CAOPA and LMMA International make clear recommendations to increase fisheries transparency at OACPS meeting

05 April 2022. The African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisations (CAOPA) and the grassroots network LMMA International called on member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to increase their efforts in increasing transparency in fisheries management.

At the 7th meeting of OACPS Ministers in charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture, held in Accra/Ghana, both organisations emphasised that artisanal fisheries in ACP countries are vital for food security, livelihoods, culture and government revenues. However, artisanal fisheries are threatened by fisheries over-exploitation, and by sea and land-based developments from other competing sectors of the blue economy. Therefore, political will and effective ocean governance – rooted in public participation, transparency and accountability – are crucial to the reforms needed to ensure the benefit of healthy fisheries for ACP coastal communities and populations.

CCAOPA and LMMA International presented three actionable recommendations to strengthen transparency in fisheries management for the consideration of the meeting participants:

1. Transparent and accountable management mechanisms for coastal fisheries
2. Transparency in blue economy strategies
3. Increasing the visibility of small-scale fisheries (SSF)

The importance of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) as a supportive process for countries to achieve globally recognised standards of transparency in fisheries management was highlighted.

Six OACPS members are already in the process of implementing the FiTI, i.e. Mauritania, Seychelles, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Madagascar, and Sao Tome and Principe.

The African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisations (CAOPA) brings together professional organisations of men and women from 26 African countries. Its main objective is to foster a pan-African dynamic for the development of sustainable artisanal fisheries for the well-being of coastal communities, and to contribute to the food security of populations.

LMMA International is a grassroots network dedicated to advancing locally-led natural resource management. LMMA supports networks in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Pohnpei, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, and engages with more than 15 other countries in the Indo Pacific.