Securing transparency in African Marine Fisheries

Over 60 participants from 16 African countries and from 4 countries in the European Union gathered in Mbour, Senegal’s second most important fishing town, to attend a 3 day Conference on Transparency in the Maritime Fisheries Sector in Africa. The event was hosted and organized by the African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fisheries Organizations (CAOPA) in collaboration with TransparentSea, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA) and the West Africa Rural Foundation (WARF). This Conference followed the celebration of the World Fisheries Day, also organised by CAOPA, where the FAO Voluntary guidelines for sustainable small scale fisheries were discussed.

Participants to the Conference included fishermen leaders, leaders from the post-harvest sector including women fish processors and traders, civil society organizations, and local authorities. Also present were members of the West African Journalists’ Network for Responsible Fisheries (REJOPRAO), Seafood Choices Alliance Seafood Champion award winners in 2010.

Participants shared and learned about how massive investments being made in aid projects for the development of artisanal fisheries are not benefitting fishing communities, and where transparency is lacking on where the aid monies end up. So too massive flows of speculative transnational capital are being invested in industrial fishing operations in African waters.

The conference underlined how transparency is an emerging issue in fisheries, an issue highlighted by the FAO in its State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report for 2010, and being taken account of by the World Bank and other major donors which are beginning to adopt transparency programmes.

Amongst other issues, Conference participants called for Standards and Principles for transparency in fisheries to be developed and adopted. These would include making information available in local languages using simplified terminology; setting time limits for processing and responding to requests for information; making information readily accessible in the form that best suits the country where it is disseminated; and ensuring proper participation and prior informed consent in policy making and implementation.

Contribution by Brian O’Riordan, ICSF Belgium Office Secretary

For more information read the Conference report

VG SSF Guidelines and Civil Society:https://sites.google.com/site/small... 

Information on VG SSF Process:http://www.fao.org/fishery/ssf/guid... 

The Benefits and Limits of Transparency

CFP Reform: Good Governance issues

On October 5th 2011, CFFA organised, with some of its partners, a workshop in the European Parliament, on good governance issues in the reform of the CFP external dimension. The workshop was attended by about 60 participants, including representatives from the European Commission, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and staff, members of the African parliamentary network APPEL, representatives from EU and ACP Member States, from EU and African fishing organisations platforms , trade unions, fish traders, and NGOs.

The summary report highlights the main points of agreement emerging from the debate, which included:

• The EU’s objectives must be to ensure all its fleets fishing outside EU waters, whether under access agreements, private licensing schemes or joint ventures, operate sustainably, from an environmental, social and economic point of view.

• The EU should also promote the establishment of a level playing field for all fishing operators from distant water fishing nations and coastal countries, whilst recognising the rights of developing countries and their coastal fishing communities to have priority access to their resources.

• The EU needs to develop stronger measures to promote transparency in the CFP, and should also take a leading role in mainstreaming transparency in fisheries, which requires supporting other governments and fisheries organisations to implement transparency measures.

• EU fisheries agreements should be reformed so that they provide a framework to control all EU fisheries-related activities in developing countries fisheries, whilst providing the necessary support to ensure all private investments made in these fisheries are transparent, and environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. The reform of the CFP external dimension must ensure that the means and mechanisms to achieve those objectives are developed and implemented.

Following the meeting, CFFA drafted a list of proposed amendments to the CFP basic regulation, related to good governance issues.

CAOPA’s contribution to the first NEPAD/FAO consultation meeting

The first Stakeholder Consultation Meeting jointly organised by NEPAD (The New Partnership for Africa’s Development) and the FAO in support of the implementation of the FAO Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa will take place on 10-12 May 2011 in Midrand, South Africa. It will bring together participants from regional fisheries organisations, regional economic communities, donors as well as civil society. The three-day event will consist of a one-day plenary session and two days of consultation in working groups.

The aim is to strengthen and accelerate the fisheries and aquaculture sector in terms of their governance, management and adaptability to climate change. By doing this, the participants will address the rising importance of fisheries in meeting the MDG objectives; and the sector’s crucial role in economic development and poverty alleviation in Africa, in line with the CAADP targets.

