Small sale fisheries have the potential to contribute significantly to food security and nutrition, economic growth, poverty eradication, rural development, sustainable resource utilization, equitable development and to provide valuable employment opportunities. The economic and biological functions of fisheries are clear; what are less so is the social objectives that fisheries fulfill in their communities. The livelihood of fishing communities on a whole is sustained by the income earned from fishing and other fishing activities along that value chain, and simultaneously these activities form and influence the social structure of communities- giving communities distinct identities, certain dignities, creating and maintaining relations within the communal sphere, and so on.
To emphasize the gravity of SSFs, consider that nearly 100 million people in the world depend in some way or another on fishing as a sole means of income, making more vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty, young people and women in particular within whole vulnerable communities. The small scale fishing sector globally, and Guyana is no exception, is comprised of largely illiterate and innumerate fishers who depend on traditional fishing knowledge and techniques conduct their craft. Much thought is not given to environmental sustainability or conservation and so on. Intervention is badly needed to alleviate the poverty connected to fishing as a means of livelihood in Guyana through making fisheries more productive, environmentally sustainable, better managed with a view to improving the conditions in the communities, and more diverse.
For these reasons, there is genuine and widespread interest in securing their sustainable development altogether and doing so in a way that includes the participation of all actors in this process. The main participants have been identified as fishing communities (not simply fishermen), civil society organizations (CSOs), governments, NGOs, regional organizations, donors and international agencies. The academic world has an important role to play, as it usually does, in documenting data and information collected over the implementation process of these guidelines referred to and in providing a body of research-biological, economic, managerial- from which to access to inform decisions in this process. For instance, out of the FAO’s consultative process, faculty members from universities around the world contributed to crafting the guidelines on sustaining small scale fisheries from their research and experience.
Mr. Odusina Abbey made quite articulate contributions in his paper work on small scale fisheries, suggesting Small scale fisheries actors (at the different levels) should develop and/or strengthen SSF associations/cooperatives to contribute to the sustainable management of the resources and strengthen their voice in decision-making. To facilitate the partnerships being fostered and strengthened, organizations can play roles (and continue to play roles) as service providers, experts, capacity builders, representatives, social monitors, advocates and innovators. CSOs, for instance, have historically played a leadership role in cooperative efforts made by communities, informing, facilitating and mediating between gov’ts and donors and researchers and experts and these groups.
Partnering for implementation:
Small sale fisheries have the potential to contribute significantly to food security and nutrition, economic growth, poverty eradication, rural development, sustainable resource utilization, equitable development and to provide valuable employment opportunities. The economic and biological functions of fisheries are clear; what are less so is the social objectives that fisheries fulfill in their communities. The livelihood of fishing communities on a whole is sustained by the income earned from fishing and other fishing activities along that value chain, and simultaneously these activities form and influence the social structure of communities- giving communities distinct identities, certain dignities, creating and maintaining relations within the communal sphere, and so on.
To emphasize the gravity of SSFs, consider that nearly 100 million people in the world depend in some way or another on fishing as a sole means of income, making more vulnerable to food insecurity and poverty, young people and women in particular within whole vulnerable communities. The small scale fishing sector globally, and Guyana is no exception, is comprised of largely illiterate and innumerate fishers who depend on traditional fishing knowledge and techniques conduct their craft. Much thought is not given to environmental sustainability or conservation and so on. Intervention is badly needed to alleviate the poverty connected to fishing as a means of livelihood in Guyana through making fisheries more productive, environmentally sustainable, better managed with a view to improving the conditions in the communities, and more diverse.
For these reasons, there is genuine and widespread interest in securing their sustainable development altogether and doing so in a way that includes the participation of all actors in this process. The main participants have been identified as fishing communities (not simply fishermen), civil society organizations (CSOs), governments, NGOs, regional organizations, donors and international agencies. The academic world has an important role to play, as it usually does, in documenting data and information collected over the implementation process of these guidelines referred to and in providing a body of research-biological, economic, managerial- from which to access to inform decisions in this process. For instance, out of the FAO’s consultative process, faculty members from universities around the world contributed to crafting the guidelines on sustaining small scale fisheries from their research and experience.
Mr. Odusina Abbey made quite articulate contributions in his paper work on small scale fisheries, suggesting Small scale fisheries actors (at the different levels) should develop and/or strengthen SSF associations/cooperatives to contribute to the sustainable management of the resources and strengthen their voice in decision-making. To facilitate the partnerships being fostered and strengthened, organizations can play roles (and continue to play roles) as service providers, experts, capacity builders, representatives, social monitors, advocates and innovators. CSOs, for instance, have historically played a leadership role in cooperative efforts made by communities, informing, facilitating and mediating between gov’ts and donors and researchers and experts and these groups.