Africa Innovates Magazine - Flipbook - Page 18
EMPOWERING SMALL-SCALE
FISHING FAMILIES
IN SOUTH AFRICA
More than 100,000 South African households make a living from fishing. But
the vast majority of fishers do not have any official license for it, and as a
consequence, large fisheries are the only ones legally permitted to supply shops
and restaurants with their catch.
FOOD SECURITY
This is where Abalobi has a role to play. Translating to “small
fisherman” in Xhosa, one of the main local languages in South
Africa, Abalobi was created by a Belgian scientist and South
African activist, with the shared ambition to combine science,
tradition and high tech to serve communities, support sea
resources, and supply restaurants and consumers.
Abalobi is a non-profit and public benefit organization which
has developed an application suite that allows personalized
management of fishing and mapping of fishery resources to
preserve certain endangered species. The mobile app is free to
download for fishers, who then benefit from in-app training.
Fishers can record their catches, post-harvest activities, expenses
and income. On their smartphone they also have access to basic
analytics which provide a summary of their monthly activities.
The fishers can then sell their products on a digital marketplace,
which connects the products with chefs and restaurants while
providing information on traceability and ensuring fair sales. The
system – neatly branded as Fish With A Story – allows consumers
to scan a QR code which provides access to the whole story
behind their seafood, from where and how it was caught to the
man or woman holding the line. This way, the consumer can
learn about the carbon footprint and the human dimension of
fishery supply chains.
This open-source application suite meets the criteria of the
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organizations (FAO)
for a sustainable food system. The marketplace supplies fully
traceable, premium quality and locally harvested seafood
by small-scale fishers directly to consumers (restaurants and
individuals). According to the team, “By supporting Fish With A
Story – via what is a globally famous restaurant and communitysupported fishery – consumers contribute to the empowerment
of coastal communities, and participate in an ever-growing
movement to rethink and develop a more sustainable and
ethical food system.”
Abalobi wants to ensure that fishers
are given a voice and can participate
in fishery improvement initiatives.
It organizes meetings with fishers
to collectively review and analyze
the information logged to stimulate
community entrepreneurship or comanagement. Fishers can then make
informed decisions, both collectively
and as individuals.
Photo credit: ABALOBI 2021
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SHOWCASING AFRICAN CLIMATE CHAMPIONS
