RSS 1.0International Collective in Support of Fishworkers Publications
Browse by
Recent Submissions
-
Covid response 2020: ICSF’s Newsletter on covid-19 emergency assistance to small-scale fishing communities in IndiaThe 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 2020Publicación 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 sectorBetween 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, IndiaNational 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, IndiaThe 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.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 NicaraguaThe 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, HondurasThe 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 AanganThe 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 resourcesThe 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 BengalThis 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.
-
A study on migration of fishers from Kanyakumari to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG)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, IndiaAs 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.
-
A study of migrant fishers from Andhra Pradesh in the Gujarat marine fishing industryThe International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has been engaging with issues of concern to fishers and fish workers since its inception in 1986. Among other issues, it studies migration, both international and internal, in the fisheries and the particular vulnerabilities facing migrant fishers with a view to improving the conditions on board vessels through legal and policy interventions. ICSF also engaged with the process leading to the adoption of the Work in Fishing Convention at the 96th International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organization in 2007, of which India is a signatory. In June 2014, India, along with other member states of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), adopted the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, whose charter encompasses employment conditions and social development of fishers, including that of migrants. ICSF believes that improving working and living conditions on fishing vessels can positively influence fisheries management.
-
Women’s role, struggles and strategies across the fisheries value chain the case of Lake Victoria — TanzaniaThis study was conducted in June and July 2016, in the fishing areas of Mwanza and Kagera regions in the Lake Victoria side of Tanzania. The focus of this study was on dagaa (sardines) (Rastrineobola argentea) fishery which involves mostly women in its overall value chain. The study sites were areas that are specialized in dagaa fishery and these include Lushonga Island located in the Muleba District of Kagera Region, Mwanza Kirumba international Fish Market and in some of the landing beaches in nyamagana and Ilemela districts in Mwanza. The findings of the study are presented as case studies in the form of two video clips. One explores the role and place of women along fisheries value chain: The significance and values their involvement in fisheries brings to the communities and fisheries development. Why are they involved in fisheries? How are they organized for space in decision-making and policy processes? The second video case study explores the challenges that women involved in fisheries activities face: What successes have they achieved? How can their participation in fisheries be strategically improved? It also explains the strategies in place at local and national levels to counter and improve the situation. The study is also presented in the form of this short report that further describes issues presented or could have been missed out in the video clips.
-
Small-scale fishing in Central American indigenous people: governance, tenure and sustainable management of marine resourcesThis research develops four case studies on small-scale fisheries in Central America located within indigenous territories. The ngöbe Bugle Conte Burica Territory in the south of Costa Rica, the Garífuna territory in nueva Armenia Honduras, the Rama territory in Nicaragua and the ngöbe Bugle territory in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. This is one of the first studies focusing on indigenous territories, artisanal fisheries and SSF guidelines. The cases are a first approach to discussing and analyzing relevant social and human rights issues related to conservation of marine resources and fisheries management in these territories. The cases discussed between other issues of interest, the relationships between marine protected areas under different governance models and issues related to the strengthening of the small-scale fisheries of these indigenous populations and marine fishing territories. They highlight sustainability, governance, land tenure and access to fishing resources, gender, traditional knowledge importance and new challenges as climate change.
-
Social relations and dynamics shaping the implementation of the voluntary guidelines on small-scale fisheries (SSF guidelines) in South AfricaIntegral to achieving the SSF Guidelines goal of targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized persons and eliminating discrimination is the need to have adequate understanding of the power relations and intersectionalities that shape access to and control over marine and other resources according to gender, age, race, ethnicity, labour and migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in each national contexts. This monograph identifies and explores the key social relations and dynamics in the SSF fisheries sector in South Africa impacting the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. The monograph will be useful for researchers, scientists, fishworker organizations, environmentalists and anyone interested in the protection of marine biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable fisheries management.