The CAOPA (The African Confederation of Small-scale Fisheries Professional Organizations) will participate to the event, and has drafted a series of recommendations for African governments and for international, regional and national institutions. These include that:

 Access to resources should be conditional to sustainability criteria; 
 Priority should be given to local fleets, especially small-scale fisheries; 
 Fisheries agreements should be concluded on a scientific basis while respecting the precautionary approach; 
 Priority should be given to fishing for human consumption; Effective participation of local actors in co-management plans should be promoted by policy frameworks; 
 Decision-makers should be engaged in an integrated coastal planning strategy; 
 Parties of fisheries agreements should reinforce their actions towards a real partnership in order to develop efficient management systems and to avoid overexploitation; 
 Value-adding activities should be promoted by structural actions in order to give SSF priority access to markets; 
 International fish trade should be fair and equitable; 
 Standards and regulations should be introduced in a way that allows producers to comply with them; 
 A permanent participation mechanism should be established in order to inform and involve small-scale fisheries professionals.

The CAOPA also stresses that small-scale fisheries professional organizations should be strengthened by:

 Setting up an appropriate deliberative process in order to confront ideas and interests and take coherent and legitimate decisions; 
 Defining ways to formally identify and integrate actors; 
 Establishing an appropriate information sharing system; 
 Building capacity by education and awareness raising; 
 Making fishing communities aware of climate change impacts and how to mitigate related risks.

The full document is available here in French.

Réunion FAO/NEPAD: Recommandations de la CAOPA

Echoes from COFI 29

The twenty-ninth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI 29) was held in Rome, 31 January to 4 February 2011.

CFFA and other support NGOs facilitated the attendance of many small-scale fisheries representatives from around the world in order to defend their interests and voice their concerns to national delegations officials and intergovernmental organizations, including on the item 10 of the session’s agenda on the creation of an international instrument for small-scale fisheries.

At this occasion, CFFA’s African partners, from which many are now members of the African Confederation of Small-scale Fisheries Professional Organizations (CAOPA) reiterated the principles and recommendations of the Banjul Civil Society Declaration drafted in September 2010 during the first Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture. The AU (African Union) and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) have recognized the importance of this declaration that will be taken into consideration in their work.

In view of the important role played by small-scale fisheries the Committee approved the development of a new international instrument on small-scale fisheries to complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), drawing on relevant existing instruments. The Committee agreed that the new instrument could take the form of an international guidelines, be voluntary in nature, address both inland and marine fisheries and focus on the needs of developing countries. The Committee recommended that all stakeholders be associated, as appropriate, with its development.

The benefits and limits of transparency

The European Union is currently reforming its Common Fisheries Policy. Initial discussions suggest the issue of improving transparency and accountability in EU fisheries will be taken seriously, with specific recommendations being made on introducing transparency and anti-corruption clauses in EU Fisheries Partnership Agreements signed with third countries. Such recommendations come at a time when calls for improving transparency and accountability in fisheries are gaining momentum, not only from civil society, but also from the fishing industry. The CFP therefore represents an opportunity to advance the notion of access to information and accountability in international fisheries, not only within the EU. Yet this call for improving transparency that has accompanied the CFP reform process has yet to be elaborated on, and recommendations remain vague. This paper aims at deepening the debates on how transparency can be achieved through the CFP reforms, considering both the benefits and the limitations to transparency reforms. The paper puts forward some key discussion points that could be used as the basis for the development of a coherent and thorough strategy on transparency in fisheries, driven by the EU in collaboration with partner organisations, including the fishing authorities of developing countries.

The benefits and limits of transparency

Availability of fishing licenses lists: Gabon

CFFA welcomes the steps taken by the republic of Gabon to make available to the public the lists of fishing vessels licensed in 2008/2009.

We encourage all ACP countries to take such steps. Moreover, we would like to highlight the importance for ACP countries to publish an update of these lists, so that real time data about fishing vessels licensed can be accessed by the public and third countries authorities, partners for sustainable fisheries development.

In particular, in the context of the fight against IUU fishing, the availability of updated lists of fishing vessels licensed in ACP countries is a key element for collaboration between coastal states -ACP countries in this case- and market states -such as the EU- to help efficient action to be taken in order to stop the trade of illegally caught fish.

First Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Banjul

NEPAD and African Union Fisheries Summit: Livelihoods should come first urge small-scale fishers and NGOs

Banjul, Gambia, 22 September 2010. Artisanal and small scale fishers and associated civil society representatives from seventeen African countries met in Banjul, Gambia on 21 September, 2010, in advance of the first NEPAD Conference of African Ministers on Fisheries and Aquaculture (CAMFA) to be held on 23 September 2010. The meeting was organized by the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishery Professional Organizations and the Commonwealth Foundation, under the banner of "Our Fish, Our Future".

Following the meeting, participants issued the Banjul Civil Society Declaration on Sustainable Livelihoods in African Fisheries (http://www.camfa-cso.org). The declaration highlights key issues in African fisheries and provides recommendations on how the 2005 NEPAD Action Plan for Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture should be taken forward.

