Celebrate the 10 years of the SSF Guidelines!

The year 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the endorsement of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). These guidelines address policies, strategies and legal frameworks concerning small-scale fisheries, but also other matters affecting lives and livelihoods of fishing communities. 

To mark this important milestone, in the FSN Forum – FAO’s open, neutral platform for multistakeholder dialogue – you can find an ongoing call for submissions to share experiences, lessons learned and good practices, providing an important stocktaking moment for FAO, governments, SSF organizations, NGOs, civil society organizations, research and development and other partners and inform the future implementation of the SSF Guidelines at national, regional or global level.

To participate in the call for submissions, click here.

If you want to dig deeper, browse through the selection of titles below.

Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication 
Translated into 23 languages, these guidelines represent the first-ever international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. Underpinned by a human rights approach, the SSF Guidelines represent a critical instrument to empower small-scale fishing communities − including vulnerable and marginalized groups − to participate in decision-making processes, and to assume responsibility for sustainable use of fishery resources.

SSF Guidelines uptake and influence. A pathway to impact
This brief highlights the milestones on the journey to implement the SSF Guidelines, and meet the principles therein, at national, regional and global levels. It also identifies priority areas for further action to ensure small-scale fisheries continue to reflect and generate nutrition, livelihood and stewardship values.

Legislating for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries – A guide on how to align national fisheries legislation to the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
This document guides states to strengthen their fisheries legislation in order to establish conditions for inclusive and sustainable small-scale fisheries development, taking into account the interrelatedness of social, economic and environmental sustainability, while focusing on marginalized groups.

International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 – Final report
The International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022 highlighted the importance of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture for food systems, livelihoods, culture and the environment. This report provides a summary overview of the objectives, activities and recommendations of IYAFA 2022.

Further reading

• Empowering women in small-scale fisheries for sustainable food systems
• Putting the Voluntary Guidelines on tenure and the Voluntary Guidelines on small-scale fisheries into practice
• The small-scale fisheries and energy nexus
• Socioeconomic impact evaluation of unemployment insurance for small-scale fishers in Brazil (SEGURO-DEFESO)
• Women and men in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Asia

But also…

Fish: Know it, cook it, eat it
From an Uzbek carp fry-up to a Senegalese grouper thieboudienne, this cookbook presents various fish species (and ways of cooking them) while providing their cultural, historic and environmental contexts, and touching on matters of economics and trade. The book was published on the occasion of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022.

Additional resources

• SSF Guidelines website
• FAO Fisheries and aquaculture