1. Opportunities for the Pacific Nicole Franz and Blaise Kuemlangan
The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
Opportunities for the Pacific
Nicole Franz and Blaise Kuemlangan

2. The SSF Guidelines
An overview of the the guidelines
Next steps (exploring opportunities for implementation)

3. 1st Global instrument on SSF
Principles and guidelines – governance and development (founded on human rights principles)
Working together to ensure secure and sustainable SSF

4. Beyond fisheries - brings social development and responsible fisheries together
Developed through a participatory process
Complements other international instruments e.g. CCRF, Right to Food Guidelines, VGGT

5. Part II: Responsible fisheries and sustainable development
Part I: Introduction
Objectives
Nature and scope
Guiding principles
Relationship with other international instruments
Part II: Responsible fisheries and sustainable development
5. Governance of tenure in SSF and resource management
6. Social development, employment and decent work
7. Value chain, post-harvest and trade
8. Gender equality
Part III: Ensuring an enabling environment and supporting implementation
9. Policy coherence, institutional coordination and collaboration
10. Information, research and communication
11. Capacity development
12. Implementation support and monitoring

6. Part I – Introduction Objective
…objectives should be achieved through the promotion of a human rights-based approach, by empowering small-scale fishing communities, including both men and women, to participate in decision-making processes, and to assume responsibilities for sustainable use of fishery resources, and placing emphasis on the needs of developing countries and for the benefit of vulnerable and marginalized groups.

7. Part 2: Responsible fisheries and sustainable development
Secure rights to fishery resources and land and the ability to benefit from them
Sustainability, effective management and stewardship
Social development issues in SSF (e.g. access to services, need for equality and equity, living standards)
Secure incomes and safe, fair and decent working conditions
Specific issues related to the postharvest sector and trade
Highlights gender based issues and the need to promote equality and equity
Reduction of vulnerability and increased resilience
Governance of tenure in small-scale fisheries and resource development
Responsible governance of tenure
The SSF Guidelines stress that secure, equitable, socially and culturally appropriate tenure rights to fishery resources and to land in the coastal/waterfront area are critical for ensuring and facilitating access to: the fishery, related activities (including processing and marketing), housing and other livelihood support activities of small-scale fishery dependent communities. Amongst other issues, the SSF Guidelines call upon States and all actors to ensure correct processes and procedures in the identification, recognition, protection, allocation and management of tenure issues in fisheries, with particular attention to vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Sustainable resource management
The SSF Guidelines call for the responsible management of aquatic ecosystems and associated biodiversity as a fundamental basis for livelihoods and for the sector’s capacity to contribute to overall well-being. In particular, this section is devoted to the role of different actors in resource management, stressing that rights and responsibilities come together. It includes calls for participatory approaches, including co-management and a need to develop improved management systems and cooperation. Accordingly, the SSF Guidelines provide guidance on issues such as of sustainable fishing practices and fisheries management, monitoring, control and surveillance and capacity development for improved management.
Social development, employment and decent work
The SSF Guidelines recognize that fisheries do not exist in a vacuum. A variety of factors beyond the sector can contribute to sustainable long term resource use and improve the contribution of fishing to improved livelihoods, food security and poverty eradication. Therefore, the SSF Guidelines go beyond strictly fisheries-related issues and also provide guidance to address the socio-economic conditions of small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities. The SSF Guidelines address issues such as education, health services, financial services, social protection, public infrastructure and other public services. In this chapter, the SSF Guidelines also call for increased attention and action on issues related to decent work by, for example, providing guidance on occupational health and safety and measures to improve safety-at-sea, and calling attention to the situation of migrant fishers and fish workers.
Value chains, post-harvest and trade
The SSF Guidelines recognize post-harvest and other value chain activities as crucial components for sustainable small-scale fisheries. They therefore acknowledge the need to also involve post-harvest actors in relevant decision-making processes. In this context, the SSF Guidelines also call for support to associations of fishers and fish workers and stress the key role that women play in post-harvest activities. Additionally, the SSF Guidelines call for improvements to the post-harvest sector through appropriate infrastructure and technology investments, value addition activities and post-harvest loss and waste reduction.
On matters of trade, the SSF Guidelines urge to facilitate market access for small-scale fisheries at all levels. They also call for due consideration to the impact of international trade on small-scale fisheries, ensuring that benefits are fairly distributed and market-driven overexploitation is prevented. The SSF Guidelines also highlight the need to provide small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities with timely and accurate market and trade information that allow them to adjust to changing market conditions.
Gender equality
As a cross-cutting issue, gender issues are incorporated into the various sections of the SSF Guidelines. Nevertheless, this section specifically addresses the need to improve gender equality in the entire fisheries value chain. Inter alia, it calls for equal participation of women in decision making processes and organizations, appropriate technologies and supportive policies and legislation. It encourages the compliance with relevant international human rights law and the development of monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the impact of legislation, policies and actions for effectively addressing and mainstreaming gender issues.
Disaster risk and climate change
The SSF Guidelines recognize the vulnerability of small-scale fisheries (throughout the value chain) to the impacts from climate change and disasters. For this reason, the SSF Guidelines strongly urge States and other actors to support affected small-scale fisheries communities and to develop specific policies, strategies and plans for climate change adaptation and mitigation and emergency response and disaster preparedness. These require holistic approaches to address matters such as coastal erosion, pollution, destruction of habitats and other issues that may negatively impact climate change adaptation and disaster risk management activities. The chapter also promotes energy efficiency and appropriate technologies for the entire sector.

