27 June, Lisbon
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
#UNOC #IndigenousRights #DecoloniseConservation #UNOceans
- Small-scale fisheries are small in name only. Half a billion people, or 7% of the world’s population, depend at least partially on them for food, employment and income. Artisanal fisheries are the largest user group of the oceans. While they have contributed the least to the crisis situation in the oceans, they are among the most affected by it. However, their needs, roles and rights are often ignored, and they are generally sidelined or excluded from major policy discussions that directly affect their lives and livelihoods.
- At the United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC) in Lisbon, artisanal fishers are calling on decision-makers to listen to them, consult them and include them more in policy-making and discussions.
- The conference offers a crucial opportunity to find a more equitable approach to ocean management and to put human rights at the heart of the UN’s goal to “mobilize and open a new chapter in global action for the oceans“.
- Artisanal fisheries organizations from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific are launching their call to action at the UN Oceans Conference on 28 June. Come to the event: A call to action from artisanal fishing communities, vital users of the oceans“.
Artisanal fisheries are the largest ocean user group on the planet, and their activities provide food or income to half a billion people. Yet in decision-making processes, their needs often take a back seat to the interests of big business, and they are generally excluded from policy decisions that disproportionately affect their lives and livelihoods.
If we do not act now, the Lisbon conference threatens to further undermine the interests of these communities. The final draft of the conference declaration, entitled “Our Ocean, Our Future, Our Responsibility”, fails to recognize the immense contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security, employment, income and ocean protection and even supports initiatives that could undermine this vital role. The declaration emphasizes the intention to “develop and promote innovative financing solutions to foster the transformation towards sustainable ocean-based economies”. But we fail to see how the proposed initiatives could benefit coastal fishing communities.
General proclamations calling for “global action for the oceans” are meaningless if they do not ensure the inclusion of the largest group of ocean users. That is why we call on decision-makers to involve coastal communities and artisanal fishing organizations more in important decision-making spaces such as UNOC, and to adopt a human rights-based approach to marine conservation. We want to see development policies that prioritize support for artisanal fisheries in the UNOC discussions and declaration, and beyond.
Artisanal fisheries from five continents have issued a global call to action to ensure that their voices are heard by decision-makers at the UNOC. They are calling on governments and leaders around the world to further protect and support small-scale fisheries.
They call on decision-makers to:
- Urgently ensure preferential access and strengthen co-management of coastal areas.
- Ensuring and promoting women’s participation in fisheries
- Protecting small-scale fisheries from competing sectors of the blue economy
- Increasing transparency and accountability in fisheries management
- Increasing support to communities, especially young people, to cope with the consequences of climate change.
Join our side event at UNOC
Artisanal fishers from Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Pacific and Europe, representing more than 30 organizations, invite you to a breakfast meeting on 28 June to launch a global artisanal fisheries declaration calling on world leaders at UNOC to take action without delay. Join this event: A call to action from artisanal fisheries communities, vital users of the oceans, face to face or online (just click to join the meeting or add to the calendar here), and hear the voice of the least represented group of ocean users at the UNOC, who are most affected by its impacts.
Quotes from representatives of the artisanal fisheries:
Gaoussou Gueye, President of CAOPA (Senegal):
“We are concerned about the marginalization of small-scale fisheries in the blue economy strategies of our countries. We cannot survive if we have to compete with powerful, polluting and destructive sectors of the marine and coastal environment. In the face of this threat, we call on governments to adopt a precautionary approach. Do not give the go-ahead to a destructive blue economy”.
Micheline Dion Somplehi, President of the Union of Women Fish Processors’ Cooperatives USCOFEPCI (Côte d’Ivoire):
“Artisanal fisheries involve women as much as men. But their contribution is often invisible, while their working conditions are devastating. It is essential that governments make a visible and sustainable commitment to recognize them as key players in the fisheries sector, who are at the origin of many innovations allowing a better use of our resources for the benefit of our populations. For this to happen, women must have access to funding, to fisheries resources and to social welfare. It is under these conditions that we can protect these oceans, which are the source of our existence.”
Alhafiz Atsari, KNTI (Indonesia):
“Artisanal fishermen are forced to live with giants. These giants are fishing vessels that use destructive fishing gear, like bottom trawlers. They take up a lot of space. They are greedy and don’t pay attention to anything. And they destroy everything in the ocean. These destructive giants are colonial products that were introduced into Indonesia under the pretext that artisanal fishing is unable to produce and process fish efficiently. Artisanal fisheries are powerless to deal with them or drive them away. We are forced to live with them.”
David Chacon Rojas: President of CoopeTarcoles R.L. (Costa Rica)
“Where there is hunger, there is no conservation.
Maria Carrillo: Coordinator of the Association of Women Shrimp Processors in Barra del Colorado, Costa Rica.
“It seems that we women of the coasts and seas, and our work, are invisible to the world”.
Quotes from supporting organizations:
Annie Tourette, Advocacy Manager at Blue Ventures (Global):
“Artisanal fisheries employ more people than all other sectors of the ocean economy combined. They are the most affected group by ocean governance decisions, but they are excluded from many policy discussions. Coastal communities and artisanal fisheries have no seat at the decision-making table, but they are far from being passive victims of environmental and climate emergencies. They are the frontline defenders of nature and biodiversity, and world leaders must listen to them without delay.
Béatrice Gorez, CFFA Coordinator (global):
“As the focus of the UNOC is on innovation, the final declaration of the conference should recognize effective innovations, based on local and traditional knowledge, introduced by artisanal fishing communities to address key challenges such as improved fisheries management and conservation, improved working and living conditions, access to good quality raw materials or better use of renewable energy, especially for fish processing activities. These innovations help fisheries-dependent coastal communities to become more resilient.”
Vivienne Solis Rivera, CoopeSoliDar R.L. (Costa Rica)
“Artisanal fisheries are under serious threat from the blue economy movement which focuses on the economic interests of marine resources. Artisanal fishing is a way of life and it needs an integral perspective beyond economics to survive. The world will remember this when people go to the market and the fish are gone.”
Dr Hugh Govan, Advocacy and Policy Advisor, LMMA Network (Global):
“The theme of the conference is innovation. What would be really innovative is if governments and donors recognized the important role that coastal fishing communities already play, not only in feeding the world, but in managing these vital resources and habitats. There are many examples of communities managing fisheries resources and coastal ecosystems in collaboration with governments around the world. But what is urgently needed is a much greater commitment and ambition on the part of governments to recognize and protect the rights of those millions of people forgotten by the impacts of industrial fishing and unbridled development.”
