Provides an analytical framework adapted to the West African context, as well as an action framework based on the facts and realities in the field in order to improve the coherence of fisheries policies in West Africa.

This Small-scale Fisheries Brief is tailored to provide insight into the contribution of small-scale fisheries to healthy food systems and sustainable livelihoods in the the Southern African Development Community (SADC). [Author] SADC comprises 16 Member States that lie in southern sub-Saharan Africa. [Author] The region is rich in aquatic resources, with vast inland waterbodies and marine waters. [Author] The fisheries sector generates immense social, economic and nutritional value, which acts as a lifeline for millions of people within the region. [Author] In 2021, over 3. [Author]1 million tonnes of fish were harvested from freshwater and marine capture fisheries in the SADC region. [Author] Capture fisheries are dominated by small-scale fisheries, with many countries having almost exclusively small-scale fisheries relative to large-scale ones. [Author] More than 22. [Author]7 million women and men depend on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods and subsistence. [Author] Strengthening the commitment and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) within national policies and plans can help safeguard and enhance small-scale fisheries’ contributions to sustainable development and food systems in the SADC region. [Author] The Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative has generated new evidence about the value of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development globally and within the SADC; evidence that has informed this brief. [Author]

Following the endorsement of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) in June 2014, and in line with Paragraph 13.6 of the SSF Guidelines promoting the development of regional plans of action for their implementation, a regional consultation was held to discuss the implementation of the SSF Guidelines in West and Central Africa. The objective of the consultation was to raise awareness of the important role of the small-scale fisheries sector and how this is addressed in the African Union’s Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS), the ECOWAS regional fisheries and aquaculture policy (under development with support from the FIRST programme), and the SSF Guidelines. It also provided an opportunity to share experiences and identify actions needed to support and promote small-scale fisheries in the CECAF region.