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Both the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) share the common overarching goals of achieving food security for all, eradicating poverty, sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection and supporting the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. This brief is part of a series drawing attention to the mutually reinforcing nature of four global normative instruments developed through the [...]

Small-scale fisheries communities in coastal areas or close to freshwater bodies are often highly vulnerable to a range of hazards (climate change, etc.) beyond their control. Frequent social, economic and political marginalization makes small-scale fisheries communities particularly susceptible to being affected by protracted crises. Two international instruments provide guidance on how to better address these issues: the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable SmallScale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) and the The Committee on World Food Security Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA). The brief gives and overview [...]

The CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI Principles) promote investments that contribute to food security and nutrition. They are relevant for all types of investments including productive assets, but also for investments in human capital or intangible capital. Thus, they provide a different approach to the concept of investment; one that is closer to the concept of integral human development. Similarly, the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) go beyond fisheries and also address socio-economic issues of relevance to securing sustainable small-scale fisheries. This [...]

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector. While the implementation of the SSF Guidelines will require legal and regulatory adjustments beyond national fisheries legislation to ensure political and legislative coherence and fully reflect the breadth of their provisions, the fundamental function of fisheries law in a sustainable use, management, and the development of small-scale fisheries is indisputable. Appropriate fisheries legislation provides the strongest possible framework for inclusive, participatory fisheries governance and resource management by providing a coherent basis [...]

Both the CFS Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (Right to Food Guidelines) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) hold the realization of the right to adequate food as their main objective. The Right to Food Guidelines emphasizes the role of small-scale producers in several sections and the SSF Guidelines as their first objective call “to enhance the contribution to fisheries to food security and nutrition and support the realization to the [...]

The marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) comprise 40 percent of the earth’s surface, covering 64 percent of the surface of the ocean and 95 percent of its volume. The Common Oceans ABNJ Programme (2014-2019) was implemented by FAO as a concerted effort to bring stakeholders to work together to manage and conserve the world’s common oceans.The ABNJ Tuna project, one component of the Common Oceans ABNJ Programme, promoted important transformational changes in the management practices of tuna fisheries, improving their sustainability, strengthening Marine Stewardship Council capabilities of tuna regional fisheries management organizations (t-RFMOs) and their members, and significantly reducing [...]

The crisis has heavily affected fisheries and aquaculture. The restrictive health measures have had adverse effects on the free operation of the sector. The sector needs short term action; it also needs to modify some aspects of the activity that have been dragging on for some time. Thus for example, technology and innovation can play an essential role. Also available in Spanish. See here more FAO publications on COVID19.

This magazine is developed by the RSN contributions from secretariats of regional fisheries management organizations, regional fisheries advisory bodies, and related networks and partners, as well as colleagues from FAO and other agencies and organizations working on matters relevant to these bodies.The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO hosts and provides the RSN Secretariat services, the venue for biennial meetings, and has a day-to-day collaboration with the network on technical and operational issues. In this context, the Secretariat will continue working with its members, partners, and colleagues, to ensure, as much as possible, that voices and experiences from different regions [...]

This document was prepared within the framework of the FAO’s Strategic Objective 1 (SO1): Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. This document served as a background paper to present the status of policy mainstreaming and policy research for the improvement of policy development in aquaculture in support of food security, nutrition and poverty eradication. The document was presented in various African fora and received the validation of the stakeholders for its publication as part of policy research. Specifically, the paper was presented and included the inputs from the Consultative Meeting on Aquaculture Policy Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 3 [...]

On 10 April 2020, one month after the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic, FAO published ‘How is COVID-19 affecting the fisheries and aquaculture food systems’ (FAO, 2020a). That policy brief, while global in scope, addressed the situation in some Asian countries. This paper provides an update, incorporating new data, developments and observations. During its writing, the pandemic was in full swing with no clear end in sight.