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Social Protection for Fisheries and Aquaculture (SocPro4Fish)

SocPro4Fish Updates

SocPro4Fish Updates | Small-Scale Fisheries

29/11/2024
  
Welcome to this newsletter showcasing key activities, workshops, and events from this year. Notably, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, along with important highlights on advancing social protection initiatives for the small-scale fisheries sector.  
Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Summit  
 
  		 The 2nd SSF Summit, held from July 5 to 7, was organized to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).
The event aimed to advance key actions for sustainable small-scale fisheries. It brought together an estimated 300 participants from around the world, primarily representatives from small-scale fisheries organizations and movements, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, and government representatives. 
Endorsed in 2014, SSF Guidelines provide essential guidance on sustainable fisheries management, while emphasizing the importance of securing livelihoods and rights for small-scale fishers. Chapter 6  "Social Development, Employment, and Decent Work," focuses on promoting access to social protection, decent working conditions, and the economic inclusion of small-scale fishers within broader development processes.
  		 

The guidelines advocate for an enabling environment that ensures the well-being of fishing communities. They stress the importance of occupational health and safety standards for small-scale fishers and the need for access to essential social services, such as education. 
These key issues were at the core of the summit. Participants discussed the need for social protection initiatives to support vulnerable groups within fishing communities. The lack of adequate social protection was a key factor discouraging young people from entering the fisheries sector.  Learn more. 
  		 
Committee of Fisheries’ (COFI)  
 
  		 
The 36th Committee on Fisheries (COFI) took place at FAO Headquarters from July 8 to 12. As a subsidiary body of the FAO Council, COFI is the only global intergovernmental forum where FAO Members meet to discuss issues related to fisheries and aquaculture. 
COFI serves as an exchange platform and organizes numerous events. The committee placed a special focus on gender with the session "Gender Mainstreaming: Success Stories of Women's Empowerment in Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture." The session highlighted the inspiring work of women in the sector. A notable intervention came from Vivienne Solis Rivera of CoopeSoliDar R.L., a cooperative based in Costa Rica that focuses on environmental justice and the equitable distribution of biodiversity benefits, promoting sustainable development through participatory processes, and International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), who shared her experience with promoting gender-sensitive social protection for fishers, primarily women, who harvest shellfish in Costa Rica. She emphasized the need for social protection policies that are gender-responsive and human rights-based, to ensure they meet the needs of small-scale fishers, especially women. Watch the event. 
 

This year, COFI also introduced a new Speaker's Corner for open discussions on specific topics related to fisheries and aquaculture. In collaboration with the World Bank and the governments of Brazil and Kenya, FAO organized a session on social protection for small-scale fisheries. The session underscored the role of social protection in addressing economic shocks, climate change impacts, and socio-economic inequalities. It also explored innovative strategies to improve support for small-scale fishers and workers.    
Workshop on updating the FAO-ILO Guidance on addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture   
 

  		 
Updating the FAO-ILO guidance to help address child labour in fisheries and aquaculture 
Seventy percent of children in child labour work in agriculture, including fisheries and aquaculture. In these sectors, children engage in tasks such as fishing, net repair, and fish processing, often missing school and facing health risks. The latest global child labour estimates from 2020 show an increase, with 160 million children in child labour, up from 151.6 million in 2016.  
The 2013 FAO-ILO guidance on child labour in fisheries and aquaculture is the only comprehensive document designed to provide policymakers, fisher organizations, sectoral institutions, and the private sector with recommendations and practical solutions to combat child labour in the sector. However, it requires updating due to emerging challenges, including the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing number of displaced people. 
In September 2024, FAO and ILO hosted a two-day workshop to update this guidance. The workshop brought together international experts and stakeholders from the labour, fisheries, and aquaculture sectors in response to the ILO Sectoral Meeting's call to update the 2021 FAO-ILO guidance on child labour. The initiative aimed to deepen understanding and build capacity to address the issue and was fully aligned with the Durban Call to Action, signed by thousands of delegates at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in May 2022. Learn more 
  		 
Technical workshop on international standards for decent work in fisheries  
 
  		 
Exploring opportunities, challenges, and evolving legal and policy avenues for strengthened decent work standards 
On 25–26 September 2024, a Technical Workshop on International Standards for Decent Work in Fisheries was held at FAO headquarters in Rome. This event brought together representatives from governments, FAO, ILO, regional organizations, and various groups, including workers’ and employers’ organizations, small-scale fishers, NGOs, and universities. Participants discussed ongoing challenges, possible solutions, and new ways to improve working conditions in marine fisheries. The workshop was also an important step in gathering input for a new FAO study on Decent Work in Marine Fisheries. Read more
Key topics discussed included:  
  • Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines & Ecosystem Approach  
  • Collective Bargaining & Social Dialogues  
  • Technology to Fight Forced Labour  
  • Inter-Agency Coordination & Port State Measure  
  		 
SocPro4Fish: Advancing Social Protection in the Fisheries Sector  
 

 
SocPro4Fish closing event
The SocPro4Fish project, with financial support from Norway, officially ended in June, making a big impact in the pilot countries: Tunisia, Colombia, and Paraguay.
Around the world, fisheries make crucial contributions to income, livelihoods, economies, nutrition and food security. At the same time, people who work in the fisheries sector face multiple challenges, including poverty, vulnerability, income variability and gender inequality. These challenges reduce the sector's resilience to both shocks and crises, often leading to negative coping strategies.
The SocPro4Fish project has aimed to address these issues by strengthening the enabling environment, building the evidence base and piloting innovative measures to extend adequate and comprehensive social protection to the fisheries sector.
The closing event, hosted by socialprotection.org, provides a platform to reflect on the project's achievements, challenges, and lessons learned, while also exploring future directions for social protection in the fishing sector. More information , recording and presentations
Even though the project has ended, it marks the start of a new chapter. Read SocPro4Fish Factsheet 
  		 
SocPro4Fish: Looking Ahead
Thanks to the donors, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and the FAO Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC), new activities are underway to expand social protection for the fisheries sector in Colombia, Cabo Verde, and the Dominican Republic.
 
 
  		Colombia 
Work will continue through a new project, with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The project, titled “Promoting Fair, Climate-Resilient, and Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries through the Implementation of the SSF Guidelines,” aims to develop a National Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) based on the SSF Guidelines to strengthen the small-scale fisheries sector.
The project will engage stakeholders from various sectors—including ministries, fishers and fisher representatives, the private sector, universities, and civil society organizations—that are members of the Interinstitutional Group for Social Protection in Fisheries and Aquaculture (GIPRO).
Cabo Verde
The project, in partnership with the Ministry of the Sea and the Ministry of State, Family, Inclusion, and Social Development, will establish a fishers' registry to improve socio-economic data and coverage of fishers under social protection systems. It aims to reduce barriers to social protection, assess the feasibility of an unemployment benefit during closed seasons and other measures to improve income stability and implement natural risk surveillance integrated with early warning systems (EWS).
Dominican Republic
The project will focus on boosting economic stability for family farmers and their communities through collaboration with multiple line ministries. It will also strengthen the fisheries sector by integrating social protection programmes with early warning systems (EWS), allowing for anticipatory actions to reduce disaster risks.
Stay tuned for updates on our work and progress in these countries.