At UNOC, FISH4ACP puts a spotlight on access to finance for fisheries and aquaculture

4 July 2025, Rome - Real-world solutions promoting access to finance for fishing communities and empower aquatic food systems were on the menu during a FISH4ACP side event at the UN’s Ocean Conference (UNOC) on 12 June 2025.

Opening the event, Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, referred to FAO’s review of marine fisheries resources launched at UNOC one day earlier: “We know that fisheries management works to keep the oceans healthy,” he said. “What we need is political commitment, data and information, institutions and partnerships, and financing to make fisheries completely sustainable.”

Co-organized by the government of Sao Tome and Principe, the event brought together experts, policymakers, and value chain actors to discuss solutions that help fisher folk overcome financial barriers such as limited collateral, high risk perceptions, and lack of financial literacy.

An audience of around 150 people online and on site learned how FISH4ACP is helping fishermen and fish mongers in Sao Tome and Principe organize themselves to gain access to finance institutions.

“Banks are always looking for people who are credit-worthy,” said lead expert Suchitra Upare from FISH4ACP’s partner CAFI-SSF Network, explaining the importance of savings within the so-called self-help groups that she helped establish. “Internal lending among fisher folk builds up credibility to unlock formal finance,” she added.

From the African island nation across the globe to the Pacific, attention focused on the Marshall Islands, where FISH4ACP is working to strengthen the domestic tuna industry.

“Investing in the Marshall Islands supports a culture deeply rooted in taking care of the ocean,” said Matthew Walsh, Expert Board Member, EU Mission: Restore Our Ocean and Waters, and FAO consultant behind a series of FISH4ACP assessments demonstrating that investing in energy and water management can significantly save costs and reduce the carbon footprint of the Marshall Islands tuna processing and containerization.

In the aquaculture sector, it is more common to access finance through formal banks, according to Pierre Guillibert, Fisheries and Aquaculture Global Project Lead of FISH4ACP partner GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit).

GIZ helps female fish farmers access finance in Malawi. “Technical training, aquaculture business schools, financial literary – all these are building blocks of our approach to enable them unlock finance,” he said.

“Banks are interested in fisheries. What is holding them back is a lack of understanding of the sector,” said Suchitra Upare in answer to a question from the audience, adding that: “This calls for capacity building in financial institutions and of their staff who are going to provide support to small-scale fishers.”

“Sometimes banks don’t really know fisheries, or they know other sectors that are easier to work with,” said Gilles van de Walle, FISH4ACP Chief Technical Adviser, moderating the event. “The public sector has a role to play in helping to diminish the transactional cost for banks to engage with the fisheries and aquaculture sector.”

“Improving access to finance for small-scale fishers and fish farmers is essential,” said Marina Lipari of the European Union, which is funding FISH4ACP together with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), adding: “Recognizing that aquatic food production contributes to food security and helps local populations flourish, we should invest in scaling up solutions that already work.”

In closing the event, Sao Tome and Principe’s Minister of Environment Nilda da Mata said: “Financial inclusion of fishers and fish mongers is vital to grow our fisheries and aquaculture sector, contributing to food and nutrition security in many countries in the world.”