Recent Submissions

  • Baffling shades of blue: Addressing the impacts of the blue economy on small-scale fisheries in Latin America

    Leopoldo, Cavaleri Gerhardinger (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2022)
    The incessant noise over ‘Blue Economy’ and ‘Blue Growth’ leaves artisanal and small-scale fishers dazed and confused. This report works through that confusion. It draws on scholarship from the trenches and the research centres across ten Latin American countries. From extensive interviews, policy reviews, analyses of finances and online datasets. In granular detail, it examines how Blue Growth affects artisanal fishers and their need for equity and justice. Through the baffling shades of blue—conflicts, priorities, the politics of managing our coasts and seas—this report finds clear light. It lays down the agenda for fishworkers and organizations working for them.
  • Making small-scale artisanal fishing zones work!: Research study on the tenure rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized fishers in Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.

    Gupta, Vishakha (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2022)
    Under Indian legislation, i.e. various state Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act (MFRAs), small-scale traditional fishers are granted exclusive rights to near-shore marine waters, ostensibly to protect their rights and livelihoods. However, failures in implementation, management and monitoring of these exclusive small-scale artisanal fishing zones (SFZs), has hampered the holistic actualization of these protections. Establishing secure tenure rights to marine and coastal spaces and resources can be considered sine qua non for equity and justice. It is essential to rejuvenate existing mechanisms and bolster them through the principles of human rights and the SSF Guidelines to protect and support small-scale fisheries in our future.
  • Report on Asia workshop – IYAFA 2022: Celebrating sustainable and equitable small-scale fisheries, 4 – 8 May, 2022, The Berkeley Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

    Shridhar, Nivedita; Nair, Sivaja K; DK, Mythili (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2022-08)
    International collective in support of fishwokers (ICSF) in partnership with Sustainable Development Foundation (SDF) Thailand had organized an International Workshop titled “IYAFA 2022-Celebrating Sustainable and Equitable Small-scale Fisheries: Asia” from 4 to 8 May 2022 at Bangkok, Thailand. The Asia workshop was the first of the series of four regional workshops planned by ICSF in connection with the proclamation of 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) by the United Nations. The workshop revolved around discussions on the SSF Guidelines implementation and monitoring and specifically focused on the themes of tenure rights, social development and gender and women in fisheries. The workshop had a diverse group of 58 participants from CSOs, CBOs and FWOs from 11 participating countries namely-Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The discussions of four day workshop resulted in the formulation of a ‘The Asian regional action plan: Women and gender in fisheries’ and the ‘ The IYAFA Asia statement’. For more information about the workshop, please check: https://www.icsf.net/resources/asia-workshop-iyafa-2022-celebrating-sustainable-and-equitable-small-scale-fisheries/
  • Report on national workshop on SSF guidelines and women in fisheries, India, 8 -10 April, 2022, Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India

    Shridhar, Nivedita; DK, Mythili; International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2022-08)
    The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust organized a national workshop on the SSF Guidelines and Women in Fisheries, India at Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India, on April 8-10, 2022. There were sixtyone participants from five coastal states of Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. With gender equality and equity being one of the seven pillars of the United Nations International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA), the national workshop facilitated in building a platform of women in fisheries to promote gender equality and equity, to recognize livelihood space and to improve the participation of women in decision making processes through various discussions that were held during the three days. The resource persons provided information on international processes as well as on schemes at the national and state levels to equip women in small scale fisheries to strengthen their position in pursuit of livelihoods and protect their access rights.
  • Covid response 2020: ICSF’s Newsletter on covid-19 emergency assistance to small-scale fishing communities in India

    The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2020)
    The World Health Organization (WHO) characterized COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March, 2020. Two weeks later, a nationwide lockdown was announced in India, to ensure consistency in the application and implementation of pandemic control measures. The lockdown adversely affected numerous fishers and fishworkers and their families. Being contact-intensive, small-scale fisheries were particularly hit hard, especially in the marine sector across India, as is evident from the stories carried in this newsletter. ICSF Trust undertook relief work among marginalized marine and inland small-scale fishing communities in the states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra. ICSF worked through credible civil society organizations (CSOs) mainly in the form of providing sanitary masks, provisions for cooking and cash assistance in a targeted manner. These efforts followed a groundup approach whereby each CSO applied its own criteria to identify beneficiaries in consultation with local communities. This newsletter provides vignettes of ICSF’s relief work, how the beneficiaries in each state were identified and what form of assistance was offered. The relief work also brought to light the impact of Cyclone Amphan that befell the eastern seaboard of India from 16 – 21 May, 2020. The double whammy literally devastated these precarious communities: thatch and tin roof houses, and other assets such as craft and gear were blown away during the cyclone, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of fishing communities amidst a COVID-19 lockdown.
  • Yemaya Revista Del CIAPA Sobre El Genero en La Pesca, Núm. 61, Agosto 2020

