On 22 March, Masifundise hosted a webinar to launch the monitoring report, Turning the Tide Towards the Realisation of Small-Scale Fishing Rights which highlights the realisation of the human rights of small-scale fishers (SFF) in South Africa.
This report is the culmination of three years of Participatory Action Research in seven small-scale fishing areas in South Africa, in which the current state of small-scale fisheries was assessed, using the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF guidelines).
The key challenges that South African small-scale fishers face is presented in the report under the themes of, Extractive Industries (mining, oil and gas), Conservation and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Dams and freshwater resources (access to traditional fishing grounds and recognition). As part of the report, recommendations for the local cases and general recommendations were made to the government based on the SSF Guidelines.
“The [SSF] guidelines are the first international tool that recognizes and speaks to small-scale fisheries. When we look at the realization of the human rights of SSF in South Africa and globally, the states are the key duty bearers. They have a task at hand which is to, recognize and support the realization of the rights of small-scale fisheries” said Carmen Mannarino during the webinar.
Based on the report findings, Masifundise also brought attention to the violation of small-scale fishers’ right to food during the United Nation’s 52nd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland in March 2023.
The case studies and recommendations presented in the report are intended to be used by communities at the local and national levels to advance fisher struggles. In addition, the monitoring report illustrates how international guidelines (SFF guidelines) can be used to monitor human rights at the grassroot level.
Our Monitoring Report is available for download here