The year 2022 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture. In Africa, artisanal fisheries employ more than ten million men and women, and feed more than 200 million Africans. The African fisheries, 75% of which are artisanal, are the largest sector of the blue economy in Africa, whether in terms of contribution to food security, jobs created or household income generation.
In view of the summit that will bring together the leaders of the European Union and the African Union in Brussels on 17th and 18th February 2022, our organisations call on European and African decision-makers to join forces to support sustainable artisanal fisheries in Africa, by implementing, through their respective policies and partnerships, the FAO Guidelines for Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries and the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy of the Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS).
Our organisations propose that the AU and the EU take concrete action in three priority areas:
Our first priority, echoing Sustainable Development Goal 14b, is to ensure exclusive access rights to African coastal, inland and riverine areas for artisanal fisheries, and to empower them to manage them sustainably.