Only comprehensive policy interventions and targeted initiatives can address systemic inequalities and ensure equitable development in the fisheries sector of Bangladesh. The fisheries sector has emerged as a significant contributor to Bangladesh’s economy and food security. With abundant water resources and strategic policies, Bangladesh has become a leading producer in the...

The Caribbean island nation has done well to provide social security to its small-scale fishing community. It must make them resilient to face the effects of climate change. Over the past decades the fisheries sector of Antigua and Barbuda has been interwoven into the social, cultural and economic aspects of national...

Meaningful progress has been made in improving social protection coverage in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region, resulting in both better fisher resilience and fisheries management. Over the past decade, the importance of advancing social development for fishers in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region has become more prominent than ever....

Social protection schemes in the Eastern Caribbean’s small-scale fisheries can be enhanced.  Spanning around three million sq km, the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) is a complex mosaic of maritime jurisdictions. It surrounds nearly 30 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with diverse ecological, socio-economic, cultural and geo-political characteristics. Providing a single...

Five members of the Katosi Women Development Trust (KWDT) talk about various policies and initiatives to empower small-scale fishing communities in Uganda. Does the Government of Uganda pay due attention to social and economic development to empower small-scale fishing communities? How? The Government of Uganda has made strides to put in place...

Costa Rica needs to adopt a human rights approach and promote community governance of the sea, while strengthening local and indigenous communities’ diverse organizational structures. Costa Rica has never conducted a fisheries census. For this reason, the country lacks official information on the precise number of people working in fisheries, or...

The Latin American and Caribbean Workshop on IYAFA 2022 issued a global Call for Action for sustainable and equitable small-scale fisheries.  A tourist village in Cananeia city in the south coast of the Sao Paulo state in Brazil hosted 45 fishermen, fisherwomen and supporters from 16 different countries on 2-5 November...

The database SSF-LEX provides detailed information on the legal and policy frameworks governing small-scale fisheries across several countries.  The 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) is just the occasion to celebrate and highlight SSF-LEX,...

A comprehensive approach through insurance programmes to protecting small-scale fisheries and fisherfolk from the increasing risks that result from climate change.  The World Risk Report 2020 identifies the Pacific as a hotspot for climate change and disaster risk. Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Kiribati are listed in...

The Sankofa Project seeks to investigate the gendered socio-economic effects of the fisheries closure in four coastal regions of Ghana to understand how the policy affects communities. A research project was launched in Ghana to focus on equitable, inclusive and sustainable fisheries management. Titled Creating Synergies between Indigenous Practices and Scientific...

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...

An analysis of spawning periods of marine fish resources along both India’s west coast and east coast reveals differences in the peak spawning periods for pelagic and demersal stocks. A new analysis of the spawning period of species along both the coasts of India suggests it may be appropriate to review...

Learnings from ICSF’s regional workshops held across the world to mark the 2022 International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture The invisibility of women in fisheries has been discussed for some time now, but was brought into sharp focus in a series of regional workshops that took place from 2022 to...

This book chapter explores the potential of indigenous small fsh (ISF) species as a solution to address undernutrition and promote nutrition-sensitive aquaculture. ISF, characterized by their small size and remarkable reproductive capacity, offer a rich source of protein, micronutrients, and essential fatty acids. Despite their nutritional advantages, ISF populations are...

The extreme flooding in South Brazil highlighted the vulnerability of small-scale fishers to climate-induced disasters. Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil suffered extreme flooding in the months of May and June of 2024. It has severely disrupted the livelihood of small-scale fishers who depend on the region’s aquatic ecosystems (see Table...

The 16th edition of the Pêcheurs du Monde film festival, held in Lorient, France, focused on how fishing is vital for both ocean biodiversity and livelihoods.  The Pecheurs du Monde film festival in Lorient, France, took some 3,000 people on a journey around the oceans of the world on 15-24 March...

Barbados’ fisherfolk build capacity to advocate for climate, blue and social justice. Fisherfolk in Barbados today experience growing marginalization. Fisherfolk in Barbados today experience growing marginalization. They are increasingly frustrated by the injustices they face from every quarter: their peers, the management authorities at fish landing sites and markets, national government...

Women in small-scale fishing communities bear the worst impacts as coastal space in the Indian Ocean region is increasingly encroached upon by state and private activities. This article is based on a cross-regional study that focused on how ruptures in the form of environmental stress and political economic pressures impacted small-scale...

In the forests of the Sunderbans in West Bengal, India, limited livelihood options often drive male fishers literally into the jaws of death, with their widows left struggling for survival. The expression ‘Byaghro Bidhoba’, which literally translates to ‘Tiger Widows’, is a term used to refer to women who have lost...

Women who dominate the shellfish harvest sector in Galicia struggle for due representation and policy inclusion. On the North-Western region of Galicia in Spain, shore-based shellfish harvesting is carried out mainly by women. With traditional and very simple tools that have remained virtually unchanged over time, women gather in beaches to...