One of the final events marking the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA), 2022 was the hybrid launch of the report Illuminating Hidden Harvests: the contributions of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development (the IHH report) on March 16, 2023. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Duke University and World Fish joined forces to mobilize over 800 contributors for this global study to generate and disseminate new evidence about the importance of small-scale fisheries (SSF) to inform policy and practice.

The study uncovers the contributions and impacts of SSF through a multidisciplinary approach to data and analysis. It is grounded in a tapestry of methods, including data and information from 58 country/territory case studies, an ad hoc questionnaire, global databases and thematic studies. The IHH report provides a snapshot of the environmental, economic, gender, food security and nutritional, and governance dimensions of SSF globally.