Pacific Islands Regional Consultation on the Development of Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) as a livelihood contribute to food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and economic development in the Pacific Islands region, which has to face challenges of population growth, climate change impacts and geographical remoteness. The SSF Guidelines are an important tool for securing sustainable SSF governance and development. This final report presents the strategic development process for the guidelines, which consisted of an extensive consultation...
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Small-scale fisheries (SSF) as a livelihood contribute to food and nutrition security, poverty alleviation and economic development in the Pacific Islands region, which has to face challenges of population growth, climate change impacts and geographical remoteness. The SSF Guidelines are an important tool for securing sustainable SSF governance and development. This final report presents the strategic development process for the guidelines, which consisted of an extensive consultation process with governments, regional organizations, civil-society organizations (CSOs) and small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities. The consultation brought together 38 participants representing governments, the fishing industry and CSOs from 17 countries and territories in the Pacific Islands region to share experiences with SSF policies and practices, and to provide advice for improvement of the guidelines. It also emphasised the importance of encouraging policies to protect small-scale fisheries livelihoods, to promote income opportunities and to emphasise the socio-economic and cultural importance of small-scale fisheries for the Pacific islands region.