Workshop and Symposium on Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries: Towards FAO Guidelines on Marine and Inland Small-scale Fisheries, 19-21 September, 2011, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The workshop and symposium titled Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries: Towards FAO Guidelines on Marine and Inland Small-scale Fisheries was jointly organized by the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) and the Society for Direct Initiative for Social and Health Action (DISHA), in collaboration with the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF). The workshop was the first in a series of consultations around the world organized to discuss the Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale Fisheries (VGSSF) and propose measures, keeping in mind the interests and concerns of small-scale fisheries and fishing communities. The workshop was also a forum to make the role of small-scale fisheries and fishworkers more visible in the context of food security, poverty alleviation and sustainable use of fishery resources. The workshop had 62 participants from both the marine and inland sectors, representing 10 States of India. The participants included fishworkers, representatives of fishworker organizations, policymakers and representatives of multilateral organizations. The workshop was structured to facilitate active interaction and discussion among participants, taking into account linguistic diversity and the contextual differences of the marine and inland sectors. This publication will be useful for fishworkers, fishworker organizations, researchers, policymakers, fish farmers, members of civil society and anyone interested in small-scale fisheries and livelihoods.

Report of the ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) workshop: implementing the FAO voluntary guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication (SSF guidelines), 6-7 March 2015, Chennai, India

The workshop titled, ICSF-BOBLME India (East Coast) Workshop on Implementing the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) was organized by ICSFin collaboration with BOBLME project.The workshop was the third in a series of consultations held in 2015 across the globe to promote the ownership of the SSF Guidelines among different stakeholders. In the run –up to the workshop, ICSF, with support from BOBLME conducted six consultation meetings with fishworkers and fishworker organizations along the east coast of India in January and February 2015. One hundred participants from India’s eastern coastal states of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, including women fishworkers, representatives of fishworker organizations, representatives from Department of Fisheries and other concerned departments at state and central level, Multilateral agencies, Inter-governmental organizations, Research Institutions met at Chennai, 6-7 March, 2015. The workshop was structured to facilitate active interaction and discussion among participants, taking into account linguistic diversity and the contextual differences of the marine and inland sectors. This publication—the proceedings of the Chennai workshop—will be useful for fishworker organizations, researchers, policymakers, members of civil society and anyone interested in fisheries and livelihoods.

Indigenous traditional technical knowledge of disease cure and prevention through fish consumption

Our knowledge regarding ethno-medico zoology is scanty and scattered. The present work is an endeavour to collect information on indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) of disease cure through fish consumption, prepare a consolidated report on this aspect and to document our ITK so that in the long run after due verification (by Medical experts), such ITK can be patented. We also suggest for the recognition of the age old tribal medicine and establishment of a national research institute for tribal medicines at suitable place for the welfare of all the human beings.