8. Part 3: Enabling environment
Addresses:
Poor policy coherence and cross-sectoral collaboration
Interrelated aspects of access to information and capacity development
Enhancing information and research on SSF and the need for capacity development at all levels and scales
Potential challenges for implementation and strategies to ensure that the SSF Guidelines are applied
The small-scale fisheries sector cannot be looked at in isolation. It is embedded in a wider policy and institutional context. The SSF Guidelines therefore call for a better integration of the sector into broader development processes, policies, strategies and plans. This requires improved institutional coordination and collaboration at various levels to ensure policy coherence. In this context, fisher and fish workers organizations are also encouraged to collaborate among themselves to facilitate their involvement in policy- and decision making processes.
The SSF Guidelines also underline that bioecological, social, cultural and economic information, and its related research and communication is crucial to better understand the sector, to support decision-making, and action, and to ensure transparency and accountability. The SSF Guidelines stress the value of traditional knowledge available in fishing communities and encourage collaboration between researchers and communities.
The SSF Guidelines acknowledge the oft-encountered lack of capabilities and capacities, in both government administrations and communities. They therefore provide guidance for specific capacity development measures, stressing the need to develop appropriate representative structures for small-scale fisheries actors and to develop the skills of government authorities and agencies, in particular at decentralized and local level.
Finally, the SSF Guidelines call for aid effectiveness and the responsible use of financial resources. They provide guidance on awareness raising processes and promote the development of monitoring and assessment measures that allow feed-back into policy making processes. To support this, the SSF Guidelines promote the formation of national level platforms- with both cross-sectoral representation and strong CSO representation- to oversee the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. The SSF Guidelines also call upon FAO to promote and support the development of a Global Assistance Programme to support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

9. Next steps
Exploring opportunities for implementation of the SSF Guidelines in the Pacific

10. Some challenges for SSF in the Pacific
Pacific Realities
Some challenges for SSF in the Pacific
Population growth and climate change poses new challenges CF and SSF to provide food security, nutrition and income
Other external threats: habitat destruction, pollution, siltation, and logging and mining
Ineffective management processes: ineffective centrally based management , of most coastal resources is ineffective, while lower level management often suffers from a lack of technical knowledge and/or legal foundation
 Inadequate communication with, and real input from, stakeholders
Lack of incentives for fisheries agency achievements outside the fisheries sector; insufficient financial resources
With a population increase of over 5 million people in the next 25 years, there is likely to be a growing gap between what coastal fisheries can produce and the demand for production from coastal fisheries. Even coastal fisheries that are well-managed cannot keep up with the demand generated by the much larger Pacific Island population, and this will be exacerbated by ongoing urbanisation.
(from
Drawn from a paper by T. Adams prepared for FAO, 2012 and the outcomes of the FAO/SPC Pacific Islands Regional Consultation on the Development of Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (Noumea, June 2012)

11. Pacific realities – Opportunities
Relatively high status of fishers – sea and its uses pervade national cultures of PICTs. Most benefits from fisheries that directly affect islanders of PICTs – such as nutrition and jobs – come from coastal resources
 Artisanal fishing rights and customary or community marine tenure very common
Key contributor to food security: fish for local consumption almost entirely supplied by domestic small-scale fisheries
Existing regional platforms

12. Existing regional platforms should build political support for the SSF Guidelines implementation
Organizations:
SPC, FFA, PIF, MSG, Te Vaka Moana and FAOSAP, NGOs and CSOs:e.g. LLMA
Processes:
HOF, FFC, FrMSG Heads of Governments Forum;
Frameworks:
SPC FAME, A new Song for Coastal Fisheries – Pathways to Change,
MSG Roadmap for inshore fisheries management and sustainable development,)

