit Report, 2-4 September 2022, Città dell’Altra Economia, Rome, Italy
• SSF People centred methodology to assess the voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication by International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty (IPC)
• International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022: Final report by FAO, 2023
• Social protection to foster sustainable management of natural resources and reduce poverty in fisheries-dependent communities, Report of the FAO technical workshop 17–18 November 2015, Rome
• Social Development for Sustainable SSF, Food Security and Poverty Eradication by Sebastian Mathew, ICSF
• A/HRC/55/49: Fisheries and the right to food in the context of climate change – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri

ICSF’s Resources on Tenure Rights and Social Development

•  Rallying to Rome: Special People. Collective Processes. A Unique Event by John Kurien, 2024 (will be available online on 01st July 2024)
• Report of the IYAFA Regional Workshop: Getting the Story Straight and Envisioning a Fair Future for Small-scale Fisheries in Europe, 13-16 November 2023, Galicia, Spain
• Report of the Africa Regional Workshop IYAFA: Celebrating Sustainable and Equitable Small-scale Fisheries,15–18 February 2023, Harajuku Hall, Erata Hotel, Accra, Ghana
• Report on Latin American and Caribbean Workshop – IYAFA 2022: Celebrating Sustainable and Equitable Small-scale Fisheries, 2-5 November 2022
• Report on Asia Workshop – IYAFA 2022: Celebrating Sustainable and Equitable Small-scale Fisheries, 4 – 8 May, 2022, The Berkeley Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework: A handbook in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication by FAO, 2023
• MEL4SSF Piloting Ghana: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• MEL4SSF Piloting Philippines: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• A Review of Governance and Tenure in Inland Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture Systems of India
• Making Small-scale Artisanal Fishing Zones Work!: Research study on the tenure rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized fishers in Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh
• Report on National Workshop on SSF Guidelines and Women in Fisheries, India, 8 -10 April, 2022, Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India
• Rights First, Rights Forever: Small-scale Fisheries and Fishing Communities from a Human-rights Perspective – A collection of articles from SAMUDRA Report
• The Zanzibar Workshop Proceedings: Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Eastern and Southern Africa, 24-27 June 2008, Zanzibar, Tanzania
• Sizing up – Property Rights and Fisheries Management: A collection of articles from SAMUDRA Report
• Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Asia – Workshop and Symposium proceedings, 3-8 May 2007, Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Philippines
• Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Cambodia
• Social Security for Fishworkers in Brazil: A Case study of Para
• Social Welfare and Social Security in Sri Lankan Fisheries
• Nets for Social Safety – An Analysis of the Growth and Changing Composition of Social Security Programmes in the Fisheries Sector of Kerala State, India
• Study of territorial use rights in Small-scale fisheries: Traditional systems of fisheries management in Pulicat Lake, Tamil Nadu, India

Films/Videos

• Tenure rights and local fisheries management, interviewed with Hugh Govan by ICSF
• Under the Sun: The transient fisherfolk of Jambudwip
• Right to survive: Turtle conservation and fisheries livelihoods
• Shifting Undercurrents: Women seaweed collectors of Gulf of Mannar, India

Resources on Tenure Rights and Social Development

• Plan of action for enhanced safety, decent work and social protection in the fisheries sector of the Bay of Bengal Programme region (BOBSAFE) by FAO, 2023
• Strengthening coherence between social protection and fisheries policies: Diagnostic tool by FAO, 2022
• Socioeconomic impact evaluation of unemployment insurance for small-scale fishers in Brazil (Seguro-Defeso) by FAO, 2023
• Evaluation of the impact of unemployment insurance on the socioeconomic conditions of small-scale fishers by FAO and UNDP
• Strengthening coherence between social protection and fisheries policies: Framework for analysis and action by FAO, 2022
• Social protection for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean region by FAO, 2019
• Social protection and sustainable natural resource management: initial findings and good practices from small-scale fisheries by Christophe Béné et al., 2015
• Connecting social protection and fisheries management for sustainability by IIED, 2022
• Ep. 18 | Social protection, sustainability and fisheries
• Social Protection in the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector by FAO, 2021
• Strengthening coherence between social protection and fisheries policies: Framework for analysis and action by FAO, 2022
• Sustainable fisheries are essential but not enough to ensure well-being for the world’s fishers by Alfredo Giron-Nava et al., 2021
• Are fishers poor? Getting to the bottom of marine fisheries income statistics by Lydia C. L. Teh et al., 2020