    The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2020)
    Publicación virtual de un nuevo número de Yemaya, la revista del CIAPA sobre el género en la pesca, en castellano. El último número de Yemaya (núm.61), la revista del Colectivo Internacional de Apoyo al Pescador Artesanal (CIAPA) sobre temas de género en la pesca, publicado en inglés en agosto de 2020, se encuentra ahora disponible también en lengua española en:
  • Cyclone Ockhi: disaster risk management and sea safety in the Indian marine fisheries sector

    Roshan, Manas (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2018)
    Between 29 November and 3 December, 2017, Cyclone Ockhi devastated hundreds of lives and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. This study assesses the impacts of the cyclone on fishing communities and the mechanisms in place at the local, national and international levels to address disaster risks and sea safety in small-scale fisheries, using a human rights-based approach. In line with the Sendai Framework 2015-2030 and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries, the study recommends applying “relief-development continuum” and “build back better” concepts to the management of disaster risks in order to save lives and to reduce damage to fisheries assets and livelihoods.
  • Report of the national workshop on small-scale fisheries, Cyclone Ockhi and disaster risk management 29 to 30 May, 2018, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

    Lakshmi, Ahana (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2018)
    National Workshop on Small-scale Fisheries, Cyclone Ockhi and Disaster Risk Management was held on 28 to 29 May, 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram. The workshop was organised by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The workshop was attended by a large number of distinguished participants, including fishworker organisations, government officials, academics, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and the disaster affected community. Representatives from FAO and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) also attended the programme. On 29 November 2017, a deep depression, detected in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka, rapidly intensified into a cyclonic storm off the coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep Islands. Cyclone Ockhi, as it was named, took the life of a number of fishers, injured many and destroyed fishing vessels and gear.
  • Report on workshop on enhancing capacities of women fishworkers in India for the implementation of the SSF guidelines, 21–23 November, 2016, Ashoka Hall, Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India

    Correa, Mariette (The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2017)
    The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust organised a national workshop on ‘Enhancing capacities of women fishworkers in India for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines’ in Chennai, India, on November 21-23, 2016. There were 63 participants from nine coastal states of India—participants from Gujarat could not attend. They were informed of the situation and role of women in India’s fisheries, as also the relevance of the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication’ (SSF Guidelines) to women in small-scale fisheries and the opportunities to improve their conditions. This report of the workshop provides the various discussions that were held during the three days. Apart from participants sharing their experiences on all the issues, the challenges they faced, and their struggles and successes to overcome these, resource persons provided information on the legal frameworks and schemes at the national and state levels, as also the mechanisms to access these to help women in small-scale fisheries to promote their interests and protect their rights.
  • Conte Burica: An indigenous people that listens to the Sea. Ngabe People. First approach.

    CoopeSoliDar; The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2016)
    This study is part of the regional process of understanding the importance of traditional knowledge in Latin America. The study identifies the key developments in indigenous peoples issues in Costa Rica, especially relating to fishing communities. It also documents the perceptions of the leaders of the Council of Elders in relation to fisheries issues, craft, access to land and sea, marine conservation and climate change and social aspects along with gender equality. The study is specific to the marine areas of the Conte Burica region.
  • The indigenous community of Rama of the Rama Cay Coast in the Caribbean region of Nicaragua

    Acosta, María Luisa (The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2016)
    The aim of this work is to develop a case study in the indigenous community of Rama Rama Cay in the Autonomous Region of the Southern Caribbean (RACS) of Nicaragua; to provide a broader understanding of the issues of relevance, social, human rights, management and conservation of small-scale fisheries: traditional, artisanal and subsistence; technical and policy for political and economic decisions in the Central America.
  • The small scale fishing experience of the Garifuna community in Nueva Armenia, Honduras

