The organizations of small-scale artisanal fishermen (PPE), within the framework of the, launched a call for attention so that this segment of the workers of the sea has access to land tenure and to the marine resources of which they their families live, they also requested access to credit in financial institutions as a way to reduce informality and; incidentally, improve the living conditions of thousands of men and women in rural coastal areas.
According to Vivienne Solís Rivera, from CoopeSoliDar R.L, this call to action will be sent to all governments and their representatives that will participate in the World Ocean Conference organized by the United Nations (UN) to be held in Lisbon on June 27. to July 1 of this year (https://coopesolidar.org/ocean-conference-lisboa-2022/
“The formalization of the indigenous peoples and local communities that live a way of life linked to the resources of the oceans is urgent, if there is no access to land ownership and access to the resources of the sea, the activities that allow the vitality and resilience of these communities in the face of challenges such as climate change and poverty”
World Oceans Day
World Oceans Day (June 8) declared by the UN, was proposed to remember the important role of this resource in the daily life of thousands of people who inhabit the coasts, islands and seas of the world.
According to the UN, the oceans “are the lungs of our planet, an important source of food and medicine, and a fundamental part of the biosphere.” One of the purposes of the Day is to remember the important contribution of small-scale artisanal fishermen to the health and conservation and sustainable use of our seas.
A report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2018) “in 2016, 4% of the world population employed in the fishing and aquaculture sectors were in Latin America and the Caribbean (2 million 466 thousand people).
Pending issue
A document signed by fishermen’s organizations from around the world specifies that this group is the “people who are most closely related to the ocean’s resources. Their decisive contributions to livelihoods, employment, food security and income contrast with their marginalization in decision-making”.
“To ensure healthy and resilient fishing communities, small-scale fisheries require secure and preferential access to healthy oceans and ecosystems, so that they also effectively play their key role as guardians of the ocean,” say fishermen from Africa, the Pacific, Asia, South America, Mesoamerica and Europe.
In the manifesto, the representatives of small-scale artisanal fishing indicated that it is necessary to prioritize investments in services such as access to drinking water, electricity, drainage, sanitary facilities in processing sites; in infrastructures that improve the living conditions of women and their families, such as decent housing, nurseries near processing sites; and in training efforts in the use of new technologies.
The latest official studies in Costa Rica indicate that there are some 14,000 small-scale artisanal fishermen in the country on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.