With support from the GIZ Responsible Fisheries Business Chains Project, KWDT has trained over 2,085 fishers and fish workers from 15 districts of Lake Victoria and 1 district of Lake Albert with 56% women on the “Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small Scale Fisheries.” KWDT engaged participants to identify actions within their reach for implementation so that they can also make a contribution to the implementation of the SSF Guideline particularly during the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA).

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) represent the first ever international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. They represent a global consensus on principles and guidance for small-scale fisheries governance and development. They were developed for small-scale fisheries in close collaboration with representatives of small-scale fisheries organizations in a participatory process between 2011 and 2013, involving over 4000 stakeholders; facilitated by FAO, based on a mandate by COFI. They are directed at all those involved in the sector and intend to guide and encourage governments, fishing communities and other stakeholders to work together and ensure secure and sustainable small-scale fisheries for the benefit of small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities as well as for society at large.

They complement existing international instruments, such as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the VG Tenure and the Right to Food Guidelines. Underpinned by a human rights approach, the SSF Guidelines represent a critical instrument to empower small-scale fishing communities - including vulnerable and marginalized groups - to participate in decision-making processes, and to assume responsibilities for sustainable use of fishery resources (FAO, 2015).

In the 37th grassroots session of the SSF Guidelines in August 2022 at Lwabalega landing site in Kalangala, the need to create awareness on safety on the lake, as recommended by the Guidelines was identified at the backdrop of raving waves. The community was able to corelate the connection between safety on the lake and sustainable fisheries and how it affects sustainable fisheries.

Local initiatives to increase their access to capital for investing in fisheries through organisation; were some of the strategies identified to undertake while calling for training women in leadership to enhance their engagement in fisheries governance, increasing access to basic social services in fishing communities as well as promoting respect and protection of human rights particularly during enforcement of legal fisheries.

‘If the SSF guidelines were endorsed in 2014, why are we only hearing about them now?’ remarked a participant during the SSF guidelines training facilitated by KWDT at Bugula landing site Mukono.


Capacity development is key for facilitation of fisher and fish workers to make informed decisions that can contribute to the sustainability of small scale fisheries and during the year to mark the International Year of artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture we have ably been able to bring over 800 people in the decision making ring to enhance their capacity to contribute to the IYAFA goal.


References;
FAO. 2015. Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. Rome.
.