Shakuntala Thilsted at the UN Oceans Conference 2022, during the Interactive Dialogue 4: Making Fisheries Sustainable and Providing Access for Small Scale Artisanal Fisheries to Marine Resources and Markets.
Small scale fisheries – as we have heard throughout this conference – are valued for their significant contribution to the ocean economy. However, small scale fisheries, and the people engaged in this sector, are often undervalued and unrecognized for their participation in global food systems for ensuring food and nutrition security – nourishing people – as well as our planet.
Data tell us that within aquatic food systems, 120 million people are engaged in small scale fisheries, with 90% of these people being in low- and middle-income countries. Of these, one out of two people is a woman. The real figures are most probably higher, as we do know that many women engaged in aquatic food systems are invisible and not accounted for in the data we have. Earlier today, FAO launched the State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture, SOFIA 2022 report – so we do have a reliable instrument to keep updating the data and information on various actors, including women, in small scale fisheries.
The recent disruptions of climate change, COVID-19 and conflicts have exposed the vulnerability of those in small scale fisheries. The numbers of people suffering from food and nutrition insecurity, and losing the means of sustaining their livelihoods are increasing. These dire trends further displace them and their family members from accessing different national social security such as loans, insurance, and even, education and healthcare for themselves and their children.
Even though, the situation seems bleak, we do have strong international instruments and platforms such as this UN Ocean Conference that we can put to immediate use for identify opportunities and develop solutions to build forward better for small scale fishers, now and in the future.
The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), which follows on the Committee for World Food Security (CFS) Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (CFS VGGT) – now in its 10th year – is a powerful tool that can be put to immediate use by governments, policymakers, practitioners, academic, private sector and the local communities to advance sustainable development of the sector, and increase its contribution to global food and nutrition security and livelihoods – as we move closer in realizing the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and specifically SDG 2: Zero Hunger and Malnutrition and SDG 14: Life below Water.
However, these guidelines, specific to aquatic food systems must not be read in isolation. They must be operationalized in tandem with other guidelines that secure the rights and responsibilities of the people – small scale fishers.
Importantly, these are: the CFS Voluntary Guidelines for Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSyN), which ensures the convergence of food, agriculture and nutrition and health sectors – and builds on the all-important Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (Right to Food Guidelines) – the right of all peoples to sufficient, diverse, nutritious and safe foods – leaving no one behind.
I do hope that all who are with us today, in this room and also those listening to us virtually, acquaint themselves with these Guidelines to bring better visibility, representation and voices for small-scale fishers, for their vital contributions in our global food systems.
In 2021, UN Nutrition, the UN inter-agency coordination and collaboration mechanism for nutrition at the global and country levels, released its first Discussion Paper on the Role of Aquatic Foods for sustainably nourishing people. This paper provides a holistic systems approach, which include markets, supply chains and ensuring that consumers’ demand and aspirations for nutritious and safe aquatic foods are taken into consideration. The UN Nutrition paper outlines concrete recommendations and solutions, with direct benefits to small-scale fishers to improve their food and nutrition security and livelihoods. I do invite you to acquaint yourself with this UN Nutrition Discussion Paper on Aquatic Foods.
One of the key approaches in generating greater impact in securing the rights of small-scale fisheries is through multi-stakeholder partnerships and collaborations, both internationally and locally. The One CGIAR, for 50 years has been a leader in agricultural science and innovation for development. Working with partners across various food systems, the One CGIAR’s has adopted a new Strategy that embraces a holistic approach, in its vision and mission of transforming food, land and water systems in a climate crisis. Within the One CGIAR, WorldFish is specifically dedicated to advancing and translating scientific research and innovations on aquatic food systems into scalable solutions.
The Illuminating Hidden Harvests study, led by FAO, Duke University and WorldFish, is an example of such partnership, aiming to generate and disseminate new evidence on the importance of small-scale fisheries to inform transformation in policy and practice. Drawing on the efforts of nearly 800 authors and experts across 58 countries and territory case studies, the report examines the current environmental, social, economic and governance contributions of marine and inland small-scale fisheries at global and local scales. This further paves the path for FAO in the celebrations of 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022).
To end my address, I wish to emphasize the importance of small-scale fisheries in our global food systems, and call for targeted investments, so that the powerful instruments and approaches we already have at hand, can make fisheries sustainable and provide access for small-scale fishers to marine resources and markets. I once again call upon all of us here today to commit and operationalize these guidelines, ensuring that they are context-specific and culturally appropriate to address the inequalities and imbalances that small-scale fishers face.
Shakuntala Thilsted's remarks at the UN Oceans Conference. Interactive Dialogue 4: Making Fisheries Sustainable and Providing Access for Small Scale Artisanal Fisheries to Marine Resources and Markets. Wednesday 29th June 2022, Lisbon, Portugal.
