LIFE Platform
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Meet Macarena Molina, LIFE’s Project Manager for the Alboran Sea!
In the framework of its three years project “Mainstreaming small-scale low impact fisheries in the Mediterranean” funded by the MAVA Foundation, LIFE is reinforcing its presence on the ground in order to provide increased support to the small-scale fishing communities in the region (click here for more information on the project). Macarena Molina was selected to help LIFE in this important task across the Alboran Sea.
Dear Macarena, welcome to LIFE! We are really glad to have you as part of the team. With a background in biology and a number of years working aboard small-scale fishers vessels, you have a deep knowledge of the sector from both an academic and practical point of view. Can you tell us more about yourself and where this passion comes from?
I started to work with fishers as a marine environment officer and in the framework of that experience I had the opportunity to discover the deep knowledge fishers have about the sea, their generosity in sharing it with me but also the difficulties they face as small-scale fleet. I decided to spend time with them for a personal interest, because I wanted to learn from them and to give them back a little of what they gave me by committing and giving value to the cause of small-scale fisheries.
You worked for a number of years aboard the vessel of Luis Rodriguez Rodriguez, representative of LIFE spanish member organization Pescartes. Can you explain to us what you learnt from this experience about the world of small-scale fisheries, and especially about the sector in the Alboran sea region?
This experience raised my awareness on the challenges faced by commercial small-scale fishers, on the lack of representation within institutions and how little they are listened to. I also learned more on the passion that they put in their work and the interest they generate in all of those who approach them.
From a biology point of view, what are the main characteristics of the Alboran sea region and the issues that affect the local ecosystems and, in consequence, fisheries activities?
The Alboran Sea is the “regeneration” channel of the Mediterrean Sea, the entry point of the Atlantic ocean’s waters that, through its currents, keep the Med “alive”. It has peculiar characteristics affecting fishing activities such as the number of species available in the area, hydrodynamic conditions as well as its geographical and bathymetric profile and different ecosystems. It is in fact the entry and exit point of migratory species, some of which are interesting for fisheries interests.
The main mission of LIFE is to provide a voice for the sector at the institutional level, but also to support fishers with overcoming their challenges on the ground. What are the priorities that you plan to tackle first, in the light of the needs of the communities of the Alboran Sea?
I believe the first step should be to streghten LIFE’s profile within small-scale fishing communities in the area, as that will help to overcome the isolation of the sector which is one of its main weaknesses. I aspire for member organisations to set the course of LIFE, but first I have to explain to her how to interact with the organization overall.
The start of your cooperation with LIFE coincides with the conclusion of an important project funded by the Carasso Foundation in the framework of which you had a coordination role: Pescados con Arte. What have been the main results of such a project and are there any best practices that you would recommend to replicate in other fishing communities across Europe?
Pescados con Arte has been a very enriching experience that confirmed the interest of the wider public for our sector. It would be great if other small-scale fishing communities could replicate it in their respective areas as it would generate positive effects from a social point of view and help to raise the profile of small-scale fishers.
As a committed activist for the rights of small-scale fishers, you have already been in touch with LIFE’s partner organization AKTEA, the European network for women working in fisheries and aquaculture. What do you think of such a movement and what contribution could you provide to its growth and reinforcement?
I believe the contribution of women to fishing communities and the wider sector is very important. It is important to create spaces where they feel strenghtened and supported to share their concerns. Aktea is definitely an opportunity in this respect and I will work to ensure it becomes an helpful tool.
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LabMAF – a Med project
Developing a Labelling Scheme for Mediterranean
Small-scale and Artisanal Fish Products (LabMAF)
28th of January 2019
Jerneja Penca
Small-scale and artisanal fisheries in the Mediterranean represent an important element of coastal communities engaging in low-impact fishing activities, providing local supplies of fresh fish on a daily basis, and forming an integral part of the cultural heritage. They are naturally highly adaptable, which is crucial in mitigating impacts of ecological and economic changes. However, their multifaceted contribution to the healthy, productive and resilient Mediterranean Sea remains insufficiently recognized both by policy makers and consumers. They face market competition from large-scale fishery products, foreign imports, and aquaculture products. Too little distinction is made between products of various provenience, quality, fishing gear and socioeconomic impact on producers, including their jobs and well-being.
Tools for a greater push of the market in the direction of awarding good practices are needed, ideally in the transnational context. This project seeks to contribute to a more aware, sustainable, and sophisticated seafood market that valorizes the role of small-scale fisheries in countries across the Mediterranean. The project will develop a feasibility study of a labelling or another market scheme, awarding recognition for products by small-scale fishers that adhere to and implement sound region-specific ecological and socioeconomic principles.
The consortium is composed of seven individuals from research, non-governmental and fishers organisations, as well as a consultancy, and covers areas of fishery and marine science, legal and governance aspects, and social, cultural, and economic factors in selected BlueMed member countries and Lebanon. The consortium and a number of experts relevant to the action will meet three times in the period between January 2019 and March 2020 to address the goal.
Consortium members
- Jerneja Penca, Euro-Mediterranean University, Slovenia (Main Coordinator)
- Alicia Said, Malta Centre for Arts, Science and Technology Malta / Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer, IFREMER, France (Co-lead)
- Simone Libralato, National institute of oceanography and applied geophysics (OGS), Italy
- Cristina Pita, Centre for Environmental al and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal
- Manal Nader, Institute of Environment, Balamand University, Lebanon
- Bertrand Cazalet, Marepolis, Conseil en politiques de la mer, France
- Marta Cavallé, Low-Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE), Spain/Belgium
Supported under the BLUEMED Call for Start-up Actions 2018: http://www.bluemed-initiative.eu
Vote on the 2021-2027 EMFF
The new EU fisheries fund must stay on course to help small-scale fishers!
