DevFish facilitates participation of fishers associations in FAO policy discussion

The FAO/SPC Pacific Islands Regional Consultation on the Development of Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) workshop was held 12–14 June at SPC headquarters in Noumea. The DevFish project facilitated contact with the small-scale fishers associations in several Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) so that they could be invited by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and SPC to attend the workshop.

The purpose of the consultation was to gather views and inputs from PICTs for the development of the International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries. These guidelines will complement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

Seven representatives from small-scale fishers associations in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Niue and Tuvalu participated together with PICT government officers and resource persons from other regional agencies.

During the three-day session, the association representatives were very vocal in commenting on the proposed policy guidelines from the point of view of their PICTs and their fishing communities.

At the close of the workshop, participants felt that it had constituted an important opportunity to discuss the issue of small-scale fisheries in the region among both governments and civil society organisations. This opportunity was much appreciated and it was hoped that the needs of PICTs would continue to be represented at the global level.

The association representatives commented that this was one of the first times they had been invited to provide input in an international policy consultation. Participants also commented that participation by such a broad and diverse group of stakeholders promotes good governance in resource management and development.

The unified proposal of association representatives was that such initiatives be continued and promoted so that grassroots stakeholders are more often consulted and involved in the policy formulation process.

The meeting noted that there is a need to maintain a proactive approach to enable this sort of representation of civil society organisations at the international level and that regional organisations such as SPC could play a role in facilitating this. The DevFish officer also suggested that, if warranted, the Pacific Island Tuna Industry Association can represent the region at future regional and international fora.

DevFish2 will continue to facilitate and build linkages to integrate the increased participation of small scale fisheries stakeholders and relevant NGOs in policy and management decision making process where possible.

For more information, please contact Jonathan Manieva, Fisheries Development Officer