11. The Consultation acknowledged the strong need for managing small-scale fisheries in sub-Saharan Africa in line with the principles of sustainability laid down in the FAO Code of Conduct for responsible fisheries. It was however recognized that responsible management may entail having "losers and winners" in the short term, while societal benefits will visibly accrue in the longer term. One of the immediate challenges was to identify and implement suitable approaches to limit access to fisheries. In this respect, some experts questioned whether access limitation should not be envisaged as the last resort. The Consultation agreed however that limiting access might be unavoidable to ensure sustainable fisheries.
12. The Consultation further discussed the various signals that are indicative of stress in most small-scale fisheries in sub-Saharan Africa. With regard to aquatic ecosystems, the following was noted: growing evidence of overfishing, including declining catch per unit effort; widespread use of harmful practices such as dynamite fishing; changes in species composition with eventual loss of biodiversity. This was exacerbated by externalities such as degradation of fish habitat, pollution, deforestation and siltation.
13. With regard to socio-economic and institutional aspects, the following problems were highlighted: an increase of intra- and inter-fisheries and sectoral conflicts; violations of formal and informal regulations and institutions as well as changing behaviour towards traditional migrant fishers. Within fishing communities, decreasing performances of quality of life, such as health, education and nutritional values were apparent. These factors suggest that there are rapidly changing patterns in fishing communities and generally more acute poverty.
14. However, there was some debate as to whether all fisheries required management interventions. The logistical difficulties, high costs and resources required to manage small-scale fisheries in remote areas and along extensive shorelines, suggested a need to identify "signals" which call for management intervention. The experts agreed that there are difficulties in implementing rigorous monitoring systems in all waters and an absence of reliable statistics. They, therefore, suggested that biological and socio-economic indicators to signal the need for management interventions, should complement existing information. The emphasis would be on using existing, easily accessible data such as demographic records, statistics on mortality rates and the perceptions of the fishers regarding changes in catch rates.
15. The Consultation agreed that such a situation urgently calls for immediate renewed efforts on socio-economic assessments of fishing communities which in turn could help better identify biological signals as well as the most appropriate type of management regime which might be most suitable in a given fisheries context