The declaration warns that a purely economic approach represents a threat to the sustainable development of fisheries resources and livelihoods of poor marginalized artisanal and small scale fishing communities. It emphasizes the importance and value of small-scale and artisanal fisheries in the African context towards providing food security for 200 million Africans and jobs for more than 10 million people engaged in fish production, processing and trade. It further highlights the negative impacts of climate change, industrial fishing and illegal unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), including dwindling catches, displacement of communities and the destruction of fishing grounds. In turn this affects the social stability of entire regions, the Declaration states.

The significance of IUU fishing in African waters was echoed by Tim Bostock, Fisheries advisor to United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) in the opening session of the CAMFA on Monday 20th September, who noted that illegal fishing alone accounts for removing fish valued at some $1billion from the waters of Sub-Saharan Africa every year.

The CAMFA is a follow-up to the 2005 Abuja "Fish for All" summit, and African fisheries ministers are expected to assess and validate a fisheries plan of action for the region.

The meeting of small scale and artisanal fishers and civil society organizations is also part of an ongoing process, which since 2006 has included a growing network of West African journalists for responsible fisheries (REJOPRAO). From 15-23 September, the REJOPRAO organized training workshop for journalists, with the objective of focusing on responsible fisheries and related topics and issues in West Africa. Following the training, the journalists from sub region will carry out the media coverage, as observers, of CAMFA.

Since 2005, organizations representing the professionals (fishers, traders, processors and fishmongers) from the artisanal fishing sector have worked to establish a regional body to represent their interests. Earlier this year, this initiative led to the founding of CAOPA - the African Confederation of Professional Artisanal Fishery Sector Organizations.

For more information: Béatrice Gorez, Coordinator CFFA cffa.cape@scarlet.be

Banjul Civil Society Declaration

OCEAN2012 Press Release

CFFA-EED comments on the UNEP draft "Green Economy Report"

In the framework of the Green Economy Initiative, launched in October 2008, UNEP started working on a global Green Economy Report, together with over 70 research institutes around the world. This report targets decision-makers and aims to identify the key “enabling conditions” required to achieve a transition to a green economy globally, as defined in the report preview published in May 2010.

CFFA’s first input in this process took place during the ICTSD/UNEP meeting on “Fisheries, Trade and Development”, held in Geneva on the 16th of June. Comments were made on the “Aid for Trade” aspects of developing countries fisheries. This discussion and the contacts made with UNEP led us to this official multi-stakeholder consultation on the GER.

According to the agenda, the purpose of this two days workshop was for the authors of the GER to share initial results/key messages and respond to questions and comments from a broad range of stakeholders. The issues discussed at the workshop, together with comments from a technical peer review process (to take place in late 2010), will be assembled for guiding the final revisions of the various chapters: renewable energy, industry, transport, cities, buildings, waste management and recycling, fisheries, water, forests, agriculture, tourism, finance, modeling, and enabling conditions.

CFFA-EED’s contribution to this workshop focuses on the "Fisheries" chapter of the GER and especially on the four proposals made for "greening the fisheries": "Reforming fisheries subsidies and other economic distortions", "Adjustment costs", "Building effective national, regional and international institutions" and "Strengthening regulatory reforms and fisheries management".

Preliminary comments on UNEP draft GER

Workshop report

Case studies: Environmental and Social Criteria for Allocating Access to Fisheries Resources

A new report released today by OCEAN2012 and Meridian Prime highlights environmental and social criteria that are successfully employed in allocating access to fisheries resources.

The report, Environmental and Social Criteria for Allocating Access to Fisheries Resources, offers case studies from ten different fisheries in Europe and around the world to show how reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) could be modelled.

Specifically, the report recommends :

 Selectivity – Different fishing methods result in different amounts of by-catch. Fishers using fishing methods with low by-catch should be given priority access to the available resources ; 
 Environmental impact – The impact of different gears and practices on the environment, including damage to the seabed and pollution, vary widely. Fishers using less destructive fishing methods should be given priority access ; 
 Energy consumption – Some gear and vessel types, like some trawlers and seiners, require enormous amounts of energy compared to the fish they catch. Fishers using vessels and fishing methods that consume less energy per tonne of fish caught should be given priority access ; 
 Employment and working conditions – Fishing methods that provide more employment opportunities and have less environmental damage should be given priority access. Working conditions should comply with relevant international standards, notably the 2007 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention ; 
 History of compliance – Past compliance with the rules of the CFP by fishers as well as EU Member States should be considered when allocating access to fishing rights.

