The 2nd Small-Scale Fisheries Summit (SSF Summit 2024) was held at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, from July 5-7, 2024. Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) Working Group on Fisheries, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Small-Scale Fisheries Resource and Collaboration Hub (SSF Hub), and by SwedBio.

Following the success of the 1st SSF Summit held in 2022, the SSF Summit 2024 was designed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the SSF Guidelines, advance priority actions for sustainable small-scale fisheries, and assess the current status of SSF Guidelines implementation at national, regional, and global levels to inform future actions. The Summit focused on Chapter 5a – Responsible governance of tenure, centering on customary tenure, and Chapter 6 – Social development, employment, and decent work, with an emphasis on social development.

These themes were the result of a participatory consultation process on what should be discussed at the SSF Summit 2024, involving small-scale fishers, their organizations and/or representatives, and relevant stakeholders. The SSF Summit 2024 also celebrated the mid-term review of the GFCM Regional Plan of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (RPOA-SSF).

SSF Summit 2024 concept note and detailed agenda

Participants

The SSF Summit 2024 brought together 285 people, primarily representatives of small-scale fisheries organizations and fisherfolks, support organizations, but also inter-governmental organizations, academia, NGOs and governments. A total of 78 countries were represented at the event.

SSF Summit 2024 participation by gender, stakeholder type, geography and age

SSF Summit 2024 in COFI 36

The SSF Summit was mentioned twice in the final report of the 36th Committee on Fisheries (COFI):

Opening Session:
§7 – "The Committee appreciated the information shared on the 2nd SSF Summit, held prior to COFI 36, and encouraged FAO to continue holding SSF Summits prior to future COFI meetings."

State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture and Progress in the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and Related Instruments:
10. The Committee: j) – "stressed the crucial contribution of small-scale and artisanal fishers, fish farmers, and fish workers, and the need to promote gender equity and reduce inequalities in the fisheries and aquaculture sector; recognized the importance of the SSF Summit as a platform for small-scale fisheries actors to exchange views and express needs to secure sustainable small-scale fisheries; and continued to encourage that the Summit be held every two years prior to COFI.

Check photos of the event

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