13. Global Assistance Programme
Raising awareness and providing policy support:
Knowledge products and outreach
Strengthening the science-policy interface:
Sharing of knowledge and supporting policy reform
Empowering stakeholders: Capacity development and institutional strengthening
Supporting implementation:
Programme management, collaboration and monitoring
The following is proposed for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines: a Global Assistance Programme within the framework of the strategic directions and based on the SSF Guidelines development process and the e-consultation, encompassing three main components supported by an additional one dealing with programme management and monitoring.
i) Raising awareness: knowledge products and outreach;
ii) Strengthening the science-policy interface: sharing of knowledge and supporting policy reform; and
iii) Empowering stakeholders: capacity development and institutional strengthening.
complemented by one dealing with overall implementation and coordination issues as well as with progress monitoring:
iv) Supporting implementation: programme management, collaboration and monitoring.
FAO convened a workshop to discuss this further on 8-11 December SPC attended the event.

14. How can the SSF Guidelines support SSF in the region?
Implement SSF Guidelines through previous/planned work and by complementing ongoing initiatives (e.g. Future of Pacific Island Fisheries roadmap, SPC FAME, SPC New Song, FAO Multi- Programming framework)?
Identify champions of change for specific issues?
Other?

15. Building on previous/planned work and complementing ongoing initiatives:
Objective 1: Reform and build fisheries agencies for better services
Increase real input and influence by fishery stakeholders into policies/operations of fishery agencies
Create incentives for fisheries agencies to work with private sector and other economic sectors (e.g. trade, environment tourism, health)
Shift away from attempting government micromanagement of coastal fisheries to empowering local communities
Improve the capacity of tertiary educational institutions in the region to produce people who have the multi-disciplinary skills to manage fisheries
Structure fisheries agencies as coordinators and facilitators rather than total service providers

16. Building on previous/planned work and complementing ongoing initiatives:
Objective 3: Sustain coastal fisheries
Encourage long-term relationships between fishery resources and their exploiters
Selectively devolve management responsibility to communities, with support from fisheries agencies for technical issues and issues beyond the community level
Encourage the transition from government-led development of what are often nonexistent opportunities to the concept that fisheries agencies, their officers, and communities are guardians of marine resources
Work across sectoral boundaries to promote non-extractive use of coastal resources
Formulate, review and update climate change adaptation strategies as impacts evolve and become clearer
SSF Guidelines can provide guiding framework to implement such a roadmap

17. Potential FAO support to the Pacific
VGSSF is a part of the programme of work labelled “the Blue Growth Initiative” (BGI)
Support from FAO under the Technical Cooperation Programme providing that countries request such technical assistance.

18. Blue Growth Initiative (BGI).
FAO’s holistic approach to tackle problems in fisheries and aquaculture in order to:
improving the governance and management of the aquatic resources
the conservation of their biodiversity and habitats
the empowerment of concerned communities

19. BGI in the Pacific
i.    Implementing ecosystem approaches and international agreements - emphasis on capture fisheries in partnership with RFBs
ii.    Technical assistance for the implementation of the VGSSF
iii.   Support for effective implementation the CCRF and the associated instruments and guidelines.
iv.    Assist regional organizations and FAO Member countries to :
- secure donor financing to effectively implement FAO fisheries instruments and guidelines including those on fighting IUU fishing, minimize catch of non-target species, enhance safety and working conditions at sea.
Noting:
Protection and sustainable management of fisheries resources of the Pacific is fundamental to the long-term socio-economic wellbeing of the region ;
work with regional organizations to extend the BGI to the member countries of the Pacific with an emphasis on:
i.    Implementing ecosystem approaches and international agreements with a particular emphasis on capture fisheries in partnership with the regional fisheries organizations.
ii.    Technical assistance for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries.
iii.   Support effective implementation the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the associated instruments and guidelines.
iv.    Assist regional organizations and FAO Member countries to secure donor financing to effectively implement FAO fisheries instruments and guidelines including those aimed to combat IUU fishing, minimize the catch of non-target species and enhance the safety and working conditions at sea.

20. FAO’s assistance to the Pacific
Technical assistance in fisheries:
Strengthen technical capacity of the FAO team in the Pacific (relocation of two technical officer one of whom will the most senior (P5) in the Multidisciplinary Team);
Commitment to working with and through regional institutions to add value
Committing funds to this work when requested to do so by member countries.

21. Conclusion
SSF key for food security and nutrition and livelihoods in the region
SSF Guidelines provide guidance on SSF governance and development
In line with principles and priorities identified for the Region
FAO available to explore how to regionalize the SSF Guidelines implementation through BGI and through TCP
SPC (and other partners such as LLMA fro specific aspects) important regional partner for this venture

22. THANK YOU
SSF Guidelines