    Yanes, Gerardo (The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2016)
    The case is part of the series of studies undertaken in Central America to document the experience of Artisanal Fisheries. This case study in Honduras, specifically focuses on the impact of climate change on the Garifuna community, and identifies the limitations and strengths of Garifuna community in terms of access and use rights to coastal marine resources. It documents the participation of women in the difference processes from capture to product marketing. It also focuses on the current situation of the community in terms of their basic living conditions.
  • Report of the round table of women in small-scale fisheries in Goa, 19 February 2017, Panaji, Goa, organized by International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust with Saad Aangan

    The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2017)
    The round table was organized by Saad Aangan, a Goa-based gender resource group, in collaboration with the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (Trust) and was attended by thirty-four participants, all (except one fish farmer) women. The workshop was conducted in Konkani, the language of Goa. The programme commenced with a lively song on the fish of Goa sung by Perpet Cardoz, from the fishing community at Zuari, Goa Velha. After brief introductions by the participants, Maria Angelica D' Souza from Saad Aangan explained the purpose of the Round Table. She stated that she had attended a meeting at Chennai on ‘Enhancing capacities of women fishworkers in India for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines’ and noted the value of shared understandings and empowering strategies. She mentioned that she saw the need to have a focussed meeting of that nature in Goa and hence tied up with Saad Aangan, of which she is a volunteer, to facilitate organizing the same, with the support of the ICSF.
  • Traditional knowledge use for the sustainable management of marine and fishing resources

    CoopeSoliDar (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, 2017)
    The use of traditional knowledge can be a powerful conservation tool, providing community support for conservation plans and enabling the inclusion of customary ecological management practices in their design. This study documents three experiences in Central America where traditional knowledge has been used to improve marine spatial planning and frame a new policy oriented toward shuman rights approaches to fisheries and has given better tools for the governance of community managed protected areas. With the support of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), CoopeSoliDar R.L. selected the case studies (two in Costa Rica, one in Honduras) based on processes that allowed observation of the contribution of traditional knowledge in the generation of information for coming up with a policy for the sustainable use of fishing resources and management practices geared towards marine conservation.
  • Inland fisheries, food security and poverty eradication: A case study of Bihar and West Bengal

    Narayanan, Sumana (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2016)
    This study is undertaken, to gain some insight into the status of inland fisheries in India, and highlight some of the research lacunae in this sector, in the hope that the path to implementing the SSF Guidelines in this sector may become a bit clearer. Given the limitations of resource, the states of Bihar and West Bengal were chosen. These states are important in terms of fish production and fisher population in the inland sector. The varied types of water bodies and governance systems in these states were also a consideration.
  • Agua and Tiger Cays: Two indigenous localities of small scale fishing in the Bocas del Toro Archipielago, Panama

    Serrut, Martha Machazek de; Borras, Marvin Fonseca; Rivera, Vivienne Solis (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2016)
  • A study on migration of fishers from Kanyakumari to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG)

    Narendran, Vishnu (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2016)
    This study aims to look at the situation of these migrant fishers to get a better understanding of their recruitment, living and working conditions on the one hand and to fishing practices on the other that sometimes lead to the arrest and detention of the fishers within and outside the GCC region.
  • Report of the one-day state-level workshop on implementation of voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication on 6 November, 2016, at Malpe Fish-merchants’ Community Hall, Malpe Fishing Bunder, Malpe, Udupi district, Karnataka, India

    International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), 2016)
    As part of the national programme of International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust to disseminate and implement the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) “Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines)” a state-level workshop was planned and organized by the Coastal Karnataka Fishermen Action Committee on 6 November, 2016 at Malpe, Udupi district. The Coastal Karnataka Fishermen Action Committee, promoted by the apex community organization of marine fishing communities of Karnataka (Moagaveera Mahajana Sabha), took initiatives to involve the representatives of village-level fisher groups by holding pre-workshop meetings in all the three coastal districts in Karnataka—Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. Advance letters were sent to all the sixty-three primary units and other stakeholder groups, explaining the objectives of the proposed state-level workshop.

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