Building bridges across Oceans: SmartFish joins Global Small-Scale Fisheries Exchange in South Africa

“There are so many parallels between what Abalobi is doing in South Africa and what we’re building in Mexico through SmartFish’s Value Rescue Model. From fish quality and traceability to gender equity and fisher leadership”.

“We’re walking parallel paths.”

Cecilia

This August, SmartFish Executive Director Cecilia Blasco traveled to South Africa to participate in a global learning exchange hosted by Abalobi—a social enterprise working to transform small-scale fisheries through digital tools, market access, and social justice. The workshop brought together organizations from Africa, Asia, and Latin America that play a “route-to-market” role—connecting small-scale fishers to fair markets while supporting sustainability, community wellbeing, and fisher agency.

Participants included pioneering organizations from Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines, and beyond—each grounded in local realities yet confronting strikingly similar challenges: lack of affordable working capital, unstable markets, climate vulnerability, and structural exclusion from decision-making. The camaraderie, openness, and solidarity among the teams created a powerful space for shared reflection and new ideas.

Cecilia came away deeply inspired by Abalobi’s holistic model—one that weaves together technology, community governance, and storytelling to address the multiple layers of marginalization faced by small-scale fishers. “There are so many parallels between what Abalobi is doing in South Africa and what we’re building in Mexico through SmartFish’s Value Rescue Model,” she shared. “From fish quality and traceability to gender equity and fisher leadership, we’re walking parallel paths.”

The exchange underscored that small-scale fisheries across the globe are not isolated—they are facing common systemic barriers that require collective solutions. It also highlighted the potential of deeper collaboration: to learn from each other’s experiences, and to offer aligned pipelines to investors and donors looking to support scalable, community-led seafood systems.

SmartFish is proud to be part of this emerging global community. We’re already dreaming of hosting the next exchange in Mexico in 2026—to continue this journey of shared learning, action, and transformation.