A/HRC/55/49 11. A human rights-based approach therefore does not only draw from an intersectional analysis of discrimination and oppression and ensure policy coherence. It also encourages solidarity among small-scale fishers and workers, emphasizing gender justice and recognizing the unique position of Indigenous Peoples. C. Small-scale fishers 12. There is no singular definition of a small-scale fisher. Similar terms include artisanal fishers or fisherfolk. Small-scale fishers typically involve fishing households who use small-scale fishing vessels. They depend on small amounts of capital and energy, usually in the form of family, household or cooperative labour, and fish close to shore with short stints into the body of water. What counts as small, however, is very context specific for each country and covers a wide range of sizes globally. 13. Small-scale fishers tend to be firmly rooted in local communities, traditions and values, and as such provide food and livelihoods for entire communities across generations. People also migrate to engage in small-scale fishing. Small-scale fishing is a way of life as much as it is a livelihood, and it is how many communities create meaning and value in their daily life; therefore, people’s cultural rights are at stake. Unlike large vessels, which are often supported through foreign capital, small vessels are directly linked to local communities, ensuring vibrancy in small ports and creating social and cultural value. 14. Small-scale fisheries include capture fishing and cultivated fishing (artisanal or traditional aquaculture). Small-scale fishers can harvest for household consumption (subsistence), for income (commerce) or for both. Small-scale-fisher commerce can cover several different activities. Small-scale fishers often sell in local markets but can also sell across borders within a region. In developing countries, fish caught by small-scale fishers are an important source of protein and essential micronutrients. Informal-fishery market chains contribute to the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. 10 Small-scale fishers may own or lease their boats and fishing gear. 15. In sum, small-scale fishing, compared to other fishing operations, is more labour intensive and less mechanized, has a relatively smaller ecological and carbon impact and is central to coastal and riparian social, economic and cultural life. One can assess scale by looking at the type of gear, mechanization, vessel size, fishing locations, storage/preservation requirements, and labour and commercial relationships, and at how the catch is used after harvest.11 16. Ultimately, however, determining what is small scale is a social, cultural and political, rather than technical, question. States should define small-scale fishing through a transparent and meaningful public process and using human rights-based approaches.12 17. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication 13 recognize small-scale fisheries as essential to social, economic and environmental development; they use a human rights-based approach to integrate social, economic and environmental development goals. The Voluntary Guidelines are the culmination of years of advocacy by fisher and fish-worker organizations and were developed through the participation of over 4,000 fishers, fish workers and others from over 120 countries. They were negotiated and endorsed by States through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Committee on Fisheries in 2014. They are considered one of the principal international instruments contributing to the sustainable 10 11 12 13 4 Cohen and others, “Securing a just space”. FAO, Duke University and WorldFish, Illuminating Hidden Harvests, p. 22. Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, para. 2.4. Unless otherwise specified, in the present document “Voluntary Guidelines” refers to the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. GE.23-26071