79 Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states are gathering in Accra, Ghana from April 5 to 8th in a conference convened by the Organisation of the ACP States (OACPS) with the objective of improving and strengthening fisheries governance and ensuring the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture.
Among Ministers, small-scale fisheries organizations will be represented and will have the opportunity to engage with Ministers to secure appropriate inclusion of small-scale fisheries issues in the the OACPS Strategic Plan of Action for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which is a ten-year Plan (2021-2030).
In order to maximize the chances of artisanal fisheries to be duly considered by Ministers, LMMA has joined forces with CAOPA, the network of small-scale fisheries professional organisations in Africa, to develop briefs on key topics to be discussed during the meetings along with a call to action. Each brief contains 3 recommendations from ACP artisanal fisheries on the following topics: Blue Economy, Transparency, Climate Change, IUU Fishing, Women in Fisheries and Food Systems.
In addition, LMMA will be part of the Civil Society Organisation delegation at the conference through the participation of the LMMA Board Trustee, Ms Kesaia Tabunakawai.
The involvement of LMMA in this work has been supported by Brot fur Die Welt for the participation of Ms Tabunakawai and the PEUMP programme for the preparatory collaborative work that has led to the development of the briefs and the call to action.
The PEUMP programme is a EUR 45M Pacific regional initiative funded by the European Union (EU) and the Government of Sweden, working in partnership with the Pacific Community (SPC), Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP), Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the University of the South Pacific (USP) to implement activities across six key result areas in 15 Pacific countries.