Many countries are promoting aquaculture as one of the prime drivers of the rural economy and the employment of women and youth. [Author] However, the industry is criticized for inadequately representing the needs of workers. [Author] Most African countries have shown a willingness to advance industry goals through domestic programme planning and facilitating foreign direct investment. [Author] However, there is a need for coherent strategies for employment governance. [Author] Hence, immediate change is required to modify the governance of aquaculture employment to foster industrial transformation. [Author] The objective of this research is to enhance understanding of the governance of aquaculture employment in ten African countries (Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia) and to determine their level of compliance with existing employment legislation in those countries. [Author] The ultimate goal is to learn from both positive and negative lessons and propose possible corrective measures for substandard practices in order to improve the public perception of aquaculture. [Author] The study seeks to evaluate existing employment governance in the aquaculture industry and to use the acquired knowledge to inform policymakers and industry leaders on the status of governance in employment. [Author]

The analysis made of the effectiveness of national fishery and aquaculture policies and strategies in ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania has shown overall that their implementation faces with problems related to the low level of domestic funding allocated. This is compounded by their heavy dependence on external financing through TFP programmes and projects in which the objectives are not always aligned with those of national policies. Thus, the attractiveness of the sector will have to be improved by establishing a much more favourable environment for private sector investment in fisheries and aquaculture, given the substantial investment gaps highlighted by the financial analysis of the various national fishery and aquaculture investment plans. The sector’s share in the State budget is also expected to increase, as it does not reflect the importance accorded to the sector in national development policy and strategic planning documents. This meagre budgetary appropriation is one of the main factors making policies in West Africa less effective. Moreover, despite the efforts of Member States, the fisheries and aquaculture sector still faces challenges such as weak participatory governance, low human and technical capacity, persistent IUU fishing, low levels of aquaculture production, high post-harvest losses, etc., which detract from the sector’s contribution to the FNS among the different populations, especially in marine and river coastal communities.

Effective governance of modern aquaculture must reconcile ecological and human well-being to ensure that the industry is sustainable over time. An important component of human well-being is the treatment of the workers in the industry. This study contributes to the understanding of governance in aquaculture employment so as to suggest potential improvements where necessary.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges confronting Chile’s centralised growth model and recommendations towards developing a more integrated territorial approach.

The implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) contributes to sustainable fisheries in various ways. One of them is by reviewing national policy and legal instruments to identify gaps which prevent a country from progressing towards full alignment with, and implementation of, an EAF. This diagnostic tool builds on the previous work of FAO by translating the 17 EAF components identified in the How-to Guide on legislating for an EAF into an EAF Legal Checklist for legal practitioners, policymakers and fisheries managers to use in conducting a preliminary assessment of selected policy and legal instruments and determining whether they are congruent an EAF. The outcomes of the assessment may result in decisions to amend existing national policies and/or legislation, or develop new policy and legal instruments that are aligned with the 17 EAF components, to ensure the full implementation of an EAF towards improving, in a holistic way, the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, biodiversity and ecosystems.

Aquaculture now provides more than 50% of the global supply of fisheries products for direct human consumption. This workshop proceedings discusses critical economic, environmental and social aspects of aquaculture.