Small-scale fisheries in all agenda at COFI36

By Ratana Chuenpagdee

July 5-12, 2024 Rome

By the time the FAO Member States meet again at the next COFI meeting in 2026, we should have answers to some of the questions raised by the delegates about small-scale fisheries – whether they are as good as we make them sound! By then, we hope that some Member States would change from their current position, from being supportive of small-scale fisheries, but protective of large-scale, industrial fisheries, to a new one. Member states could be supportive of large-scale, industrial fisheries but let's hope that policies and recommendations are developed to protect small-scale fisheries.

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.

Ratana Chuenpagdee giving a brief intervention at the wrap-up plenary session of the Summit

Unless they are part of a government delegation or representative of an accredited non-governmental organization with an observer status, researchers attending COFI sessions are there mostly to listen to the discussion, and reflect on it, which is what I’m doing with this article. Although TBTI is on the list of accredited organizations, we do not always participate in COFI except when small-scale fisheries are prominent in the agenda. The last time we were there was in 2014 when the SSF Guidelines were adopted. This was because some of us were involved in the development of the so-called ‘zero draft’, and in the technical consultation, with one of TBTI co-founders, Svein Jentoft, serving as a country delegate for Norway. TBTI has been supportive of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines ever since. Svein’s paper on ‘Walking the talk’, published in 2014 has been often referred to in the discussion about the implementation of this important instrument. Our book on SSF Guidelines (Jentoft et al. 2017) was the first volume that explored challenges and opportunities in the implementation in more than 30 countries around the world. For the 10th Anniversary of the SSF Guidelines, we are launching a new book about the implementation of the SSF Guidelines from the legal and policy perspective, with 15 case studies (Nakamura et al. 2024). It was opportune for TBTI to be at the 36th Session of COFI, to join the 10th Anniversary celebration, and to talk about our new book at the FAO Legal Office (see pictures) as well as at one of the Speakers’ Corner events (see summary below).

Julia Nakamura and Mele Ikatonga Tauati (from left) presenting the new TBTI Global book at the FAO Legal Office

Svein Jentoft, Julia Nakamura, Blaise Kuemlangan, Ratana Chuenpagdee, and Watisoni Lalavanua (from left) at the FAO Legal Office

COFI36 did not disappoint. Before that, we were already motivated by what we heard during the SSF Summit. In our brief intervention at the wrap-up plenary session of the Summit, we shared some statements collected from about 10 researchers participating in the event, offering observation about the shared interest in action-oriented, participatory, and transdisciplinary research that recognizes the importance of collaboration between small-scale fisheries actors and researchers in co-identifying problems, co-creating solutions, and co-producing knowledge. Having spent a few days before the SSF Summit at the SSF Regional Symposium for Europe, which we hosted in Cyprus, some of us also felt the need to emphasize the importance of small-scale fisheries in the Global North and the applicability of the SSF Guidelines. It was encouraging to see some focused discussion about this at the Summit, and also to hear statements recognizing small-scale fisheries made by developed countries delegates, like the European Union, USA and New Zealand at COFI.

 

It is hardly possible these days to discuss any topic in fisheries without recognizing the specific context of small-scale fisheries. We witnessed this during the COFI session, in all agenda items. The issues about small-scale fisheries were often raised by delegates from the Global South, supported sometimes by delegates from the Global North. Statements calling for more data, better knowledge, and in-depth analysis, especially regarding the comparison between various aspects of small-scale fisheries and large-scale fisheries were strongly made. As a global research network, it has been the mission of TBTI to improve understanding about small-scale fisheries. But we’ll now take on a new task, which is to develop a methodology to perform an analysis of comparative advantages between these two sectors, and test it in a few countries where we operate. Among others, the analysis will help inform policies to address long standing issues affecting fisheries sustainability, like overcapacity, subsidies, IUU, bycatch, etc. It will also highlight the need to discuss whether ‘Blue Transformation’ would be at the expense of ‘Blue Justice’ for small-scale fisheries – the point raised with the release of SOFIA 2024 report, which highlighted the surpassing of aquaculture production over capture fisheries for the first time in history. In a similar vein, our analysis will help clarify the current and potential contribution of small-scale fisheries to the Blue Economy, illustrating how sustainable ocean economy cannot be achieved without active participation of, and contribution from, small-scale fisheries.

