Fact Sheet No. 1

FACT SHEET NO. 1 JULY 2019 THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF THE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SECTORS IN AFRICA INTRODUCTION While the fishing and aquaculture sectors contribute to poverty reduction, job creation and food security, globally widespread human rights impact in these sectors have been documented. From labour rights violations involving migrant workers on fishing vessels in Thailand and in processing plants in Bangladesh to impacts on indigenous coastal communities affected by industrial fishing or salmon farming in Southern Chile. Rights impacts concern both fundamental civil and political rights, as well as social, economic and cultural rights. Impacts of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors often have impacts on the rights of specific vulnerable groups, such as women, children and indigenous peoples. The African continent is no exception to these global trends of negative human rights impacts of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. In particular, cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, leading to conflicts have been reported, as well as labour rights violations across the various lakes in the continent, including cases of child and forced labour, appalling working conditions on board of fishing vessels in African waters and environmental impacts of fisheries and aquaculture affecting fishing and other communities. Fisheries agreements can also have a negative impact on the realization of rights of fishing communities. In principle, such fisheries agreements, many of them agreed between the EU and African nations1, have the objective to contribute to the development of the fishing sector, including by generating income, employment, creating or improving infrastructure, promoting efficient management of human resources and capacity building in the sector, and ensuring better supply to the local fish market and facilitate private investments. However, the lack of regulation and poor enforcement of fisheries agreements may result in situations where the Coastal State authorities lose control over the sustainable management and development of their fisheries and aquaculture sectors, with negative impacts on the livelihoods of small-scale communities as well as on the upholding of international human rights standards. 1 European Commission, Sustainable Fisheries https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/international/agree Agreements, ments_en 1 FACT SHEET NO. 2 As part of such EU Sustainable fisheries agreements, the EU pays a lump sum to the host country for fishing access, while also funding sector reforms to develop more sustainable fisheries, such as through the promotion of conservation activities2. The EU has tuna agreements, allowing EU vessels to pursue migrating tuna stocks as they move along the shores of Africa and through the Indian Ocean, and mixed agreements, which allows the EU access to a wide range of fish stocks in the partner country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 3. However, poorly designed or enforced fisheries agreements can lead to, among other issues, fleet overcapacity, high competition and conflicts between artisanal and industrial fishing sectors, corruption, destructive fishing practices and human rights violations on board of fishing vessels. The Mauritius-EU Fisheries Partnership Agreement, signed in 1990, serves as an example. The government of Mauritius claimed that its own national fleet did not have the capacity to harvest the fish in its own waters and that only fish-stocks beyond the reach of local small-scale fishers would be caught under the Agreement, and therefore granted EU vessels the right to fish for tuna in its seas. However, Mauritius only received approximately €0.15 per kilogram of tuna caught by EU vessels, a very small percentage of the €1.38-1.60 that tuna was sold for in the EU market. In addition, according to affected communities, the EU vessels targeted the same species as local fishers resulting in a decrease of 50-60 percent in their catches.4 While this Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) claimed that a significant percentage of the financial compensation received from the EU would be allocated to the interests of local fishers, these fishing communities argued that they did not see any evidence that the 20 percent of this EU compensation were invested for their benefit. As a result, fishers’ organisations, workers’ unions and advocacy groups mobilised and joined forces to fight against the implementation of new SFPAs, and to prevent more of Mauritius’ marine resources from being sold.5 OVERVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS The below table describes a number of rights areas that are affected by the fisheries and aquaculture sectors across the African continent, including through a number of illustrative case examples. The list of rights is not exhaustive and only serve an example of possible human rights that can be violated through fisheries and aquaculture activities in Africa. 2 TNI, November 2017.EU Fisheries Agreements: Cheap Fish for a High Price. See: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/tni_eu_fisheries_agreements_en.pdf 3 Ibid, note 1 4Franco, J., Buxton, N., Vervest, P., Feodoroff, T., Pedersen, C., Reuter, R., & Barbesgaard, M. C. (2014). The global ocean grab: A primer. Retrieved from the Economic Justice Program of the Transnational Institute website, see p. 18: http://www.tni.org/briefing/global-ocean-grab-primer-0. 5World Forum of Fishers People, Newsletter November 2016, p. 6. See:http://worldfishers.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/11/WFFP.Newsletter.Nov_.20161.pdf 2 FACT SHEET NO. 2 RIGHTS RELEVANT KEY ISSUE EXAMPLES INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS Right to life INSTRUMENTS The decline in fish stocks is not only Violent conflicts and fatalities related to fisheries in Tanzania: Right to life: UDHR an environmental issue but can lead Fisheries are important to the Tanzanian economy. The sector Article 3; ICCPR Article to serious human rights violations directly employ more than 183,000 fishers and 4 million people 6, ACHPR, Article 4 affecting the security of fishing are engaged in fisheries related activities. communities, including the right to According to a report by One Earth Future, due to declining fish Women: CEDAW art. life, liberty and personal security. populations, a rising demand for seafood and efforts to reduce 12, Maputo Protocol, Due to the characteristics of the widespread illegal fishing, there has been an increase in conflicts Article 4. fishing industry and the socio- related to fisheries resources between 1990 and 2017. 498 economic context, the sector is a arrests, 41 fatalities, and 8 abductions have resulted from fisheries Children: CRC Article 6 breeding ground for transnational conflicts. ACRWC, Article 5. crime, leading to adverse impacts of vessel crew. For example, in Lake Victoria, border conflicts of Ugandan and Kenyan fishers have led to security operations, widespread confiscation of fishing gear, and imprisonment of hundreds of fishers. In Lake Tanganyika, Tanzanian fishers were attacked, abducted, and killed by rebel groups for their fish, gear, and boats. Along the coastline, illegal dynamite fishing has caused community protests, clashes between fishers and security forces, and territorial fights between tourist hotels and fishing communities.6 Fishing vessels as a vehicle for criminal activities: Crimes in the fishing sector have resulted from systemic problems, including weak governance and regulation of the sector, high mobility and invisibility as activities take place away from land. Cases have been reported where fishing vessels have been used for crime, including for piracy in the Horn of Africa and West Africa,7 the smuggling of migrants and weapons,8 and trafficking of drugs.9 Such criminal activities have affected the right to life, 3 liberty and personal security of crew members on vessels and fishers at sea. Right to UDHR Article 25; The depletion of fish stocks due to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in Senegal: adequate food ICESCR Article 11; CRC illegal fishing or industrial fishing is Fish is an essential part of the diet in Senegal and accounts for Article 24(2)(c); leading to a threat to food security, almost 80 percent of protein intake. IUU fishing has led to fish Maputo Protocol, especially in countries which highly resources depleting in the region: 37% of all fish caught in West Article 15. depend on fish diet, and in Africa is done so illegally,10 which has led to fish stocks particular for poor fishing unpredictably decreasing in recent years. As a result, communities communities that depend on fishing depending on fishing for their livelihoods in Senegal are suffering for their own consumption and for from food insecurity. sales. Access rights to water-based Industrial shrimp fishing affecting coastal fishing communities in resources are essential in protecting Madagascar: On the west coast of Madagascar, poor fishing fishers’ livelihoods and their/their communities are increasingly affected by industrial shrimp communities’ access to food. trawlers, who catch not only shrimp but also large amounts of Change of access rights may lead to other fish species (bycatch), and thereby affecting the adverse impacts on the livelihoods communities’ livelihoods and access to food, as they have no of communities and their right to other economic or subsistence alternative to fishing.11 food, in particular small-scale fishers. Chinese fishmeal factories in Gambia affecting intake of fish for personal consumption: Locals who once enjoyed fish as part

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