On the long struggle for legal recognition of the small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector SSF includes indigenous, traditional and artisanal fishers. They were subjected to extensive criminalization in South Africa and have fought a long struggle for legal recognition. They were recognized for the first time only in 2007, when the Equality...

Fishing gear is a major contributor to marine litter. ‘Ghost nets’ is the informal term for what is formally called Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG). These continue to catch both target and non-target species. They pose risk to boat operations; damage coral reefs and the seabed; and...

On a rainy day in August, when the availability of fisheries resources is high in the Teesta river here, Bimal Das returned from a four-hour fishing trip with only three kg of fish. While sorting the fish from the ice slabs, a dejected Das contemplated quitting fishing to looking for...

The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA) was celebrated worldwide. It provided a global platform to highlight the importance of small-scale fisheries and artisanal aquaculture, their role in sustainable development and the myriad of ways they ensure food security and poverty alleviation in dependent coastal and rural...

More than 900 non-indigenous species have already been identified in the Mediterranean Sea. And the number is only expected to increase. Climate change is helping non-native species move further north in the Mediterranean as water temperatures rise. As they spread, so does concern about their effect on marine ecosystems and the local fishing...

The United Nations designated 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022). The global action plan emphasized the objective for the year as “a world in which smallscale artisanal fishers, fish farmers and fishworkers of both genders are fully acknowledged and empowered to sustainably manage their...

The end of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) has led to a new era of support for artisanal fisheries and small-scale aquaculture. Several closing events were held around the world, not only to recognize the importance of small-scale fisheries (SSF) and their contribution to food...

The last of the series of IYAFA workshops was convened by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) in collaboration with Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) and Mulleres Salgadas (MuS). The regional workshop for Europe was held on November 13-16, 2023, in Galicia, Spain. With its participatory and...

My name is Amelie Bonner. I am 15 years old. I love art, film, reading and music. I speak French, English and Irish. I am from Arranmore Island off the coast of Ireland. It is a beautiful island and is currently home to around 500 people. The community is small....

Due to the increasing pressure of a globalized economy and under the effects of a changing climate, biological invasions have become a frequent feature of marine and freshwater environments. Global fisheries and aquaculture are therefore required to adjust to these changes, with the dual aim of reducing the negative ecological...

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world occupying one-third of Eurasia and it has enormous water resources. Fish from inland waters has always been a central part of the Russian diet and a major contributor to national food security. Inland fisheries are highly diversified and provide employment...

In 1984, the UN/FAO was holding the World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development (WFC) in Rome. Government representatives and international agencies were attending. But fishers were not invited, their representatives neither. This here is a personal account of the collective efforts that went into holding in Rome—parallel to WFC—the first...

This brochure contains the challenges and recommendations from the eight countrie’s case studies on ‘Social Development and Sustainable Fisheries’ conducted by ICSF in Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Ghana, The Philippines, Bangladesh, Brazil, Thailand and India (Kerala/Tamil Nadu and West Bengal). The ICSF’s studies uses the parameters of social development, within...

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has just published the latest issue of SAMUDRA Report, its triannual journal on fisheries, communities and livelehoods. The current edition, SAMUDRA Report No. 91, dated June 2024, is a Special Issue that runs into 110 pages and features a diverse range of...

Yemaya No. 69, dated June 2024, features articles from Barbados, India, Spain, a regional study focusing on Kenya, Sri Lanka and Cambodia  and Women in Fisheries Action plans from ICSF’s IYAFA workshops  from Asia, Africa, Europe and  Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. A series of regional workshops were held through...

The impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises on people’s livelihoods and opportunities differ greatly based on their gender and other intersecting identity factors. Populations that face systemic marginalization and discrimination are often disproportionately affected.  International actors and scientific bodies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental...

Small-scale fisheries (SSF), including fishers and fishworkers together with their communities and organizations, are among the world’s most effective contributors to safeguarding aquatic resources and environments. Living near to, and relying on, freshwater and marine aquatic species and environments, small-scale fisheries are at the heart of environmental conservation and stewardship...

Bioeconomy is credited as being one of the key pillars for the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031 to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. More than 60 countries and regions have a dedicated bioeconomy or bioscience strategy today, and many more are already implementing the bioeconomy with plans and...

The purpose of this manual is to give the reader a foundation of practical knowledge regarding all aspects of Pacific oyster cultivation. It is targeted at new entrants to the market wishing to establish a farm, and existing operators who wish to develop their farms and explore new cultivation techniques....

La producción mundial de la pesca y la acuicultura ha alcanzado un récord en la producción acuícola de animales acuáticos, superando por primera vez a la pesca de captura, según un nuevo informe de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) publicado hoy.  La última...