Increasingly, we actively participate in networks to join forces and enhance support for political struggles. At the national level, we work closely together with Coastal Links, the Artisanal Fishers Association in Cape Town, the Durban Subsistence Fishermen’s Forum, the Trust for Community Outreach and Education, researchers from the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town; the Legal Resource Centre that provides legal assistance; and leaders from Fishing Communities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal Provinces. By uniting with these allies we have strengthened our political position and gained more influence in decision making processes.
At the international level, we now have a leading role in the WFFP and we have established a close relationship with the ICSF. In addition, we have developed partnerships with organisations in the North, including Africa Contact, Denmark, with whom we share goals and political vision. Through our networking with organisations in the North, we receive information on policies of an international character, which potentially have an impact on the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities. This enables us to react,express our views and concerns and, via Northern organisations, our voices become heard in that part of the world as well. In practical terms, this enables us to contribute to lobbying at the European Union level in order to ensure that EU trade, development and fishery policies are coherent and do not counteract the rights of fishing communities in Africa.