The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) is the first internationally agreed instrument dedicated entirely to the immensely important - but until now often neglected – small-scale fisheries sector. The small-scale fisheries sector tends to be firmly rooted in local communities, traditions and values. Many small-scale fishers are self-employed and usually provide fish for direct consumption within their households or communities. Women are significant participants in the sector, particularly in postharvest and processing activities. It is estimated that about 90 percent of all people directly dependent on capture fisheries work in the small-scale fisheries sector. As such, small-scale fisheries serve as an economic and social engine, providing food and nutrition security, employment and other multiplier effects to local economies while underpinning the livelihoods of riparian communities. The SSF Guidelines are long overdue because of the need for an international instrument that provides consensus principles and guidance on addressing small-scale fisheries.
The SSF Guidelines complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which, alongside the fishing provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is the most widely recognized and implemented international fisheries instrument. The SSF Guidelines are also closely related to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forestry in the Context of National Food Security, the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, and the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems. Like these instruments, the SSF Guidelines place a high priority on the realization of human rights and on the need to attend to vulnerable and marginalized groups. The SSF Guidelines are the result of a bottom-up participatory development process based on the recommendations of the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Sessions of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI).
Between 2010 and 2013, FAO facilitated a global process that involved more than 4 000 representatives of governments, small-scale fishers, fish workers and their organizations, researchers, development partners and other relevant stakeholders from more than 120 countries in 6 regional and more than 20 civil-society organization-led national consultative meetings. The outcomes of these consultations provided the basis for the work of an FAO Technical Consultation, which met in May 2013 and February 2014 to agree on the final text. The endorsement of the SSF Guidelines by the Thirty-first Session of COFI in June 2014 represents a major achievement towards ensuring secure and sustainable small-scale fisheries.
The SSF Guidelines are a fundamental tool in support of the Organization’s vision to eradicate hunger and promote sustainable development as outlined in FAO’s new strategic framework. They will guide dialogue, policy processes and actions at all levels and help the sector to realize its full contribution to food security and poverty eradication. The challenge is now for FAO Members and all partners to implement the SSF Guidelines. FAO remains committed to supporting the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and looks forward to continued collaboration with all stakeholders – including governments, small-scale fishers, fish workers and their organizations, civil society organizations, research and academia, private sector and the donor community on the path towards sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication.