Low-Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) Champions Fair Fisheries Governance at the 3rd Global SSF Summit in Rome
Low-Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) Champions Fair Fisheries Governance at the 3rd Global SSF Summit in Rome
ROME, ITALY – Six fishers and LIFE’s executive secretary from the Low-Impact Fisheries of Europe (LIFE) joined small-scale fishers and global partners at FAO Headquarters from 4 to 6 September 2026 for the 3rd Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Summit. Held prior to the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), the biennial Summit provides a rights-based platform to accelerate the implementation of the 2014 FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines).
Small-scale fisheries account for 90% of employment in capture fisheries value chains, contribute at least 40% of global catches, and sustain 492 million livelihoods worldwide. Despite this vital role, small-scale fishers face persistent marginalization in marine governance.
Throughout the three-day gathering—which opened with an exclusive fisher actors forum before bringing together researchers, civil society, and government ministers—LIFE’s delegation played a central role in articulating European priorities:
- Global Political Priorities: LIFE’s president Gwen Pennarun represented LIFE in Session 1.2 alongside transnational fisheries movements, demanding preferential access for SSF in the 12mile zone, fair access to quota allocations, and the need for legal plan of action for small-scale, low-impact fishers that could also foster generational renewal.
- Regional Facilitation: Sandra Amezaga co-presented the summary of Day 1 opening proceedings and officially facilitated, together with Marta Cavallé, the Europe and Central Asia regional breakout session, guiding discussions on implementation strategies across European basin regions. As main outcomes there was the call for making SSF Guidelines a mandatory tool for developing but also developed countries.
- Regional Plan Evaluation: Macarena Molina delivered a critical assessment of the Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (RPOA-SSF) in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, grounded in operational realities from the Cabo de Gata Marine Reserve in Almería, Spain. She highlighted pressing obstacles in its implementation—including spatial competition from offshore wind energy and mega-tourism, lack of direct sales infrastructure, sidelined co-management, and a regression in women’s representation in decision-making. Macarena called on signing Member States to honor their commitments in all the Region by securing spatial rights, enabling direct sales, restoring degraded marine habitats, greater role for women in fisheries and establishing binding co-management.
“Small-scale low-impact fishers cannot remain sidelined in policy decisions that threaten their coastal territories,” LIFE delegates emphasized. “We need concrete political commitment to turn global guidelines into concrete action and enforceable rights on the water.”
Reactivating the SSF Global Strategic Framework (SSF-GSF)
A central focus of the Summit was presenting outcomes from the reactivation process of the Global Strategic Framework in support of the SSF Guidelines (SSF-GSF). Originally established following recognition by COFI as a global partnership mechanism, the idea to renew the SSF-GSF mechanism is intended to offer small-scale fisheries actors, governments, and supporting stakeholders a collaborative platform to guide and encourage the SSF Guidelines implementation. Transnational organizations presented their vision and objectives for the reactivated framework, which will be presented and asked for at the COFI meetings.
Unifying the Global SSF Movement and the Call to Action
The Summit essentially provided a vital opportunity to strengthen alignment across the global small-scale fisheries movement. By bringing together leading transnational alliances—including the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE), the African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA), the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), and the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers (WFF), Union of Latin American Small-scale Fishers (ULAPA), International Treaty Council (IITC), African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFISHNET), Community-Based Fisheries Dialogue’s Advisory Group (CBFD AG) —delegates coordinated joint policy statements for COFI. This collective momentum reinforces the need for global advocacy and provides enhanced visibility to relevant initiatives such as the Aufruf zum Handeln, enabling signatories and small-scale fisher organizations worldwide to build a united front for tenure rights, ocean justice, and sustainable coastal livelihoods. This was nicely visualised with the delivery by CAOPA to LIFE of an award recognising the joint work on this important call.
