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OUR WORK

SSF Guidelines

Small-scale and artisanal fisheries contribute about half of global fish catches and employ millions of people. They are often rooted in local communities, providing food security and nutrition, reducing poverty. At a time of great environmental crises, small-scale fisheries provide hope. Yet their interests and contributions are often overlooked.

This gap was finally filled in 2014 in a watershed moment: the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) endorsed the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication’ (SSF Guidelines). It is the only international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. This set of guidelines directs policy, from the local to the international levels, to support and promote the sub-sector.

The SSF Guidelines provide representation to the marginalized. For their secure tenure over fishing resources and space; for decent conditions of work; for the social development of fishing communities; gender equity and equality; for balancing universal human rights while respecting local conditions and traditions.

It resulted from a long-drawn democratic campaign. In the 1980s, small groups of fishers began voicing their concerns about the social and environmental crisis caused by industrial fishing across developing countries. They began collaborating. ICSF resulted from such partnerships.

The Rio declaration of 1992 had recognized the rights of traditional fishers and their contributions. In 1995 FAO adopted the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF). It recognized the contributions of artisanal fisheries, recommending their preferential access to fishing resources. FAO organized its first global conference of small-scale fisheries in Thailand in 2008.

Thereafter, several workshops hosted over 4,000 participants from 120 nations. In 2011, FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) recommended an international legal instrument to safeguard the rights of small-scale, artisanal fishers. The next two years were a participatory effort to create a consensus and agree on a final text. The SSF Guidelines were endorsed in June, 2014. The challenge now is for all stakeholders to implement the SSF Guidelines.

For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/site/ssfguidelines/home and https://sites.google.com/site/smallscalefisheries/

Current Programmes

Workshop on Sea Safety and Fisheries Management: Training and Capacity Development of Local Self-Governments, 01-02 March 2023, Kerala, India

The negotiated Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) were endorsed by the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at its Thirty-first Session in June 2014. The implementation of the SSF Guidelines is identified as a significant step for enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to nutrition and food security. As part of the implementation process, International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust is organizing a sub-national capacity development workshop on fisheries management, social development and safety at sea—supported by FAO. The workshop will be held at Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Thrissur, Kerala, India in March 2023. Key representatives from panchayats, FWOs, CSOs and CBOs in Kerala are expected to attend. For more details, please visit: https://www.icsf.net/resources/lgs-workshop-icsf-kila-kerala-india/

Africa Workshop: IYAFA 2022-Celebrating Sustainable and Equitable Small-scale Fisheries, 15-18 February 2023

The Africa workshop will be held in Accra, Ghana from 15 to 18 February 2023. The overall goal of the workshop is to strengthen the recognition of small-scale fisheries’ crucial contributions to global food security and nutrition, the importance of access rights in the sector, social development and gender equality. The workshop is also an opportunity to take stock of how the SSF Guidelines are being implemented in Africa to eradicate poverty, ensure food security and nutrition, and promote the tenure rights of small-scale fishing communities. The workshop will include 40 participants from community-based organizations, national and international fishworker organizations, networks of women in fisheries, and civil society organizations from across Africa. For more details, please visit: https://www.icsf.net/resources/africa-workshop-iyafa-2023/

Resources

Re-configuring the small-scale fishery of Kerala State: An initiative to revive the discussions on the relevance of the small-scale fishery and the challenges it currently faces in Kerala State. By ICSF, 2016

The initiative was composed of (a) making a summary of the VGSSF in the local language (b) conducting discussions and brief studies about some challenges being faced by the SSF...

Social relations and dynamics shaping the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) in South Africa By Jackie Sunde, ICSF, 2016

This research has highlighted the importance of contextual analyses of social relations of power prior to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. https://www.icsf.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/930.ICSF151.pdf

UserRights 2015: A Global Forum on Rights based approaches for fisheries – A Report By Sebastian Mathew, ICSF, 2015

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The Conference allowed different groups to share their experiences on understanding of rights regimes. 139 participants attended the conference from 38 countries from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean,...

Report of the ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) Workshop: Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) By ICSF, 2015

The workshop was the third in a series of consultations held in 2015 across the globe to promote the ownership of the SSF Guidelines among different stakeholders. In the run...

Implementing the voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication (SSF Guidelines): perspectives of the fishers and fishworkers on the east coast of India By Venkatesh Salagrama, 2015

This report is the outcome of a series of six fishworkers’ consultations, organised to discuss the relevance and implementation of FAO’s Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines (SSF Guidelines), and my sincere thanks...

Rights First, rights forever: Small-scale fisheries and fishing communities from a human-rights perspective, A collection of articles from Samudra report By ICSF, 2014

The SSF Guidelines hope to promote a human-rights-based approach to fisheries development and management as well as the use of aquatic, coastal, riparian and lakeshore space. The vicissitudes of the...

Report of the Workshop and symposium on Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries: Towards FAO Guidelines on Marine and Inland Small-Scale Fisheries, 19-21 September 2011, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The workshop was the first in a series of consultations around the world organized to discuss the Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale Fisheries (VGSSF) and propose measures, keeping in mind the...

Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Asia – Workshop and Symposium proceedings, 3-8 May 2007, Siem Reap, Cambodia

This publication is a record of the proceedings of the Siem Reap Workshop and Symposium held from 3-8 May 2007, Siem Reap, Cambodia by ICSF, 2007. It provides a bottom-up...

Latin American and Caribbean Parliament Model Law on Small-Scale Fisheries

This publication of the Model Law on Small-Scale Fisheries of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament was prepared with support from the Mesoamerica Hunger-Free program sponsored by the Food and...

A policy and legal diagnostic tool for sustainable small-scale fisheries – In support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication

This diagnostic tool advances the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) through policy and legal...

Legislating for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries – A guide and considerations for implementing aspects of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication in national legislation

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector....

Vital Fisheries: Setting pathways for the implementation of International Guidelines for Small-Scale Fisheries in Brazil: Final Report of the National Seminar on Capacity-building for the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Small-scale Fisheries By Leopoldo Cavaleri Gerhardinger and Daniele Vila-Nova, 2016

The seminar had the objective of divulging and stimulating discussions and learning about values, norms and principles contained therein and to enable support for its implementation in Brazil. Its appropriation,...

Oceans and Sustainable Development: Adopting a Human Rights-based Approach in Small-scale Fisheries By Sebastian Mathew, 2015

This presentation given by Sebastian Mathew at the Sixteenth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea highlighted the SSF Guidelines...

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020: Sustainability in action FAO, 2020

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to-date information to a wide audience – policymakers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and indeed everyone interested in the...

Video documentaries from FAO on the International Guidelines on Small-scale fisheries FAO, 2020

This link provides a collection of video documentaries from FAO on the International Guidelines on small-scale fisheries

SSF Guidelines: Governance of tenure and resource management By FAO

This short, animated video gives insights into governance of tenure and resource management in small-scale fisheries. The term “tenure” refers to how rights to natural resources such as land, lakes,...

SSF Guidelines: Social development, employment and decent work By FAO

This video gives insights into issues of social development, employment and decent work in small-scale fisheries. For the rights of fishers and fish workers to be recognized, it is key...