“The right to fish in EU waters should be granted to those who contribute to the goal of ending overfishing,” said Markus Knigge of the Pew Environment Group and OCEAN2012. “Allocating access to commonly held fisheries resources through the implementation of strict environmental and social criteria is an effective way of doing this.”

On April 22, 2009, the European Commission launched a reform of the CFP. As part of a broader, stepwise approach to returning EU fisheries to a sustainable footing, OCEAN2012 suggested replacing, or at least enhancing, relative stability with a system of allocating access to fisheries based on an explicit consideration of certain criteria. The allocation system should contribute to environmental sustainability, a more equitable distribution of access to available fishing resources and a culture of compliance.

Meridian Prime/OCEAN2012 report

FAO Committee on Fisheries - West African artisanal fishing sector: a proactive force for sustainable fisheries

Small-scale fisheries were the focus of attention of Governments participating in the twenty eighth session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, COFI, who discussed how to follow up on results of the World Conference on Small Scale Fisheries (4SSF), held in Bangkok, Thailand, October 2008.

A statement was issued by small scale fishing organizations, present at the event as observers, highlighting the importance of their sector, and calling for a Special Chapter to be included in FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries on small scale fisheries. They also advised that COFI should consider setting up a Sub Committee devoted to Small Scale fisheries, and/or develop Technical Guidelines or International Plan of Action (IPOA) on small-scale fishing, which should be elaborated by FAO and its members through an inclusive process involving small-scale fishers and civil society.

Mamayawa Sandouno, from Guinea, a member of the ICSF1 recalled that these demands were made by civil society during the FAO 4SSF Conference. ‘Civil society organizations insisted there that development efforts in the fisheries sector, including in our West African countries, should be geared towards guaranteeing the freedom, the well-being and the dignity of all men and women working in the artisanal fisheries sector’, she said.

West African artisanal fishing sector: a proactive force for sustainable fisheries

West African artisanal fishing communities: Facing up to the future

Regional Workshop, December 2008, In Conakry (Guinea)

Preparatory national workshops were held in November 2008 in the eight participating countries, during which the following elements were recalled to give an outline of the international context in which this meeting of the professionals was taking place.

In October 2008, men and women coming from the small scale fishing communities all over the world met in Bangkok, at the time of the Conference of FAO on small scale fisheries, and at the workshop of the civil society which preceded it, to discuss the issues for sustainable small scale fisheries. This world event made it possible to raise awareness with many decision makers and stakeholders, including from West Africa.

West African artisanal fishing communities: Facing up to the future

Sub regional Fisheries Committee (SRFC) meeting on artisanal fisheries management

2 october 2006. Following the proposal of the SRFC (West Africa Sub Regional Fisheries Committee) permanent secretary and the request by artisanal fishing professional organisations from Guinea (UNPAG), Mauritania (FNP-section artisanale) and Senegal (CONIPAS), these organisations were invited to participate to the SRFC meeting on artisanal fisheries management, held in Praia from 26th till 29th september 2006.

Sub regional Fisheries Committee (SRFC) meeting

West African Media and Artisanal Fishing Professionals: Raising awareness about sustainable fisheries issues

In the recent years, West African artisanal fishing organizations, CONIPAS (Senegal), FNP – section artisanale (Mauritania) and UNPAG (Guinea) recognised that, in their communities, there is insufficient access to information relating to responsible fisheries. In the same way, scientists, decision makers and public opinion, do not take sufficient account of the views of artisanal fishing professionals, whether on social, economic, cultural issues, or on our relation with the natural environment.

Facilitating access to information is crucial for the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries by members of professional organizations, their families and the overall coastal community. It is also important to valorise, through improving information flows, traditional knowledge, and innovations proposed by artisanal professional in a perspective of responsible fishing.

Medias, radio in particular, - as it is widely listened to by fishing professional, even those who are not able to read-, but also newspapers and television, can play a bigger role to improve community access to information. But information must be presented in an appropriate format, so as to be of interest and accessible for all people from the community.

That’s the reason why these artisanal professional organizations decided to organize a regional meeting between media and fishing professionals, to explore how responsible fisheries issues can be better publicized in coastal communities, and how communities’ point of views and experiences for promoting sustainable fisheries can be better known and recognised, with media help. Given such support, coastal communities may get a better say in the decision making process.

The organisers are convinced that information appropriately tailored to the needs of coastal communities, and their participation in the creation of information is a necessary ingredient for the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. This is because fishing professionals are not only resource users but are also amongst the managers of these resources.

West African Media and Artisanal Fishing Professionals

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