3rd Small-Scale Fisheries Summit High-level Ministerial Session Opening Remarks

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

I am so pleased to see so many Honourable Ministers with us today. Your presence is a powerful testament of your political will and commitment to small-scale fisheries, and the critical role they play for food security, nutrition improvement, and livelihoods improvement, poverty eradication, and sustainable development globally.

Around 500 million people depend on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods, and they provide nutritious food for millions of families.

They account for about 90 percent of employment in capture fisheries value chains – many of them women – and they contribute to approximately 40 percent of global fish catches.

The sustainability of small-scale fisheries is therefore our collective responsibility.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries is a valuable instrument to support the effective implementation of sustainable resource management.

Helping to ensure that small-scale fisheries are inclusive, equitable and environment friendly, and socially and economically sustainable.

I just came back from Croatia where I saw first-hand one of the quickest developments in Europe. They doubled their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the last ten years from USD 11 000 per capita, it is now USD 23 000.

There are a lot of driving forces behind this: one is agrifood systems transformation and rural development. Even in Croatia they developed small-scale fisheries and aquaculture – with a separate Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture – and they have almost 100 years’ history of fisheries and marine institutions. I was therefore very pleased to open the new technical support unit of the General Fisheries’ Commission for the Adriatic (GFCM) for the Adriatic Sea.

The Adriatic Sea is small, but it connects people. A drop of water connects all people who work for it.

This is key to achieving the SDGs, advancing FAO’s Blue Transformation, and ensuring the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life – leaving no one behind.

What is the specific meaning of the Four Betters in fisheries and aquaculture?

Aquaculture is an international practice - from the preparation of the International Symposium on Small Pelagic Fish, to hatching centres, to disease control – all these contribute to better production.

Aquaculture contributes to better nutrition, including through developing specific species with high nutritional value, and with a high feed conversion rate.

For a better environment, you need to decrease water pollution and ensure their sustainable management.

FAO is the only professional organization in the UN system to deal with all these issues holistically, working closely with Members.

Dear Colleagues,

More than a decade since the Voluntary Guidelines were endorsed by the FAO Committee on Fisheries - COFI - our efforts must continue.

Challenges remain, but we have the knowledge, experience and capacities to turn those challenges into opportunities, through concrete actions and long-term solutions.

Since the first Small-Scale Fisheries Summit in 2022 – held during the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture - we have taken stock of key achievements, and what still needs to be done.

This year we are taking the next step:

First: revisit implementation priorities and experiences, including National or Regional Plans of Action; and

Second: strengthen coordination and advance the Global Strategic Framework for implementing the Voluntary Guidelines. 

Your deliberations during this Summit will provide the guidance needed going forward.

I really respect all the experience that Members, especially Ministers, Vice Ministers, and Senior Officials, bring to these discussions; and the guidance they provide to develop guidelines to share knowledge through international networks and then to localize experiences and know-how.

South-South and Triangular Cooperation is an important programme at FAO for Members to share learning. It was established more than 33 years ago, and we need to continue making use of it.

More and more Asian countries are now increasing their focus on efforts to develop the aquaculture sector. Currently, 92 percent of aquatic products come from Asia. The rest of the world only produces less than 8 percent.

We need more fish, but definitely we do not need more “natural‑catching” fish. You are the experts, you know that natural fish takes 20 years to grow, with some fish reaching 5 kg, but in aquaculture they could reach 5 kg in 20 months.

If you feed fish regularly, they grow faster. A lot of people believe that natural fish is better than aquaculture fish, but there is no scientific evidence to this.

Natural fish grows slowly and is not generally good for environmental sustainability. It is not good income generation for farmers, but if you make use of AI or digital tools with only one hectare of water - no matter if fresh or sea water for Aquaculture – you can produce much more and increase incomes.

That is real adaptation and mitigation to climate change, in line with SDG1 (no poverty) and SDG2 (zero hunger) - especially SDG1 – and also SDG14 (Life Below Water).

Please be science promoters and populists; we need educated people to address misleading information which is not good for aquatic development.

I also thank governments, civil society, non-governmental organizations, researchers, partners and colleagues – we cannot achieve these goals alone.

Let us continue to share, listen, learn, and inspire one another.

I wish you fruitful discussions. And as I always say, a healthy life comes from healthy food. If you do not have fish in your plate, it is not a real healthy diet.

Every day we need at least one meal with fish – it is good for your health, and good for the health of the planet and ocean.

Thank you.