On the occasion of the World Oceans Day, several small-scale fishers organizations from Africa, the Pacific, South and Central America, Indonesia and Europe, who will be present at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), hope to raise awareness about the priorities identified, including: securing preferential access for small-scale fishers to resources, guaranteeing the participation of women in fisheries, protecting small-scale fishers from competing Blue Economy sectors, being more transparent, and building up resilient communities in the face of climate change.
The organizations have called on governments and their partners to build resilient small-scale fishing communities by developing national strategic plans to implement necessary actions by 2030. These plans must be adequately funded and guided by the FAO Guidelines to Secure Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries and other relevant regional policies.
All the signatories to the call are organizations representing small-scale fisheries around the globe, including from Africa, the Pacific, South and Central America, Southeast Asia and Europe.