We welcome the proposed focus by the FAO Sub Committee on Fisheries Management on identifying and understanding which management approaches and tools are most suitable for sustainable small-scale fisheries (SSF). In our view, this calls for a human rights’ based approach, as developed in the VGSSF, ensuring not only responsible fisheries management but also social development, gender equity, and the recognition of fishers and fish workers’ rights, including in terms of access to resources. In this regard, we believe that the most appropriate approach is to prioritize transparent, gender sensitive, collaborative management schemes, whilst ensuring at the same time that the artisanal fishing communities’ tenure and access rights are respected and secured.
To address over-exploitation of resources and destruction of ecosystems, particularly in coastal areas, artisanal fishers have called for1 closing inshore areas to industrial fishing and to other destructive and polluting activities – such as offshore energy production, tourism, large-scale aquaculture and fishmeal factories. These areas reserved for artisanal fishers should further be fully co-managed, putting in place specific legal frameworks that clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the authorities and fishers. Sufficient and appropriate support should be provided for fishing communities to engage in co-management (including compensation for expenses incurred related to participatory surveillance and closed fishing seasons) and for protecting these zones from other competing industries…
The statement is available at: https://www.fao.org/fishery/services/storage/fs/fishery/documents/COFI-FM/COFI-FM-2024/statements/observers/CAOPAAgenda2COFI-FM1_en.pdf
