Page 18 - Vol.39-No.6

FISHERIES

SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR FISHERS AND FISH

WORKERS IN TUNISIA

Only 28 years old, Abdessalem Kandil the Food and Agriculture Organization of “The improvement of the social security
has been fishing off the coast of northern the United Nations (FAO), with funding system for fishers has direct impacts on
Tunisia for more than a decade. Sea bream, from the Norwegian Agency for Devel- their work by offering them easy access
cuttlefish, shrimp and octopus. This was opment Cooperation, is working with the to the various services of the different so-
the bounty he used to expect in his daily Tunisian government to expand coverage of cial schemes,” states Yessine Ben Arfa, a
catch. Now, although Abdessalem rises at social protection to fishers and fish workers. fisheries researcher from the Ministry of
3 a.m. every day to fish, he often comes The project builds national capacities Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries
home empty handed. by helping better understand the barriers and the national project coordinator for
fishers face in accessing social protection the SocPro4Fish project.
and the feasiblity of extending it more “The different levels of contribution
broadly to a sector that has a high level will be aligned with fishers' income levels
of informality and seasonality. and their households’ cost of living,” he
continues.
Awareness: the first
The SocPro4Fish project established
step to access a technical committee with the govern-
Artisanal fishers often have limited ment and representatives from the Tuni-
knowledge about the available social pro- sian Agriculture and Fisheries Union and
“When I go out, I don’t always come tection programmes. Preliminary results the Tunisian Association for the Develop-
back with a catch,” he says. “We are facing from a study conducted by FAO’s partner, ment of Artisanal Fishing to simplify social
a daily battle with our incomes. Sometimes the Centre for Social Research and Studies protection coverage and extend it to the
I cannot pay the rent.” (CRES), in collaboration with Tunisia’s Min- fisheries sector. The project also supported
Climate change, pollution, overfishing istry of Social Affairs, showed that many the establishment of a registry to identify
and invasive species have had an impact fishers did not believe they would benefit fishers and fish workers, as well as their
on fish stocks in Tunisia. from these programmes. incomes and their needs.
For Abdessalem and many other fishers, “Too often fishers don’t realise the ser- “The project aims to improve the liveli-
this income is the only one they can count vices that are available to them,” says Dan- hoods of fishing communities by increasing
on. Small-scale fishers do not always have iela Kalikoski, FAO Lead Technical Officer. the country’s capacity to expand fishers’
access to social services or qualify for gov- Working with Tunisia’s Ministry of Ag- access to social protection services and
ernment assistance, such as unemployment riculture and Ministry of Social Affairs, strengthen their resilience to shocks,” says
benefits, health care or pension systems. CRES and the Tunisian Union of Agriculture Kalikoski.
The seasonality of their work also means and Fisheries, FAO is helping to broaden Mabrouka Ayadi, a 70-year-old widow
they often don’t earn enough to contribute awareness of the existing mechanisms who has been fishing her whole life, has no
to social security schemes. and support fishers and fish workers in government pension or medical care. She
Abdessalem, a father of two young chil- accessing them. hopes the SocPro4Fish project will lead to
dren, sometimes relies on the generosity adequate coverage in the fisheries sector
of his friends to survive. to support her health and well-being.
‘’When things are not going well, I take ‘’I have to take care of my health care. I
loans from friends with the promise that have four kids at home, and they depend
there will be production in the future, and on my fishing,’’ she says.
I will be able to pay my debts. Sometimes By improving the coherence between
I cannot repay them,’’ he says.
social protection and fisheries policies, the
Taher Hamza, a fisher with four children, project is working to reduce poverty in
is also struggling to make a living from his the sector and sustain its development.
eel fishing. Like Abdessalem, he does not Simplifying coverage SocPro4Fish is also working to extend so-
qualify for social protection. “Most fish- cial protection coverage to workers in the
ers do not receive any assistance from the Currently, many fishers also face chal- fisheries and aquaculture sector in other
government,’’ says Taher. lenges when it comes to registering with countries around the world.
Tunisia’s social security system because of
Social protection is a safety net for indi- the informality and the seasonality of their
viduals and is essential for inclusive growth work. The system is complex and has four
and reducing poverty. Yet, more than half distinct social security regimes that apply
of the world’s population, and women in to different categories of fishers. This leads
particular, are excluded from social protec- to confusion or bureaucratic procedures
tion, according to the International Labour that often limit coverage within the sec-
Organization.
tor. The SocPro4Fish project is looking at
Through the Social Protection for Fisher- more flexible requirements to match fishers'
ies and Aquaculture (SocPro4Fish) project, contributory capacity.

16 Vol. 39 No. 6
Circle 19 on enquiry card