SUCCEPHS · A Pathway Towards Sustainable Use and Conservation of Cephalopod Stocks

Our oceans provide food security, nutrition, poverty alleviation, and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. However, environmental and social pressures (e.g., overfishing, climate change, population growth, globalization) threaten the oceans, the marine resources and the people depending on them. This is especially true for small-scale fisheries (SSF), which play a crucial (often neglected) role for local coastal communities. In this sense, alternative and effective ocean governance approaches are crucial for sustainable development and must adequately reflect the multi-dimensional and interconnected role of oceans in environmental health, economic prosperity, and human well-being. SUCCEPHS – ‘A Pathway Towards Sustainable Use and Conservation of Cephalopod Stocks’ aims to: i. demonstrate how existing tools to assess fisheries sustainability succeed or fail to integrate multiple dimensions of sustainability and achieve improved ocean governance; ii. identify common and context-specific factors that enable or hinder the achievement of sustainability in three octopus SSF; iii. improve the way octopus SSF sustainability is assessed and monitored. Embracing qualitative and quantitative data, and applying a participatory approach, SUCCEPHS will tackle simultaneously environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability, while considering the particularities of fishing communities and resources, aiming to achieve improved governance to ensure equitable, sustainable and resilient octopus fisheries now and for generations to come. The project is designed to be a highly collaborative process, requiring stakeholders, partners and institutions to work together to co-create novel and adaptive tools for achieving these goals. A multi-comparative approach will allow a deep learning and information exchange throughout the process.