Blue Economy: CSOs Task EU on Small Scale Fisheries

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A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) at the Our Ocean 2017 Conference in Malta has asked the European Union Commission to mainstream small scale fisheries into its Blue growth initiative. The call was made by a coalition of CSOs including the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Agreement (CFFA), African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisation (CAOPA), the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and the West African Network of Journalists for Responsible Fishing (REJOPRAO).

Gaoussou Gueye, President of CAOPA noted that de-emphasising small scale fisheries in the EU’s blue growth strategy does bode well for food security in fishing communities.

“Unfortunately, in some approaches and strategies on ‘blue growth’ the emphasis is put primarily on the production of economic gains and does not recognise other kinds of values integral to artisanal fisheries; contributing to food security and the preservation of the social and cultural fabric of coastal communities,” said Gueye at a side event organised by the CSOs in Malta.

“This reductionist vision on the production of value such as promoted in some blue growth strategies may increase the difficulties faced by artisanal fisheries, which will, in any case, be facing greater competition for the use of the sea with other sectors that have stronger political or economic influence.”

Gueye urged the EU to consider the inclusion of artisanal fishermen in its blue growth initiative, stressing that “for any investment in or initiative promoting the exploitation of the riches of the ocean that affects areas or resources on which artisanal fishing communities depend, we want the impacts of such initiatives on the activities of men and women from the artisanal fishing sector and on the ecosystem to be duly considered by policy-makers and the coastal communities concerned”.

For her part, Micheline Dion Somplehi, head of women’s programme for CAOPA noted that excluding artisanal fisheries from blue growth initiative could be harmful to food security and sustainable development in coastal communities.

“We need to recognise that some of the sectors identified as drivers of blue growth such as the exploitation of oil and gas, mass tourism, maritime transport could increase pollution in coastal areas, both at sea and onshore where our communities live,” said Micheline.

“These industries can also increase significantly the production of greenhouse gases, which has a negative impact on the climate. Giving priority to these industries at the expense of coastal fishing communities which are taking initiatives to make their activities sustainable amounts to swimming against the tide of history.”

Furthermore, Sara Frocklin, Senior Policy Advisor Marine ecosystems and fisheries for the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation noted that the difference between the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s and the EU’s blue growth strategy is that  “While the FAO includes fisheries, the EU does not”, tweeted Frocklin.

For his part, Brian O’Riordan, deputy director for Low Impact Fishers of Europe said that the blue growth initiative is an elitist policy that promotes economic reductionism.

“The Blue Growth initiative is an elite policy which shows only economic potential,” said Brian at a side event organised by the CSOs in Malta.

“In the European Union, more than 70% of the fishing fleet is small scale fishing. What is needed is a blue growth initiative or blue economy that works for everybody particularly small scale fisheries.”

Richard Standing of the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Agreement (CFFA) concurred that there is a need for the blue economy to mainstream small scale fisheries.

“The idea of investing in our oceans has adverse consequences for small scale fisheries. The risk for fisheries is that fishes can produce a small amount in terms of value to the economy but in terms contributing to food security in coastal communities in Africa it does a lot.

Lending her voice to the campaign for the inclusion of small scale fisheries in the EU’s blue growth strategy, Linnea Engstrom of the Swedish Green Party and a member of the European Parliament noted that mining, exploration of oil and gas, maritime transport etc contribute to harsh conditions in artisanal fishing communities and the “most vulnerable are those in developing countries”.

“We cannot stop deep sea mining but we can try to regulate it to ensure that it is not damaging to people in developing countries,” said Engstrom. Furthermore, Engstrom invited the CSOs to make contributions to the EU’s ocean governance framework, which, she noted is being debated for ratification by the EU parliament.

However, Dr Nicholas Watts, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the School of Advanced Study at the University of London noted that “access to data makes it difficult to integrated small scale fisheries into blue growth strategy”.

By Emeka Umejei

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