Implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Europe

Europe is as diverse as it is vast, spanning from the Black Sea in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West, from the Mediterranean in the South to the Baltic Sea in the North. The diverse cultures and politics shaping the small-scale fisheries found in each of these basins are reflective of the diversity of small-scale fisheries in Europe. To provide a succinct and comprehensive overview of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Europe, representatives from the civil society organization Low Impact Fisheries Europe (LIFE), the research network Too Big to Ignore (TBTI) and the European Commission were interviewed.

Small-scale fishing vessel along European coastline ©Low Impact Fisheries Europe

What shape has small-scale fisheries policy taken in Europe?

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) have recorded that small-scale fisheries represent approximately 80% of the European Union (EU) fishing fleet and half of the total EU fleet effort. In 2017 small-scale fisheries employed almost 80 000 fishers, contributing to 48% of employment in EU fisheries. DG MARE recognise that their place is especially important in the Mediterranean, where over half of the EU’s small-scale fisheries is concentrated and where the sector has been playing a dominant role in the livelihoods of coastal communities for centuries.

Over the past decade, notable progress has been made with regards to small-scale fisheries policy across Europe. The 2014 reform of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), was an important step forward in recognizing the important differences between small-scale and larger scale fisheries at the European Union (EU) level.

At the international level, the EU joined other high-level representatives from the Mediterranean and Black Sea in drafting and adopting a Regional Plan of Action for SSF (RPOA-SSF) in 2018. Signed as a Ministerial Declaration in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and Black Sea (GFCM), the RPOA-SSF solidified a regional commitment, previously established in the GFCM Resolution GFCM/40/2016/3 on sustainable small-scale fisheries in the GFCM area in 2016 and the MedFish4Ever and Sofia Ministerial Declarations, to support small-scale fisheries in the region. This plan is based on the conclusions of the First Regional Symposium on Sustainable SSF in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (Malta, November 2013), as well as, the SSF Guidelines.

The EU Ministers of both sea basins endorsed the RPOA-SSF to address the challenges and develop the potential of sustainable small-scale fisheries in the coming 10 years. The RPOA-SSF covers a wide range of specific actions tailored to small-scale fisheries: better representation and participative approach, better recognition of traditional knowledge, improved research and scientific data, adequate support and training, appropriate control system and fight against illegal activities, support to the role of women, access to new technologies and more sustainable fishing practices.

Small-scale fisheries, as all other fisheries actors, are entitled to the support and equal rights but at the same time are responsible for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources. The EU will continue its assistance to GFCM and third countries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea with the aim to strengthen their capacities in all fisheries related issues, including small-scale fisheries.

To help guide the RPOA-SSF, a GFCM Working Group on Small-Scale Fisheries provides technical advice (GFCM, 2017). The implementation of the RPOA-SSF is supported by the Friends of Small-Scale Fisheries, a platform of regional stakeholders sharing common interests in the welfare of the sector. The platform is aimed at promoting transnational cooperation and building synergies among ongoing work in the region.

In Northern and Western Europe, small-scale fisheries are regulated by the EU’s CFP, which is subsequently enforced and overseen by the Member States. It should be noted that the CFP gives EU Member States special jurisdictional rights over the 12 nautical mile zone extending from the shoreline, where the bulk of small-scale fishery activities are carried out, hence the adoption of the SSF Guidelines into policy arguably lies with individual countries.

What does the implementation of the SSF Guidelines look like on the ground?

The CFP applicable in EU waters already contains a number of provisions designed to take on board the specificities of small-scale coastal fisheries. For example, Member States may grant preferential access to the small-scale fleet in the 12-nautical miles coastal band under Article 5(2) of the Basic Regulation. The small-scale fleet is also exempted from a number of obligations that apply to larger vessels, such as the ones on fishing authorisations, landing declarations, sales notes and separate stowage. From a governance point of view, the rules on Advisory Councils ensure that representatives of small-scale fisheries can participate in their meetings and that their voice is heard. In the field of occupational health and safety, a dedicated European guide for risk prevention in small fishing vessels was developed with the contribution of social partners.

