The 1st International Conference on Low Impact, Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing established conclusions in the Conil Declaration. The Declaration determined that the directives from the previous Conil Declaration should be publicly recorded and monitored to ensure proposed objectives are achieved within 3 years. Regarding management, the Declaration recognized artisanal fishing as traditional and important for local economies and sustainability. It also determined that joint management with local communities and diversification of the sector can help minimize threats. The Declaration also addressed release to market, heritage, and cooperation, recognizing the value of artisanal fishing and need for support, training, and cooperation across these areas.

1. 1st International Conference on Low Impact,
Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing
CONIL DECLARATION
Participants at the 1st International Conference on Low Impact, Artisanal and Small
Scale Fishing have agreed to establish the following conclusions in the Conil
Declaration.
It has been determined that the previous work directives laid down in the Conil
Declaration should be put on public record, that public administrations and
international organisations should be addressed, and monitoring undertaken to ensure
that the proposed objectives are achieved, and that these should be analysed at a 2nd
Conference within a time horizon of three years.
Concerning MANAGEMENT, the plenary assembly of the 1st International Conference
on Low Impact, Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing hereby determines that:
• Artisanal fishing implies an ancestral and traditional way of life, with social and
cultural roots and acceptance and acknowledgement of and by the local
population. Furthermore, it is important for the local economy and compatible
with environmental, social and economic sustainability.
• The structure of the small scale fleet enables joint management frameworks to
be established as it is primarily located in areas dependent upon fishing and with
great knowledge of this, and it is undertaken in clearly identified fisheries. It
stands out for its intrinsic value with respect to knowledge handed down from
generation to generation.
• The joint involvement of the sector alongside the Administrations, researchers
and other social actors enables the effective application of tools for funding,
management and control.
• An enhanced partnership, the creation of Marine Protected Areas, and the
diversification of the sector contribute to minimising the principal threats, such
as ageing and the lack of generational replacement, the complexity of
regulations and bureaucracy, and limited institutional representation, illegal
fishing and vulnerability to ecosystem change and environmental impacts.

2. 1st International Conference on Low Impact,
Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing
Furthermore, concerning RELEASE TO THE MARKET, it is hereby determined that:
• Artisanal fishing is characterised by the high quality production of a wide range
of species. These aspects should be used to take advantage of our market’s
demand for supply. In this respect, improving the differentiation and traceability
of artisanal fish produce will enable the generation of added value and advances
to be made in the area of environmental, social and environmental sustainability.
• Measures need to be identified to minimise the effects that derive from the
marketing of fish that originate from non reported unlawful activities, and for
greater competition in the face of the importing of similar products to ours, with
differentiation based on proximity (local produce) and freshness. Whilst the
producer sector needs to further improve its marketing, it is also essential that
support should be forthcoming from the Administration in the form of market
controls and inspections, in order to prevent fraud and unlawful sales.
• Unity and cooperation between producer collectives and commercial
intermediaries will substantially improve the marketing of artisanal fish
produce and lead to better positioning, improved prices and also minimise
supply fragmentation. The artisanal fishing sector can create opportunities to
halt the fall in consumption by the population by promoting the product and its
origin, as it also includes an intangible value that can be added to the value of
the product itself.
• To improve marketing strategies, steps must be taken to make advances in the
training of agents engaged in production and distribution, as well as to reinforce
information provided to the consumer, especially regarding the excellence of the
product, labelling and origin, with adaptation to new healthy consumption
habits. In this regard, it is necessary to take advantage of the potential of Fisheries
Producer Organisations as an instrument for management and modernisation
that will be able, amongst other things, to help identify new market outlets.

3. 1st International Conference on Low Impact,
Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing
Furthermore, concerning HERITAGE, it is hereby determined that:
• Fisheries heritage has deep roots in society, with major historical and traditional
importance, and is located in a high value natural environment endowed with
an enormous variety and quantity of resources. Fisheries heritage is possessed of
a great presence within society that creates a hallmark of identity and
contributes to the revaluation of the social area in which it is located.
• The progressive abandonment of artisanal fishing can lead to a swift decline in
both tangible and intangible fishing heritage. The fishing heritage of coastal
locations is being threatened by increasing pressure from urban development
and tourism and by growing deterioration of the marine and coastal natural
environment. Furthermore, limited funding and aid, along with the
Administrations’ disinterest in fishing heritage, can lead to its demise.
• The fishing sector has experienced little social growth in recent times among
citizens, political representatives and economic sectors, especially artisanal and
small scale fisheries. The sector's own lack of motivation, the general lack of
awareness and specific lack of knowledge of the value of artisanal fishing
heritage, the difficulty that it has to communicate and convey its needs and
requirements, the lack of institutional support and disagreement with
institutional representatives have led to a poor state of conservation and the loss
of much ethnological cultural fishing heritage.
• To all this is added the limited dissemination and knowledge of the fisheries
sector both on the internal level and by wider society, and the lack of
generational hand-over and replacement.
• Artisanal and low impact fisheries heritage can benefit from a range of emerging
initiatives and the sector's proper involvement and engagement, whilst
contributing to the local and economic development of coastal areas. In parallel
to this, in combination with efficient management, growing sensitivity and social
awareness may be able to increase social demand for cultural fisheries heritage
in relation to tourism and local economic development.

4. 1st International Conference on Low Impact,
Artisanal and Small Scale Fishing
Furthermore, concerning COOPERATION, it is hereby determined that:
• National and international cooperation is understood to be a useful, effective and
priority tool for achieving a shared vision regarding good practices and conflict
resolution.
• Extant business structures for cooperation enable operating mechanisms to be
put in place to develop business policies for effective cooperation.
• Professionalisation of the sector enables cooperation policies to be promoted for
fisheries management, empowerment and sense of belonging
• Cooperation policies should contain criteria for environmental, social and
economic sustainability and permanence over time that exceeds the time period
of the funds themselves.
• By way of conclusion, cooperation reduces extant social inequalities, brings
dignity to the profession and disseminates the variety of cultures inherent in the
sector.
Conil de la Frontera, 6th October, 2017.