Fair and sustainable fisheries arrangements
EU fleets access African waters through a variety of schemes…
Call to Action
from Artisanal Fisheries
In 2022, the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, small-scale fishers from 6 continents gathered to….
More transparency
Publicly available and credible information is essential
for sustainable fisheries management…
The dangers of Blue Growth
The international governance agenda often forgets small-scale fisheries…
The author discusses the design of access fees for foreign fishing vessels in African countries and explains why these fees are low in most African nations. He also debates conditions under which industrial fishing vessels of foreign origin should be given access, or not, to African coastal countries waters, and argues for a re-think of access fees design.
In a joint contribution to an open call for civil society organisations, CFFA and CAOPA raise the alarm about the challenges for small-scale fishers to take part in decision-making processes of international ocean governance and ask for a human-rights-based approach.
In this article, Pieter van Welzen argues that states have an obligation to act against their nationals who are beneficial owners and are involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated IUU fishing activities. For this, the author talks about the challenges for flag and coastal states to fight against IUU fishing in many cases, introduces indications in international law for beneficial owner state responsibility and summarizes key state practice.
In this article, the author reviews a recent report published by Poseidon and funded by German govenrment which looks at how to increase the benefits of EU SFPAs in African countries, with a particular emphasis on small-scale fisheries, gender equity and food security.
West Africa has pioneered several decades of artisanal fisheries management reform. Yet there are still major obstacles to co-management: a lack of political will reflected in low budgetary allocations; inadequate and poorly targeted support for fisher organizations; poorly defined roles and responsibilities of fishers in co-management; lack of enforcement of inshore exclusive zones; and inadequate defense of human rights and particularly the important role of women.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.b calls on states to secure access to marine resources and markets for small-scale fisheries.
Action is urgently required to address the key challenges so that small-scale fisheries are protected and restored, and that they continue contributing to economies, health, culture and wellbeing.
Small-scale fishers (SSF) from six continents identified five areas of action for their governments.
In a position paper, APRAPAM questions the government's proposal to support the production of fish feed and insists instead on the importance of a management plan for small pelagics and the prioritisation of human consumption.
For the first time, several countries in the Gulf of Guinea have implemented a closed season for this traditional fishery, which is practised all year round by coastal communities in West Africa.
Mr. Michael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food presented his latest report on fisheries and the right to food in the context of climate change at the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, putting a special focus on small-scale fisheries.
In this article, we take a look at the day-to-day running of four cooperatives of women fishmongers and fish processors in Benin, describing their challenges and the value of mutual support to survive.
Organisations representing European and African fisheries stakeholders sent a joint advice to both the African Union and the European Union, looking at how EU policies, in particular SFPAs, could be better used to promote women’s activities in the African fisheries sector.
Back in 2022, African artisanal fishers asked that the implementation of the FAO guidelines on sustainable small scale fisheries be a standing item in the agenda of the new Sub-Committee and insisted it was essential to allow artisanal fisheries organisations to participate actively to its discussions.
14 organisations, representing small scale fishers’ organisations, environment, and development NGOs have issued a joint statement arguing at the occasion of the first meeting of the newly created FAO Sub Committee Fisheries Management, which is held this week online.
The FAO organised a workshop in Accra (Ghana) from 5 to 7 December on the theme: "Optimising food and nutritional security and the benefits of small pelagic species production in sub-Saharan Africa". In a joint presentation, CAOPA and CFFA warned of the impact of the decline in sardinella in West Africa on fishers, women fish processors and consumers.
In this article, the author delves into the impacts of climate change and other challenges for São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) small-scale fishing communities. To develop the sector, the government is looking to develop offshore artisanal fishing. The author examines the factors that need to be considered for the upcoming renewal of the protocol of the EU-STP Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA).