Bumpy transformation towards co-management with SSF in Uruguay
Over the past decade, small-scale fisheries in Uruguay have been undergoing a governance transition from top-down management towards co-management, involving the creation of consultative councils composed of fishers and government actors. In this talk delivered in the monthly webinar series of the V2V research platform, 28 October 2022, Micaela Trimble explores the challenges of this bumpy process as well as some multistakeholder participatory processes with transformative potential for the viability of the sector.
Review: Atlas of fisheries and fishers in West Africa
Atlas des pêches et pêcheurs d’Afrique de l’Ouest. États membres de l’UEMOA : Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinée-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal, Togo. Editeurs scientifiques: Pierre CHAVANCE et Pierre MORAND. Publié en 2020 par IRD Éditions - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Marseille, France, et UEMOA - Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. 163 p. ISBN papier : 978-2-7099-2840-3
The book (in French) covers the West African Economic and Monetary Union - WAEMU - member states and is produced within the framework of a vast programme called the "Concerted Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Plan" adopted by WAEMU in 2007. Its main objective is is to improve the quality of statistical data, an essential factor for sustainable management, based on scientific knowledge, for small-scale maritime and inland fisheries.
Madrid, 12 November 2022: Climate justice
Some 40 environmental organisations throughout Spain together had called to participate, on Saturday, November 12, in a demonstration for climate justice and stronger efforts to curb climate change. The action was aimed at the participants of the UN Summit on climate change (COP27) meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.
The analyses all show that CO2 emissions are still growing and governments and companies continue to spend massively on fossil exploration and exploitation.
Unacceptable working conditions in global fisheries
The September 2022 webinar of the V2V research platform to which Mundus maris is a partner featured Melissa Marschke and Peter Vandergeest who have worked together for the last decade or so on 'Unacceptable working conditions in global fisheries: Lawlessness, Criminality or Enabling Policies and Political Economies?'. They shared the results of their research and that of campaigns by advocacy groups digging up facts about at times horrendous living and working conditions particularly on vessels ploughing the high seas outside the purview of legal regimes. The first scandal broke about labour abuse of mostly Burmise and Cambodian migrant workers in the Thai fisheries in the mid 2010s.
European edition of 4WSFC in Malta, 12-14 September 2022
'Imagine the (Un)imaginable', thus was the motto of the European regional gathering of the 4th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress convened in Malta from 12 to 14 September 2022. Three intense days of presentations and discussions in search of solutions to the open crisis of artisanal fisheries in Europe. Hosted by the government of Malta and organised by the Too Big To Ignore global research platform led by Ratana Chuenpagdee, the congress attracted some 120 participants mostly on site, but also offered online participation. Researcher turned Parliamentary Secretary, Dr. Alicia Bugeja Said, opened the congress.
A glimpse at Marsaxlokk, the traditional fisheries harbour in Malta
Marsaxlokk, once primarily the harbour for the famous colourful traditional boats, called luzzus, of the coastal fisheries in Malta is today even more of a tourist attraction than a major seafood conveyor in Malta's economy and society. It also hosts new types of vessels where tradition meets modernity. This island in the middle of the Mediterranean, close to Sicily and Tunisia, bears witness of thousands of years of mixing cultures, colonisation and creating a unique blend of architecture, food, arts and practices influenced by the locals, past invaders and today's visitors. Nice restaurants now line the harbour promenade. On Sunday, 11 September 2022 the traditional fish festival brought out masses of people to the fish, fruit, vegetable and souvenir stands of the market along the pier with traditional boats, small tourist transport vessels and other boats anchoring in sight.
Mundus maris contributes to SSF Summit in Rome
As part of the official calendar of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), FAO and others supported the organisation of a Small-Scale Fisheries Summit from 2 to 4 September 2022 in preparation of FAO's 35th Committee of Fisheries (COFI) convened the following week to hear about the bi-annual World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report 2022 and give orientations for future work. Mundus maris contributed an Africa focused session to the SSF Summit.
What Do Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Locally-led Adaptation (LLA) Mean for Small-scale Fisheries?
Dr. Haseeb Md. Irfanullah is an independent consultant on environment, climate change, and research systems and a visiting research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) in the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). His talk briefly introduced two emerging approaches - Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Locally-Led Adaptation (LLA). In the context of climate crisis and he discussed the currently available standards/principles related to them. Using a couple of cases from small-scale fisheries (SSF), he explored the challenges and opportunities to capitalize on these novel concepts to influence our efforts in the context of SSF's vulnerability and viability, especially in the knowledge/evidence creation and system/policy influencing spaces.
Women fish traders in Yoff and Hann, Senegal, victims or shapers of their destiny?
Women fish traders have long been central to marketing catches in small scale fisheries and thus not only make their own families thrive, but also contribute considerably to food security to households at national, even regional levels. Though long ignored by officialdom and development projects these women have been coping with remarkable creativity and tenacity the many changes their social and economic context has been undergoing since quite some time. The work of the Small-Scale Fisheries Academy in Senegal has paid special attention to their needs for strengthening their capacities to continue being protagonists rather than becoming victims in the value chains.
Democratising South Africa’s Inland Fisheries
From colonial objectives to constitutional imperativesIn February of 2022, the South Africa National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment gazetted the national inland fisheries policy. This marks the first time in South Africa’s history, that inland small-scale and traditional fishers are recognised within the legislative framework. Until now, South Africa’s inland fisheries has been dominated by recreational fisheries, a product of colonial priorities. In this presentation, we explore how colonial policies shaped inland fisheries and the transition to a democratic sector that is now aligned to the constitution of the country.
Mundus maris participation at the 20th IIFET 2022 Conference, Vigo (Galicia, Spain)
After postponing the event originally scheduled for 2020 event due to the pandemic, the 20th Biennial IIFET Conference was held 18th-22nd July 2022 in Vigo, Spain. Vigo has a long-time connection with the ocean. Vigo’s Bay was mentioned by Jules Verne in his book ‘20,000 Leagues under the Sea’. It is now one of the world’s largest fishing ports and one of the busiest in terms of volume. The strong connection of Vigo with its roots in the fisheries community is clearly displayed in the impressive murals dedicated to fishers and seafood around the city like the one showing a 'mariscadora' - a woman working in seafood collection with a 'percebes', a typical Galician goose barnacle (courtesy S.T. Boschetti).