In 2024, the Our Ocean Conference saw a wave of ambitious pledges aimed at tackling some of the most persistent challenges facing the ocean. Among them was a commitment that stood out not for its scale, but for its practicality: putting power directly into the hands of the people who depend on the ocean most.
Three years on, the Global Toolkit for Participatory Fisheries Governance, developed by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and funded by the European Union, is no longer just a commitment on paper. It is a working, evolving project that is changing how fisheries are managed across Africa and Asia, with lessons that are already beginning to travel further afield to Latin America and the Pacific.
A Problem Rooted in Inequality Spawns Opportunity
Small-scale fisheries account for roughly 40% of the global catch and support the livelihoods of nearly half a billion people. For around a billion more, they are a critical source of nutrition. Yet these same fisheries sit at the frontline of a growing crisis.
Overexploitation affects more than a third of global fish stocks. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to strip resources from coastal communities, often with little accountability. Historically, those most affected, artisanal fishers and fish processors, have had the least say in how fisheries are governed.
The EJF toolkit was designed to change that dynamic.
Turning Participation into Practice
At its core, the project rests on a simple premise: sustainable fisheries are not imposed, they are built with the people who rely on them. The toolkit translates that idea into action through three interconnected pillars.
First is community surveillance. Across Cameroon, Senegal, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, almost 700 artisanal fishers have been trained to report evidence of suspected industrial IUU fishing in real time using EJF’s bespoke DASE mobile app. Equipped with smartphones, fishers capture geotagged photos and videos of suspected IUU activity, uploading them to a central system from which EJF produces vessel alerts and shares them with relevant authorities for follow up action.
This is more than a technological fix. It is a shift in power. Communities that once had little recourse against industrial-scale violations are now active participants in enforcement. For example, in Thailand, compensation has been paid by a semi-industrial vessel owner to a community co-management fisheries association (CMA) for loss and damage to fishing gear as a result of evidence submitted to DASE.
Second is community governance. The toolkit supports the creation of new CMAs and the strengthening of existing ones, bringing fishers, fish processors and other local stakeholders into structured decision-making processes. In places like Pointe Sarene and Ngaparou in Senegal, these associations are helping to resolve conflicts, improve compliance, and strengthen local stewardship of marine resources. Illustrating this, over a one-year period, coastal surveillance patrols carried out by fishers from Pointe Sarene and Ngaparou in collaboration with local authorities saw over 130 cases of artisanal IUU fishing documented and resolved.
Importantly, these structures are not replicating old hierarchies. Women, who are often central to fish processing and trade, have been elected to leadership roles in the CMAs set up through the project, embedding gender equity into the governance model from the outset. Cameroon illustrates this clearly. Through the project, Cameroon’s first ever CMAs were established in the villages of Yoyo and Mbiako. Leadership elections for the CMAs were conducted using a model designed to ensure that the distinct social groups within each community were represented within the CMA executive leadership. As a result, women were elected to serve as Vice-Presidents.
Third is national representation. By strengthening the internal governance of national fisheries associations (NFAs) in line with the VGGT principles, and building the advocacy capacity of these associations, the project ensures that the interests of local fishing communities are represented in national dialogues, and are increasingly taken into consideration in policy-making processes, bridging the gap between coastal realities and government decision-making. For example, in Thailand, a national NGO was supported to mobilise its wide network of small-scale fishing communities to conduct coordinated advocacy against proposed amendments to the Fisheries Act B.E. 2558, which ultimately led to these amendments incorporating some of the interests of local fishers.
Technology Meets Trust
One of the programme’s defining strengths is its ability to combine modern tools with deep local knowledge.
The DASE application, for example, is only effective because it is used by people who know their waters intimately and who can distinguish between legal and illegal practices, and who have a direct stake in protecting their fisheries. The technology amplifies that expertise rather than replacing it.
At the same time, the toolkit provides practical resources, such as templates, case studies, and training modules in a consolidated handbook, allowing practitioners working with small-scale fishing communities to apply the lessons learned through the project to their specific contexts. This flexibility has been critical to its success.
In Senegal and Cameroon, where implementation has been particularly extensive, local stakeholders officials have reported tangible improvements in monitoring and compliance. For instance, in Senegal, fishers involved in coastal surveillance patrols reported to EJF an increase in the number of small-scale vessel permits purchased, leading to increased state revenue, and an increase in the number of fishers wearing life jackets in line with government regulations. In addition, in both Senegal and Cameroon, small-scale fishers have used DASE to submit evidence of industrial trawlers engaging in suspected IUU fishing within prohibited inshore waters. DASE and participatory surveillance thus play a fundamental role in strengthening community involvement in fisheries management.
The approach is not static; lessons learned across 15 countries will feed into an evolving second version of the toolkit, while a third version, incorporating five years of implementation insights, will be published at the project’s conclusion and made freely available to all interested stakeholders.
Inclusion as a Design Principle
Another reason the project is gaining traction is its emphasis on inclusion and representation, not as an afterthought, but as a foundation.
Workshops actively encourage participation from women, youth and ethnic minorities, groups that are often marginalised in fisheries governance. Outreach efforts target fish processors and community leaders, ensuring that decision-making reflects the full spectrum of stakeholders. In Senegal, the project supported two women-led NFAs, focusing on strengthening their members’ advocacy skills and increasing their visibility and recognition. As a result, the NFAs engaged the government to secure a permanent seat designated for a female fisher representative on a national fisheries decision-making body, and have since been invited to attend a session of this body for the first time, reflecting progress towards more inclusive gender representation in governance.
The integration of principles from the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT), including transparency, equity and justice, further strengthens this approach. In Cameroon, where the project supported the creation and election of two CMAs, the project trained the newly elected leaders in leadership, effective governance and resource management, and supported the development of their constitution in line with the VGGT principles. Governance structures, thus, are not just more participatory; they are more accountable.
From Pilot to Global Potential
What began as a regionally grounded initiative is now being positioned for global application. Backed by funding from the European Union, the project has the financial and institutional support needed to scale.
But its real strength lies in its adaptability. The toolkit is not a rigid framework; it is a set of guiding principles and best practices that can be tailored to different fisheries, governance systems and cultural contexts, from Africa and Latin America to Southeast Asia and the Pacific
That matters. Because while the specifics of fisheries vary from one coast to another, the underlying challenge is universal: how to manage shared resources in a way that is fair, transparent and sustainable.
Delivering on the Promise of the Our Ocean Conference
By grounding its approach in community participation, leveraging technology in collaborative ways, and building bridges between local and national governance, the Global Toolkit for Participatory Fisheries Governance is demonstrating what transformative implementation looks like.
It is a reminder that meaningful change does not always come from sweeping top-down reforms. Sometimes, it starts with a fisher, a phone, and the ability to be heard and participate in decision-making processes.
And in the context of global efforts to tackle overfishing and protect marine ecosystems, that may prove to be one of the most powerful tools of all.
“Placing local communities at the core of fisheries management enables effective stewardship, integrating local knowledge and inclusive governance to protect ecosystems, sustain livelihoods, and strengthen coastal resilience.”