Brussels, 16th of January 2018
Brian O’Riordan and Marcin Ruciński
LIFE calls on MEPs to reject amendments 10, 19, and 39, which aim to expand the definition of small-scale fisheries and create an uneven playing field across Europe.
Imperfect as it is given the great diversity of small-scale fleets, the simple definition – under 12 metres and not using towed fishing gears – offers some basic clarity, a level-playing field and comparability of fisheries across the EU.
In one month’s time, MEPs in the European Parliament’s Fisheries (PECH) Committee are scheduled to vote on amendments to the EC proposal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the years 2021-2027.
For LIFE it is of critical importance that the much-needed financial support directed to small-scale fishing communities in the proposal will actually get to where it is intended. We see some worrying signs that, yet again, vested interests are at work to divert crucial support away from the small-scale fisheries sector.
LIFE lauds the Commission for taking the right step by proposing to simplify and re-orient the funding priorities away from big fleet investments and top-down management to opening the financing to the freedom of design for Member State-level Operational Programs. Fundamentally, the difficult situation of small-scale fisheries across Europe has been responded to by the requirement to have an Action Plan for small-scale fishing – and the actions within it can benefit from a co-financing rate of up to 100%.
LIFE welcomes this move, which responds to the results of our in-depth analysis in the Baltic and North Sea regions[1] and to the deliberations of the “Beyond 2020” EMFF Stakeholder Conference on “Supporting Europe’s Coastal Communities”, held in Tallinn, Estonia, 12-13 October 2017[2]. In his opening address to the conference, Commissioner Vella highlighted how nearly half of all small-scale coastal fleets are still making losses – hence the need for affirmative action projects to favour the small-scale sector.
LIFE calls on Member States to ensure that genuine small-scale fishers’ representatives are involved with the shaping of these Action Plans, to ensure that much needed support is channelled to actions that will make a real difference in the struggle to sustain this vital sector.
The response from large-scale interests to expand the definition of small-scale fisheries is not unexpected. They have benefited hugely from the previous rounds of EMFF. It is high time that Europe levelled the playing field and devoted support and attention to the majority of the fleet (over 70%), to the small-scale sector that fishes in a low impact manner and with significant potential to add value at local level.
LIFE therefore calls on MEPs to reject the amendments 10, 19 and 39 proposed in Rapporteur Gabriel Mato’s draft report, which aim to expand the current, simple and universally applicable EU definition of small-scale fisheries: boats less than 12 meters length not using towed fishing gears. Imperfect as it is given the great diversity of small-scale fleets, this simple definition offers some basic clarity, a level-playing field and comparability of fisheries across the EU.
The Rapporteur’s amendments 10 and 19[3] offer a complete freedom for Member States to design their small-scale definitions as they please. They will result in an unlevel playing field between Member States and confuse the understanding of what SSF actually is: small in scale, low in impact and high in social value. Amendment 39 proposes to extend EMFF support to vessels up to 24 metres in length. These amendments provide a huge loophole for larger-scale fishing interests that currently dominate the policy, administrative and financial playing field to gain access to EU financing on strongly preferential terms – very much the contrary of Commission’s original intentions.
Next week, on January 23, ahead of this crucial vote on the EMFF in the PECH Committee, a Hearing on the Future of Small-scale Fisheries in the EU will be organized[4]. The agenda provides the opportunity to focus attention on 2 key aspects: the need for a differentiated approach to managing small-scale fisheries through a dedicated EU action plan; and the need for national allocation systems to properly take the needs of small-scale fisheries into account.
This provides a golden opportunity to focus attention on the CFP provisions that allocate priority access to small scale fishing operations in the 12-mile zone, for criteria of an environmental, social and economic nature to be used to allocate quota and to incentivize low impact fishing with additional quota, as prescribed under Article 17. To date, these provisions have not been given the attention they deserve. They are more honoured in the breach than in the observance.
LIFE is disappointed not to have been invited to speak on the panels. It is an opportunity missed. We hope that panellists invited from the Azores, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Italy whose organizations purport to represent both large and small-scale interests, will not just toe the line of the status quo, but that through their presence the interests of the smaller-scale fishers will be properly represented and articulated.
LIFE calls on all the MEPs and fisheries policy stakeholders to make sure that the glimmer of hope offered to small-scale fishers by the EMFF proposal is not squandered by expanding a long-standing and clear small-scale fisheries definition. It is not broken. It works well. It does not need fixing.
For way too long, small-scale fishers have been alienated and disenfranchised by the CFP. It is high time for change, time for small-scale fisheries to be included more centrally in fisheries policies, so that coastal communities are not just able to survive, but also to thrive.
[1] https://lifeplatform.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/LIFE_BANS_Final_Technical_Report.pdf; see Recommendation 2, page 4.
[2] http://www.emff-now-and-then.eu/documents/DG-MARE-Conclusions-Conference-A4-03.pdf
[3] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+COMPARL+PE-625.439+02+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN
[4]http://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/159323/Programme%20PECH%20public%20hearing%20Future%20of%20small%20scale%20fisheries%20in%20the%20EU%20.._.pdf
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Vote on the WestMed MAP
LIFE writes to the Members of the European Parliament
Brussels, 9th of January 2019
In the light of the vote on the Multiannual Plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea that will take place on the 10th of January 2019 at 9:00 in the PECH Committee, LIFE writes to the Members of the European Parliament to outline the amendments that need to be endorsed to the benefit of the small-scale sector.
Access the letter sent to MEPs by clicking here
Access the agenda of the meeting and watch it in streaming here
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