SSF Guidelines Implementation

• Exploring the human rights-based approach in the context of the implementation and monitoring of the SSF Guidelines
• Evaluation of the project “Enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and sustainable livelihoods through better policies, strategies and initiatives”
• Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries: Trends over the last 25 years
• COFI Declaration For Sustainable Fisheries And Aquaculture – Explanatory Note
• COFI Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Small-scale fisheries and the human right to adequate food: Making the connection: exploring synergies in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the Right to Food Guidelines
• How to monitor implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries?
• Linkages between the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security
• Legislating for sustainable small-scale fisheries: A guide and considerations for implementing aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in National Legislation
• Linkages between the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
• Global Strategic Framework in support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries
• Improving Inland Fisheries Governance in India: In the Context of the Draft National Policy on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture, India, and the FAO SSF Guidelines, 6th – 7th September 2019, Kolkata, India
• National Workshop: 2017 National Policy on Marine Fisheries, India  and the SSF Guidelines, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 19th to 21st July 2019
• Report of the National Workshop: The SSF Guidelines and Mainstreaming Gender into Fisheries Policies and Legislation, YWCA of Madras International Guest House, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 18 to 20 August 2019
• Report of the Brainstorming Session for the National Workshop on Enhancing Capacities of Women Fishworkers in India for the Implementation of the SSF Guidelines, Ashir Bhawan, Ernakulam, Kerala, 15‐16 May, 2019
• The UN General Assembly has declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022)
• Taking stock of the status of implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries: A country-level assessment framework
• Enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and sustainable livelihoods: An overview of the FAO Umbrella Programme for the promotion and application of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• Report of the Expert workshop on Guidelines for micro-finance, credit and insurance for small-scale fisheries in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, 7-9 May 2019
• Guidelines for increasing access of small-scale fisheries to insurance services in Asia: A handbook for insurance and fisheries stakeholders: In support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• Towards gender-equitable small-scale fisheries governance and development – A handbook In support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• Update on Progress to Develop the Global Strategic Framework In Support of the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF-GSF)
• Supporting the implementation of the SSF Guidelines Report from the 3rd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress, October 22-26, 2018, Chiang Mai, Thailand
• The Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: Global Implementation by Svein Jentoft, Ratana Chuenpagdee, María José Barragán-Paladines, Nicole Franz
• Exploring the human rights-based approach in the context of the implementation and monitoring of the SSF Guidelines: Workshop proceedings, 24–26 October 2016, FAO, Rome, Italy
• The National Workshop on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the SSF Guidelines, Karachi, Pakistan, 24-25 August 2016
• Proceedings of the Mekong Region Workshop on the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, 30 April – 1 May 2016, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
• Implementation of SSF Guidelines: Towards the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
• Report of WFF-WFFP-ICSF-CIC National Workshop on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), Multi-Purpose Hall, India International Centre, New Delhi, 21-22 March 2016
• Towards the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in South Asia. Proceedings of the South Asia FAO-BOBLME Regional Consultation on the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, 23–26 November 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Report of the ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) Workshop: Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), 6-7 March 2015, Chennai, India
• Perspectives of the Fishers and Fishworkers on the East coast of India: Implementing the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines)
• Towards the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the Southeast Asia region: Proceedings of the Southeast Asia Regional Consultation Workshop on the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, 24–27 August 2015, Bali, Indonesia
• Towards the implementation of the SSF Guidelines: Proceedings of the Workshop on the Development of a Global Assistance Programme in Support of the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, 8–11 December 2014, Rome, Italy
• 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)- Report, 21 – 24 July 2014, Puducherry, India
• Rights First, Rights Forever: Small-scale Fisheries and Fishing Communities from a Human-rights Perspective – A collection of articles from SAMUDRA Report
• Résumé: Directives Volontaires Visant À Assurer La Durabilité De La Pêche Artisanale Dans Le Contexte De La Sécurité Alimentaire Et De L’éradication De La Pauvreté
• Directrices voluntarias para lograr la sostenibilidad de la pesca en pequeña escala en el contexto de la seguridad alimentaria y la erradicación de la pobreza
• Report of the Workshop and symposium on Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries: Towards FAO Guidelines on Marine and Inland Small-Scale Fisheries, 19-21 September 2011, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
• Discussion Document: Towards Voluntary Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries
• Report of the twenty-ninth session of the Committee on Fisheries Rome, 31 January–4 February 2011
• Report of the APFIC/FAO Regional Consultative Workshop – Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: Bringing together responsible fisheries and social development, Bangkok, Thailand, 6-8 October 2010
• Report of the global conference on small-scale fisheries securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: bringing together responsible fisheries and social development, Bangkok, Thailand, 13–17 October 2008

Infograpic Video on SSF Guidelines

• SSF Guidelines: Governance of tenure and resource management

• Social development, employment and decent work

• Infographics video on SSF guidelines: Disaster risk and climate change

• Infographics video on SSF guidelines: Value chains, post-harvest and trade

• Infographic video on SSF guidelines: Gender equity and equality

• Empowering small-scale fisheries: the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication

Related Websites

• Brot für die Welt
• CAOPA Confédération Africaine des Organisations de Pêche Artisanale
• Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements CFFA
• FAO SSF Guidelines
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean – (GFCM)
• International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC)
• Oak Foundation
• SSF Hub
• SwedBio
• World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers (WFF)
• World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP)