The FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meets every two years, mainly for Member States to review and discuss the latest State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report and other key topics. The agenda for the 36th session of COFI, which took place on July 8-12 at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, included discussion about aquaculture, fish trade, fisheries management, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, food security and nutrition and impact of climate change, among others.
Prior to the COFI, from July 5-7, the 2nd SSF Summit was held at the FAO Headquarters. The SSF Summit is a global platform for small-scale fisheries movement to engage with governments and other small-scale fisheries advocates, serving as a venue for small-scale fisheries actors to discuss issues that they deem important and to share their deliberation with government officials attending COFI. A legitimate question was raised during the Summit as to why there was no agenda item on small-scale fisheries at COFI36, especially given that it coincided with the 10th Anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).
The Summit participants were told that small-scale fisheries were a cross-cutting theme. Indeed, it became very evident since the very first session of COFI36 that small-scale fisheries were everywhere, cutting across all topics discussed. According to some COFI veterans, the attention on small-scale fisheries was never this high in the previous meetings. It was very encouraging to hear statements from numerous delegates throughout the week, recognizing the values and importance of small-scale fisheries of the world, and expressing interest and support for them.