Dialogue between Asia and Africa on preferential access for SSF
07 September 2026
The Project “Institutional Strengthening and Advocacy Training of small-scale Fisheries Organizations in Angola, Namibia and South Africa” supported the participation of representatives of the Benguela Current Convention (BCC) countries, Angola, Namibia and South Africa, at the Small-Scale Fisheries Summit (SSF Summit) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The SSF Summit took place from 4 to 6 September in Rome, ahead of the 37th session of the FAO Committee for Fisheries (COFI).
At the Summit, the BCC representatives presented a joint declaration, which they submitted to their respective government as well as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and BCC Secretariats.
They articulated their priorities under three pillars, aligned with the agenda of COFI37 and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF guidelines):
1) secure access to fisheries resources and fishing rights
2) value addition, infrastructure and local economic opportunities
3) climate resilience, human rights and participatory governance
Priority outcomes sought by all three countries include advancing co-management and implementing preferential access for SSF, in line with the FAO Code of Conduct (Principle 6.18) and with Article 12 of the SADC Protocol on Fisheries.
In the BCC region, only Angola has legally recognised preferential arrangements for artisanal fisheries.
To support this, on 7 September, a dialogue on advancing preferential access for small-scale fisheries was organised on the margins of the SSF summit and COFI. This dialogue, organised in partnership with RISE UP for the Ocean, brought together SSF representatives from Africa (Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa) and Asia (India, Indonesia, Philippines) as well as from the Confederation for Artisanal Fisheries Organizations in Africa (CAOPA), to share experiences and lessons learned on implementation of preferential access arrangements. This initial dialogue will be followed by further exchanges, supported as part of the Project.
The Project “Institutional Strengthening and Advocacy Training of small-scale Fisheries Organizations in Angola, Namibia and South Africa” is a special initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) focusing on Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”. This Project is co-funded by the European Union as part of the Blue Benguela Current Action (BCCA), implemented by the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
