SMALL-SCALE FISHERS’ FORUM

Small-Scale Fishers’ Forum. New 2023-2024 programme of capacity building workshops towards a more sustainable future for small-scale fishers and fish workers in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

New 2023-2024 Programme is out!

Registration is now open
Gökova Bay, Türkiye, 21-23 November 2023

Coinciding with the anniversary of the signing of the Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (RPOA-SSF), the 2023-2024 programme of the Small-Scale Fishers’ Forum (SSF Forum), a pragmatic initiative promoted by the Friends of SSF, is now out, with the programme of activities promising to be very active, as face-to-face events return to the agenda.

This new programme is the result of a ground-breaking consultative exercise held in March 2023, which saw small-scale fisheries (SSF) stakeholders from 13 countries attend a two-day brainstorming session at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The SSF Forum objective is to respond to the needs of the people working in the sector. It is a fantastic opportunity to bring together small-scale fishers (SSF), fish workers and other stakeholders from around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, to discuss key sector issues, share best practices, and develop their capacities to build a sustainable future. With a hands-on, practical focus, the in-person workshops are meant to ensure a dynamic exchange of real-world knowledge and experiences from participants across the region.

This new edition will give SSF stakeholders the opportunity to attend four workshops – planned so far from November 2023 to November 2024 – on non-indigenous species, marine pollution, strong SSF organisations, and selective fishing gear.

SSF Forum 2023–2024 programme

• Non-indigenous species
• Strong SSF organisations
• Marine pollution
• Selective fishing gear

opportunities will tackle a fast-growing problem head on, from the basics of how to safely handle the new species spreading through our waters – some are extremely poisonous – to the potential for creating new markets and using fisheries to manage the species. Registration is now open –  Gökova Bay, Türkiye, 21-23 November 2023. 

• The second workshop – due to take place in Spain from April 2014  – will be on ‘Strong SSF organisations: the basis for developing projects and funding requests’. Small-scale fishers who join their forces together – in cooperatives, sales associations, entrepreneurial ventures and so on – tend to achieve much more than they can individually, but what are the secrets to getting it right? The SSF Forum will be hearing from fishers from across the region who have built successful organizations, and who will share their experiences and advice. Further details on the registration will be released shortly.
• ‘Marine pollution: impacts, interactions and solutions;, with a particular focus on how it relates to fisheries, is the topic of the third workshop, which is due to take place in Tunisia during the second half of 2024. Participants will explore how to address pollution from small-scale fisheries and other sectors, and how to minimise and mitigate its impacts on the marine environment, as well as explore potential funding opportunities for fishers looking to create alternative livelihoods through anti-pollution initiatives such as collecting marine litter or dealing with lost and abandoned fishing gear. Further details on the registration will be released shortly.
• The last of the four workshops (tentatively planned for winter 2024 in Croatia) will be on ‘Selective fishing gear: from impacts to alternatives’, a subject that has two important sides to consider. On the one hand, there is a consensus that more should be done to reduce levels of discards and incidental catch of vulnerable species by fisheries in the region and to improve environmental outcomes – and using more selective gear is one way to do so. However, it is equally important to ensure that fishers don’t lose out due to smaller catches from more selective practices: the role that alternative livelihoods such as pescatourism could play here will also be discussed. Further details on the registration will be released shortly

TARGET PARTICIPANTS

Small-scale fishers, fish workers, SSF organisation representatives and other relevant stakeholders of Mediterranean and Black Sea countries are encouraged to register for the workshops. Fishers and fish workers who actively work in Mediterranean and Black Sea small-scale fisheries are given priorities for in-person workshops, and other stakeholders accommodated depending on space and the availability of funds. Special attention will be given to bring in women and young fishers to participate in the workshops.

MODE AND LANGUAGE

Attempts will be made to provide interpretation in as many languages as possible and will depend on the final participants.

HOW TO APPLY FOR PARTICIPATION?

We invite you to register via the application form on the SSF Forum webpage.

To date, registrations are open only for workshop #1 on non-indigenous species. Potential interested participants are asked to stay tuned for the opening of registrations for the next workshops in 2024.

When the workshops can be held in person, the Friends of SSF network will review applications for participation and evaluate applicant eligibility and funding support. If there are more applicants than available places in a specific workshop, the network retains the right to select participants based on an assessment of the apparent relevance of a chosen workshop to the applicant’s work. A geographic and gender balance among trainees across the SSF Forum programme is also sought.

For any additional questions or further information, please contact RPOA-SSF@gfcmonline.org