Decent work and social protection – the SSF forum raises awareness on the safety and vulnerabilities related to small-scale fisheries.

Fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. The promotion of safety at sea, occupational health and safety, and incentive to social protection programmes are therefore essential to increase resilience of small-scale fishing communities. This is the premise behind the SSF Forum sessions held in September 2021.

The first encounter, entitled “Social Protection: what is it and how to overcome barriers for access”, raised the issue that most fish workers and small-scale fishers do not have social protection coverage, despite being vulnerable to various risks and shocks. Social protection can be understood as a series of interventions and supportive actions that can be put into practice to ensure secure livelihoods for the men and women working in small-scale fisheries throughout their life cycles. These schemes are highly needed in the small-scale fisheries and in their communities given their low adaptive capacity to shocks, high vulnerability to the latter and poverty status. Addressing the informality of the sector and recognizing the professions by creating fishers and fish workers (both men and women) registries, for example, could be an important part of ensuring access to social protection.

The second session, “Preparing for a safe fishing trip: do’s and don’ts”, was exclusively dedicated to safety issues and measures. Safety-at-sea should be a community concern. The small-scale fishing profession is often very closely nested in families, and it is important to communicate and create awareness of safety precautions among household and community members. A good way to avoid unsafe behavior is to have communities work together and keep checks on each other. The relevance of insurances was also discussed throughout the session as essential to keep fishers and their families safe in case of injuries or death, as well as material losses such as theft.  

Since the lack of formal social protections directly affects fisherfolks’ safety, the last session was dedicated to understanding “How SSF organizations can promote community-based social protection for members”. A way to circulate this issue is to build community-based systems aiming at effective targeting and also to reduce transaction costs. Social protection can contribute to the development of participation in other decision-making processes. Hybrid arrangements were also a possibility raised during the discussion, where government schemes are implemented by local groups. Certification schemes, for example, could also cover aspects of social protection and other social standards.

To access all the discussions and deepen your knowledge on the subject,  we invite you to watch the complete sessions recordings, available in English, Arabic, Spanish and French.

The SSF Forum is designed to build capacity of small-scale fishers and fish workers on select topics, to share knowledge, and to promote the exchange of best practices throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea region. It is an initiative from the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) within the Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (RPOA-SSF), which is the Mediterranean and Black Sea regional vehicle for implementing the SSF Guidelines.

The sessions have been developed with the financial support of the European Union, as well as by The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), through the Social Protection for Fisheries and Aquaculture (SocPro4Fish) project (GCP/GLO/352/NOR).