The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) is the first internationally agreed instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector.  The SSF Guidelines complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which, alongside the fishing provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is the most widely recognized and implemented international fisheries instrument. The SSF Guidelines are also closely related to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forestry in the Context of National Food Security, the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, and the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems. The SSF Guidelines place a high priority on the realization of human rights and on the need to attend to vulnerable and marginalized groups. 

The Aichi Targets are a set of 20 global targets under the Convention  for  Biodiversity (CBD) Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. They are grouped under five strategic goals. The main targets which  relate to  inland fisheries are Target 6 and Target 11.

Target 6: By 2020 all fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants are managed and harvested sustainably, legally and applying ecosystem based approaches, so that overfishing is avoided, recovery plans and measures are in place for all depleted species, fisheries have no significant adverse impacts on threatened species and vulnerable ecosystems and the impacts of fisheries on stocks, species and ecosystems are within safe ecological limits.

Target 11:  By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.

Two other targets (8  and 9) have implications for aquatic ecosystems and are also relevant: 

Target 8: By 2020, pollution, including from excess nutrients, has been brought to levels that are not detrimental to ecosystem function and biodiversity.

Target 9: By 2020, invasive alien species and pathways are identified and prioritized, priority species are controlled or eradicated, and measures are in place to manage pathways to prevent their introduction and establishment.

The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.  The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”. The RAMSAR convention is relevant to  inland fisheries through  linkages to aquatic habitats and wetlands (e.g. swamps, marshes, wet rice production systems, flooded forests and peatlands).

CMS is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, It provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.  CMS is the only global convention dedicated to the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes. Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention. CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.  For these species, the Convention encourages the Range States to conclude global or regional agreements. CMS-Listed migratory species of particular relevance to inland fisheries include those directly targeted by fishing or impacted by interference in migration routes or habitat (e.g. many sturgeon species, Chinese paddlefish, Shovelnose, European eel and the Giant  Mekong Catfish).