Financial means to support the sector are available under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. If a Member State has a small-scale fleet of at least 1,000 vessels, it has to have an explicit action plan targeting that fleet. This is the case for 12 Member States. The standard 50% ratio of public support can be increased to 80% for projects managed by small-scale fishermen and to 90% if it also concerns control and enforcement. The European Commission proposal for the funding available under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) for the period 2021-2027 goes even further and foresees 100% of public aid for projects involving small-scale fisheries. This proposal also refers to the SSF Guidelines under Article 15: Action Plan for Small-Scale Coastal Fishing. The European Commission has also proposed that each Member State (irrespective of the size of the small-scale fisheries fleet) develops an action plan on small-scale coastal fishing. The overall simplification of the future fund, as currently is foreseen by the Commission proposal, should also have positive implications for the small-scale fishers. The Commission proposal is currently under negotiation between the European Parliament and the Council.

Since the endorsement of the RPOA-SSF in 2018 (GFCM, 2018), many projects have been launched across the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, which can be seen in their entirety on the GFCM's Mapping of SSF Initiatives, and align their objectives closely to the recommendations and thematic areas of the SSF Guidelines (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Number of project locations by RPOA-SSF thematic sections ©FAO-GFCM

An example of the kind of work being undertaken in the Mediterranean and Black Sea to implement the RPOA-SSF is that being carried out by Low Impact Fisheries Europe (LIFE). With support from the MAVA Foundation, LIFE’s project ‘Mainstreaming small-scale low impact fisheries in the Mediterranean’ seeks to bring small-scale fishers to the core of decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. In line with many of the SSF Guidelines, the project aims to build the capacity of small-scale fisheries to engage in the decisions that affect their livelihoods, as well as providing a dedicated voice for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. Specifically, this implies valorising fisher’s local knowledge (on species, habitats, climate change); promoting governance based on co-management, including of Marine Protected Areas; identifying and promoting best practices and discouraging bad ones through awareness raising activities, including exchanges, workshops, focus discussion groups and communications; and reinforcing AKTEA – the Network of Women in Fisheries and Aquaculture – through various activities.

Another example of work supporting the SSF Guidelines implementation in Europe includes activities of the research network Too Big To Ignore (TBTI). In July 2016, TBTI hosted the Symposium on European Small-Scale Fisheries and Global Linkages with the aim to share and discuss issues affecting the sustainability of SSF in Europe and explore linkages to global SSF.

What does the future hold for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Europe?

The EU has repeatedly voiced its support to FAO’s work on the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the monitoring of their uptake. The EU also recognizes that, in order to develop appropriate management measures for small-scale fisheries, it is important to have information on their scope and stakeholders, operations and impacts. To this end, the EU will continue to fully support the work on improving the information baseline and a broadened assessment of small-scale fisheries - for inland and marine waters alike. In 2022 the European Commission will report on the functioning of the Common Fisheries Policy and pay in this context a particular attention to the impact of this policy on small-scale fisheries.

This addresses the challenges pointed out by Brian O'Riordan, Executive Secretary of LIFE and Alicia Said, Director of Maltese Fisheries and TBTI network affiliate, who both stressed the need to have the SSF Guidelines reflected in European policy. Brian O'Riordan explained that “entire communities are based around these producers, providing jobs and employment for around 80 000 fishers – and that’s not including their families, many of whom are employed elsewhere in the sector. Without the proper allocation of quota and access to decision-making processes people will be forced to seek work elsewhere, adding to the already heavy flow of urban migration”. Alicia Said followed up on this saying that, “small-scale fisheries and the jobs available need to be made more attractive for young people, but without real work done at the CFP level – where rights and opportunities are provided for - this is not likely to happen”.

Considering the importance of small-scale fisheries in the EU, and in the world generally, DG MARE and the EU have pointed out that it is particularly appropriate to celebrate the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) in 2022. Spain is acting as the European representative on the International Steering Committee for the Year and it is acknowledged by the EU and its partners that IYAFA is likely to prove a key step in raising awareness about the significant role small-scale fisheries play in Europe.