One of the most lucrative fisheries in Atlantic Canada – the elver [baby eel] fishery, which garners up to $5,000 per kilogram – was closed this past spring due to concerns about conservation and safety caused by poaching. In a fisheries management order prohibiting the fishing of elvers issued on April...

On Wednesday, 20 September 2023, the Committee on Fisheries held a public hearing entitled "The importance of fisheries and aquaculture for rural areas". The objective of this hearing is to listen to various stakeholders on what is important to them when it comes to fisheries and aquaculture in rural areas. Fisheries...

The 2023 Illuminating Hidden Harvests Report is arguably the most concerted and comprehensive research effort so far to focus exclusively on small-scale fisheries but it is not enough. Jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Duke University and WorldFish, the 2023 Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH)...

Legislating for an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) is complex, due to the holistic nature of EAF involving multiple factors that underpin the social, economic, environmental, and institutional aspects of fisheries sustainability. These factors include ecosystems integration, risks, inter-sectoral collaboration, research, participatory processes, monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement, among others....

Pressing issues threatening the sustainability of living marine resources across the Caribbean were discussed at the 19th Session of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) held in Bridgetown, Barbados, earlier this month. The hybrid meeting, which was organised and led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...

Sri Lanka recently amended the National Fisheries Policy, incorporating all relevant SSF Guidelines. A number of institutions supported and facilitated this welcome change. They include the Sri Lanka Forum for Small-Scale Fisheries (SLFSSF); the National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO); an array of renowned scientists; and two important international organizations, namely, the...

As the State Fisheries Department prepares to launch its new artificial reef scheme, the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) is urging the government to first implement this initiative in areas where fishing zones have been adversely affected. The Fisheries Department is set to commence the establishment of artificial reefs across 14 villages...

Lane Bolich first came to work in Alaska for the freedom and excitement that comes with being a fisher. A self-described adrenaline junkie, Bolich moved from his hometown in rural Washington state because he loves being on the ocean — even in cold winter weather — and it gave him the chance to make more...

Land-based workers in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are generally covered by laws regulating the terms and conditions of employment, including occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations. For instance, in Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands, and, more recently, in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, labour laws have been introduced...

Better governance in offshore tuna fisheries can achieve fair dealing for fishery crew. In this article I paint a rough picture of what it is like to be a fisher on some—not all—longline fishing vessels for weeks or months at a time. I also explore the measures in place to...

For Ung Bun, a 39-year-old fisherman from Cambodia’s southern Kep province, the days when he would come home with plentiful catches of flower crabs appear to be long gone. Pulling in his net one recent morning, he found just one crustacean. Ung Bun dropped the crab – a male that was...

Smoked fish is a delicacy in West Africa, making fish smoking the most important and widely used method for preserving fish. Fishing communities have poor access to fresh fish. What also drives the preference for this method is the scarcity of electricity, resulting in a lack of cold-chain facilities. Fish...

Este documento presenta el informe de la XVIII Reunión Ordinaria de la Comisión de Pesca en Pequeña Escala, Artesanal y Acuicultura de América Latina y el Caribe (COPPESAALC), celebrada en San José, Costa Rica, del 29 al 31 de marzo de 2023, encuentro en el que participaron 25 delegados de...

A workplace should have a roof, proper flooring, entry and exit points, along with sufficient space for movement during emergency. The floor surface should be flat, stable and dry; it should be appropriate for the nature of work involved. The workplace should also have good lighting and ventilation, so that...

EU Funded UN Joint STREIT PNG Programme’s Monthly Updates, highlighting the main supports and technical assistance provided by this EU Funded UN Joint Programme in promoting sustainable development of agrifood value chains and agribusinesses in the Greater Sepik region, for your kind information.   

This document is the final report of the intersessional meeting held to discuss the revised independent study to identify options in support of an improved functioning of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic, held in Dakar, Senegal, from 28 to 29 June 2022. The Fishery Committee for the...

A legal and policy database on small-scale fisheries that contributes to the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. As a subset of the FAOLEX database, SSF-LEX contains country profiles with detailed information relevant to small-scale fisheries: socioeconomic data; international and...

The Paumari people of the Tapaua River are known as the ‘water people’. They belong to the Arawa linguistic family of the Western Brazilian Amazon, traditionally inhabiting rivers and lakes. Fishing is their strongest social and cultural representation. The Paumari’s aquatic skills have long been described in the literature, including...

We are increasingly aware that climate change, vulnerability and poverty interact in multiple ways globally, contributing to interconnected cycles of negative impacts. This climate-poverty nexus challenges the efforts of coastal communities and small-scale fisheries (SSF) to build resilience. In this article, we present several new tools, including a recent report...

The Training of Trainers workshop on the National Fisheries Policy (Inland) in December 2022 in Kolkata was a great learning experience for the participants. Just that this time around, the learning was of a different nature. It was not from data, facts, meetings or experiences but from many uncomfortable realizations....