The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) is an
international non-government organization that works towards the
establishment of equitable, gender-just,self-reliant and sustainable
fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector.
ICSF draws its mandate from the historic International Conference of
Fishworkers and their Supporters (ICFWS), held in Rome in 1984, parallel
to the World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development
organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
A number of fishworker organizations and concerned intellectuals, academics
and social activists felt that the FAO conference had chosen to
overemphasize the commercial, industrial, scientific and fishery
resource aspects, at the expense of the actual real-world, life-and-blood
people involved in fishing worldwide fishworkers who are often sections of
the population marginalized from mainstream society.
The main aims of ICSF are to:
-
monitor issues that relate to the life, livelihood and living conditions of fishworkers around the world;
-
disseminate information
on these issues, particularly amongst fisherfolk;
-
prepare guidelines for policymakers that stress
fisheries development and management of a just,participatory and
sustainable nature; and
-
help create the space and momentum for the
development of alternatives in the small-scale fisheries sector.
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