Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission

FAO. 2010. Report of the APFIC/FAO Regional Consultative Workshop “Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: Bringing together responsible fisheries and social development”, Bangkok, Thailand, 6-8 October 2010. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. RAP Publication 2010/19. 56 pp. The 72 participants came from a cross section of fisheries sector stakeholders including from 20 countries and 12 Regional Fisheries Bodies and Regional Organizations and 14 fish workers’ organizations, disaster preparedness and response agencies, and other civil society organizations. The workshop’s objectives were to receive guidance from regional and national stakeholders on the nature, principles and key thematic areas of a possible international instrument to plan, implement and report on securing sustainability in small-scale fisheries. The workshop was further tasked to develop high priority actions and identify potential gaps in the implementation of good governance practices in small-scale fisheries and related assistance needs. In order to develop the guidance, the workshop focussed on the following themes:
– Good Practices in the Governance of Small-Scale Fisheries, with a Focus on Rights-Based Approaches
– Gender and Small-Scale Fisheries in Asia and the Pacific: Considerations, Issues and Good Practices
– Good practices in applying the ecosystem approach to small-scale fisheries
– Reducing vulnerability of fishing and fish farming communities to disasters and climate change impacts (this included the findings from the one-day Disaster Risk Management pre-meeting held prior to the workshop).

The workshop concluded the rights of fishers, fishing communities and small-scale fishers were various and many are already internationally recognized. Detailed coverage of important rights for supporting small-scale fisheries were identified. The rights identified as essential for the support of small-scale fisheries are underpinned by a number of Key Principles. Taking into account the human rights and key principles, a number of goals for the small-scale fisheries sector were identified. These goals should be informed by the UN Millennium Development Goals. The participants agreed that the proposed instrument should be a code or guidelines developed by international consensus which would inform a global programme of assistance. The international instrument would form the basis for the development of regional, national and local guidelines and plans of action for small-scale fisheries.

Living aquatic resources play a fundamental role in sustaining the livelihoods of many of the rural poor in Asia, providing crucial buffers to shock and food insecurity, and offering opportunities for diverse and flexible forms of income generation. As with any production-based intervention, the poorest groups face significant constraints to entry into aquaculture. However, aquaculture offers many opportunities for livelihood benefits that other sectors do not. Aquaculture technologies appropriate for poor people are now largely in place. Emphasis must therefore be given to more effective extension of low-cost technologies, appropriate management practices and securing rights of access and control, rather than technical research. This report provides a background to the issues of focusing aquaculture on poverty alleviation based on the conclusions of an expert consultation which was organized in order to provide field-level professionals in Asia with a unique opportunity to come together to share experiences on working in the field of poverty alleviation and aquaculture, and to prepare a platform for future networking.

The Expert Consultation was convened by FAO in order to elaborate guidelines on the policies and actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security. The Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, held in Rome, Italy, from 24 to 28 February 2003, requested FAO to develop such guidelines as part of its series of technical guidelines on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

The Expert Consultation had before it a comprehensive background document on the subject matter and recommended that two products be published by FAO:

A FAO Fisheries Technical Paper on small-scale fisheries in poverty alleviation and food security that would include a full review of relevant background information.

FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries on enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation and food security that would be a much more concise document highlighting the actions needed to increase the contribution of small-scale fisheries.

The Expert Consultation provided specific guidance for the finalization of the technical paper based on a revision and elaboration of the background document and produced a detailed outline for the preparation of the technical guidelines. It also provided recommendations on the dissemination of both documents and on methods to assess the use and evaluate the impacts of the technical guidelines.

The Expert Consultation noted that there is little reference to poverty alleviation and insufficient coverage of small-scale fisheries in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. It therefore recommended the development of a new Article on

The study has two objectives. First is to compare the two marine fishery censuses of 1985 and 1995 in terms of sociological, demographic and economic changes, as well as fishing craft and gear. Second is to survey current small-scale fishing villages: Ban Sai Dang, Ranong province, and Koh Maphrao, Phuket province regarding the same aspects, as the censuses. The ultimate aim of the survey is to find out if the fishermen have any potential to participate in or to manage integrated coastal zone management (ICZM).

The field survey found that the people in Koh Maphrao village are all Muslim Thai, most of whom speak both Thai and the local dialect. to speak official Thai language. Formal organizations are few but working. The population is older than that of Sai Dang village, with about three children per family. The villagers have very good knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning, despite the older generation' objection against it. There is a clear division of labour between men and women. The heads of household are almost all fishermen, whereas their spouses tab latex to make smoked rubber sheets and some mend fishing nets. The craft are inboard-powered fishing boats and the majority of the gear are sand whiting gill nets. Though fish are depleting and the catches declining, the villagers maintain economic status despite the economic crisis because of the higher prices fetched by the catches.

The people in Sai Dang village are Buddhist Thai; some of them migrated from other regions and there is a sprinkling of newly migrated Burmese families. The village has the same number of formal organizations as Koh Maphrao, but are not as active. Migration has resulted in the population being newer and less socially cohesive than Koh Maphrao's. They also have very good knowledge and practice of family planning; each family has on average two children. The occupations of the heads of household are more diversified and the proportion of fishing families is lower than among their counterparts in Koh Maphrao. The women are mostly housewives, some engage in primary post-harvest processing. The families are poorer than in Koh Maphrao; more than half engage in either orchards or other service occupations. Fishing families also have inboard-powered boats, but the main gear are crab and fish traps.

The survey is supplemented by in-depth interviews of four people of two generations in each village as well as of officials of various ministries at the provincial level. The conclusion of the study is that the embers of the small-scale fishing communities do not have the knowledge, confidence and ability to set up and manage their own integrated coastal zone management as yet.