 

By the time the FAO Member States meet again at the next COFI meeting in 2026, we should have answers to some of the questions raised by the delegates about small-scale fisheries – whether they are as good as we make them sound! By then, we hope that some Member States would change from their current position, from being supportive of small-scale fisheries, but protective of large-scale, industrial fisheries, to a new one. Member states could be supportive of large-scale, industrial fisheries but let’s hope that policies and recommendations are developed to protect small-scale fisheries.

Ratana with With Mitchell Lay (Caribbean Network Fisherfolk Organization) at the SSF Summit

Summary of Speakers Corner

By Julia Nakamura with contribution from Paola Ladisa

The new book Implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines: a legal and policy scan, edited by Dr. Julia Nakamura (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK), Prof. Ratana Chuenpagdee (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada), and Prof. Svein Jentoft (Norwegian College of Fisheries Science, University of Tromsø), was officially launched at the Speaker’s Corner event held at FAO Headquarters, in Rome, on 12 July 2024, in one of the Speakers’ Corner sessions, organized as part of the 36th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI).

Nicole Franz, Leader of the Equitable Livelihoods Team of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division of FAO, briefly introduced the 15-minute session, underscoring the importance of understanding the enabling national legal frameworks to ensure effective implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) at the country level.

Dr. Julia Nakamura, currently Legal Officer at the Development Law Service of the Legal Office of FAO, began her presentation by highlighting key legal initiatives and outcomes that occurred since the endorsement of the SSF Guidelines by the 31st session of COFI, in 2014, and which have been contributing to the guidelines’ implementation until the 10th anniversary this year. She presented the book’s objectives and the methodology, which was construed based on a rapid appraisal framework that identified 8 key legal issues for small-scale fisheries requiring further examination (i.e. legal definition, tenure and labour rights, participation in fisheries management and conservation, partial, exclusive or preferential access, public financial mechanisms, gender laws and policies, climate change laws and policies, representation of small-scale fishers in institutional arrangements). Dr. Nakamura also presented the key elements of the book which counted with 82 contributors, 15 case country studies and 1 regional case study of the Pacific Islands, explaining the book’s structure and showing its table of content. She underscored the importance of continuing working to raise awareness of governments, fishers, and small-scale fisheries actors generally about the current national legislation that recognize and protect small-scale fishers’ rights, and the need for contributions to the development of country profiles for the FAO SSF-LEX, and the TBTI eBook ‘Unlocking Legal and Policy Frameworks for SSF: Global Illustrations’.

 

Dr. Lilian Ibengwe, Principal Fisheries Officer at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries of the United Republic of Tanzania, spoke about her contribution to the book through the case study on Tanzania. She noted the main gaps featured in the analysis, which included weak enforcement supporting the recognition of access and tenure rights of small-scale fishers, despite the demarcation and commission of certain areas, and the lack of recognition of small-scale fishers’ rights to access financial credits. Dr. Ibengwe also stressed opportunities found in the analysis, such as enhanced political support, the National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries, improvement in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines through advances in financing schemes and women’s involvement, and the contributions of small-scale fisheries to the national GDP.

The session was a good opportunity to emphasize how countries can make use of existing legal and policy frameworks as a starting point for the SSF Guidelines implementation. Questions from the audience were related to the relevance of the SSF Guidelines for inland fisheries and the role of private sector. Examples from Brazil and Tanzania were provided to illustrate these points, respectively.  Another question was about best practices, especially in the use of human rights-based approach. Here, we explained that human rights-based approach is mainly reflected in the fisheries law through a participatory approach. However, it is also essential to consider other types of legislation, not just those focused on fisheries, such as health and social development laws.

Photo on the right: A delegate from the Philippines presented their National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries at the Speakers’ Corner event, illustrating the importance of collaboration between governments, non-government organizations and the research community in the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. TBTI Philippines is a proud partner to the process.