Pacific Harbour, Fiji - A book launch was held in Pacific Harbour, Fiji on the occasion the European Union (EU) -Pacific Policy Dialogue Roundtable on oceans meeting, led by the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) Programme with the participation of national delegates and programme partners.

The SPC Pacific Handbook for Human Rights (HR), Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) in Tuna Industries is an illustratively tailored guide designed to assist fisheries practitioners in national agencies, the private sector, training institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) to better understand and apply HR/GESI lenses with the prosperous vision of an inclusive, equitable and socio-economically thriving Pacific tuna industry.

Funded by the European Union and the Government of Sweden through the PEUMP Programme and published by SPC, this handbook follows the footsteps of the existing SPC Handbook on gender equity and social inclusion in coastal fisheries and aquaculture and it aims to be a practical handbook with tools, case studies, tips and stories to speak to fisheries practitioners and to support the application of gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) principles in the tuna industries. This new Tuna Handbook includes also HR topics complementing gender equity and social inclusion concepts with an extended outlook into more specific human rights issues such as working conditions and labour rights. It also expands on the dual responsibilities of the public sector and the tuna industry as the private sector player.

“This handbook is the consolidation of a huge effort in assessing the issues related to human rights and gender equality in the region. It represents a building block for sustainable development in the fisheries industry which is people- centered. As we heard during the discussions today, research needs to make its way back to the communities who provide data and who have been consulted. We encourage all stakeholders present today and in particular the national representatives to share the results of this handbook with their respective governments and communities”, says Kim Edou, the EU Ocean Programme Manager on behalf of the EU Delegation to the Pacific and the Swedish Government.  

The recently published Handbook was developed through a consultative process with national fishery officers, industry representatives, regional and international organisations and civil society partners , to discuss key issues and challenges as well as ideas and action points to support the application of HR/GESI lenses. The handbook is divided into 9 stand-alone modules, aiming to increase understanding on human rights, gender and social inclusion issues currently faced in the region and how the fisheries sector members can address them. The modules are divided into four thematic areas; an overview on the subject, MEL and social analysis, site-specific human rights and GESI issues (HR and GESI at sea, in port areas and in onshore processing facilities), broader HR and GESI relevance for the tuna industry (HR and GESI in the informal small scale tuna sector, fisheries science and management and stakeholder engagement) and a Fiji case study.