Summary of activities from the three-day hybrid national stakeholders and advocacy capacity building workshop on awareness for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in Nigeria

A national stakeholders and advocacy capacity-building workshop on the implementation of Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines in Nigeria was held between 9-11 May 2022, physically at the Lagos State University, Ojo Campus and online via Zoom. The workshop was organized by the Lagos State University (LASU) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Collective in Support of Fish Workers (ICSF) and WorldFish.

The objectives of the workshop were:

• to raise awareness of the SSF Guidelines among state and non-state actors and other stakeholders;
• highlight the pathways that will lead to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and mainstreaming  into national policy documents;
• enhance understanding of the needs, responsibilities, and capacity of state and non-state actors in the small-scale fisheries sector;
• produce  a  background paper inclusive of  recommendations from workshop which will serve as the template for the SSF Guidelines implementation;
• and a working paper that highlights the role and linkages of small-scale fisheries and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.

Close to 300 participants physically attended the workshop while about 30 participants joined online. Day 1 featured the opening ceremony and plenary sessions to welcome participants and introduction to various aspects of the SSF Guidelines and their implementation in Nigeria, respectively. Plenary sessions continued into second and third days. Day 2 was dominated by two technical sessions where about 35 selected participants from different stakeholder groups were split into two working groups while Day 3 was mainly for capacity development in advocacy and marked the conclusion of the workshop. The three days also featured questions and answers (discussions) and re-caps of topics presented during the plenary sessions.

In her opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of LASU, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello noted that apart from fish production, small-scale fisheries are firmly rooted in local communities sustaining rich traditions and value systems in many fishing communities and villages across the country. She mentioned that the sub-sector directly provides livelihoods to about 2 million and is a secondary source of employment for up to 20 million people.

Professor Shehu Akintola, the Chief Convener of the Workshop and Dean of the Faculty of Science of LASU, stated about the importance to draw attention of the stakeholders, comprising the government, media, human right practitioners, youths, fishers, fish workers, academicians, researchers, NGOs and other bodies. Because of the challenges faced by small-scale fisheries in Nigeria, raising awareness will help reducing poverty to the barest minimal in the sector. Globally, there are many challenges affecting the fisheries business and these necessitated the emergence SSF Guidelines to nurture sustainable development within the small-scale fisheries. He remarked that Nigeria being a member state of the United Nations also meant agreeing to use the SSF Guidelines to manage its fisheries.

In demonstrations of the importance and support for the SSF Guidelines implementation, several presentations were made by a host of speakers including Lena Westlund, FAO Fisheries Analyst,  Dr. Dismas Mbabazi,  Fishery & Aquaculture Officer, FAO Regional Office for Africa in Ghana, Prof. Emeritus Svein Jentoft, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø,  Mr. Sebastian Mathew, Executive Director (ICSF); and Dr. Kendra Byrd, Senior Research Fellow, Nutrition and Food Systems, University of Greenwich Natural Resources Institute. Contextualized human rights issues of fishers and the implication of the SSF Guidelines in Nigeria were presented from the perspectives of a legal practitioner, Prof Kareem Olatoye of the Faculty of Law, LASU and a CSO representative -  Mr. Lucas Koyejo, Coordinator of the National Human Rights  Commission, Lagos Office.

Further commenting on the SSF Guidelines implementation in Nigeria, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire emphasised that implementation of the SSF Guidelines is critical to the achievement of the country’s SDGs and assured Nigerian government’s commitment to partnerships towards ensuring that small-scale fisheries deliver on the SDGs.

Dr. Sunil Siriwardena, from WorldFish Nigeria, highlighted the potentials of Nigeria inland fisheries while pathways to implementing SSF Guidelines and synopsis on SDGs implementation and sustainable fisheries were addressed by Mr. Salihu Abdullahi Bwala, Assistant Director, Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture; and Dr. Zakariya Mohammed, Focal Person- Fish Project, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs). Dr. Lilian Ibengwe, a Focal Point of SSF Guidelines implementation in Tanzania and Prof. Oscar Amarasinghe, President, Sri Lanka Forum for Small Scale Fisheries (SLFSSF) presented the SSF Guidelines implementations in Tanzania and Sri Lanka, respectively as case studies for possible adaptation in the Nigerian context.

On Day 2, each working group representing a technical session was organized around thematic themes of the SSF Guidelines wherein contextual and emerging issues that pertain to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines were discussed extensively with a view to develop a SMART and cost effective national plan of action for the implementation in Nigeria. The first working group discussed factors militating against the SSF Guidelines implementation in Nigeria; benefits for both state and non-state actors and pathways to implementing the SSF Guidelines and responsibilities. The second working group deliberated on topics such as policy coherence, institutional coordination and collaboration; information, research and communication; capacity development and implementation; support and monitoring. Towards the end of the second day, Prof. Lai Osho, School of  Mass Communication, LASU, presented mapping advocacy for youth, fisher organisations, women groups and media while Prof. Stella Williams, Vice-President, Mundus Maris asbl , spoke on the  role and need  for establishing a National SSF Guidelines Alliance Network (Steering Committee) in Nigeria.

The third day was fully dedicated to capacity development in advocacy. In her presentation, Dr. Kafayat Fakoya, a co-convener of the workshop highlighted how advocacy limits governability of small-scale fisheries in Nigeria. Mr. Aliou Sowe, representing theAfrica Advisory- Global Strategic Framework underscored the significance of advocating for implementation of the Guidelines while Dr. Philippa Cohen, consultant to WorldFish and Adjunct Research Fellow at James Cook University, Australia gave examples of how advocacy impacts sustainable small-scale fisheries.

In addition, key highlights of the workshop included recommendations from the technical sessions which will be released in a communiqué shortly. In particular, a milestone was the mandate to Prof.  Shehu Akintola, to take charge of setting up a multi-stakeholder steering committee with membership drawn from fishers, youth and fish workers groups; academic/research community, government, NGOs, CSOs, media and development agencies within and outside the country to drive the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and also develop Terms of References for the working of the committee

The workshop was open to contributions from other participants. Notable among those who contributed richly to the discussions and questions and answers sessions were Mr. Obinna Anozie, a fisheries and aquaculture expert with the African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). He stated that having attracted top international organisations, the forum should create a platform of key actors and institutions be established for proper implementation even to the national level. Also, of note were Deaconess Foluke O. Areola, the first Federal Director of Fisheries Quarantine in Nigeria (rtd.) and Past National and First Female President, Fisheries Society of Nigeria, Dr. Siyanbola Omitoyin, University of Ibadan; Mr. Emmanuel Audu, Director of Fisheries, Lagos State, Dr. Atim Okoko, Director of Fisheries Akwa Ibom State and Director of Fisheries, River State, Ayojesutomi Abiodun-Solanke, Federal College of Fisheries and  Marine Technology, Lagos, Justina Obienu, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Lagos among others.

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