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Against the background of fast expanding trade and a surge in food import bills, which has come to characterise much of developments shaping global food markets in 2020/21, early forecasts for 2021/22 point to resilient food trade and a continuation of strong international prices amidst many supply and demand uncertainties.This report provides supply and demand forecasts for basic foodstuffs, fish and fishery products along with price analysis and policy information. The report’s special feature of this report puts recent trends in global food trade under the spotlight, with particular focus on how commodity flows have measured-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works towards ending hunger and poverty while using precious natural resources sustainably. The fisheries and aquaculture sector makes substantial contributions to food security, livelihoods and global trade. Global production of fish and other aquatic animals continued to grow and reached 179 million tonnes in 2018, and about 59.5 million people were engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Fishery net exports generate significantly more revenue for developing countries than other agricultural commodities such as rice, coffee and tea. Millions of people are struggling to maintain reasonable livelihoods through [...]

This report on lessons learnt, best practices, challenges, and emerging issues on improving responsible governance tenure using the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the African Union’s Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G), related to the European Union Land Governance Programme is based on in-country project progress reports and minutes of transversal capitalization meetings carried out throughout the project phases.

Food systems were severely hit by COVID-19 and the related restrictions to the movement of people and goods. In fisheries and aquaculture, the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 are manifold including changes in consumer demand, limited storage facilities, drop in fresh fish prices and stopping fishing operations.Many individuals working in the sector operate in the informal market with no coverage from labour market policies – not registered in mandatory social security, paid less than the legal minimum wage, without a written contract, or self-employed. These individuals include small-scale fishers, migrant, fish workers, ethnic minorities, crew members, harvesters, gleaners and vendors – [...]

Disasters precipitated by climate change and climate variability are already wreaking havoc in the Caribbean fisheries sector. Examples include hurricanes: Irma 2017 in Barbuda, Maria 2017 in Dominica, Dorian 2019 in The Bahamas. Doing nothing different from current practices will result in increasing damage and critical losses to the fisheries sector. This policy brief highlights the disaster risk management (DRM) cycle for the fisheries sector; summarises ongoing DRM initiatives; presents supporting policy actions for adaptation; and aligns with Sustainable Development Goals, the Small-scale Fisheries Guidelines and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Addressing Fisheries and Aquaculture in National Adaptation Plans Supplement provides technical guidance on the integration of fisheries and aquaculture in the formulation and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and complements FAO’s Addressing agriculture, forestry and fisheries in National AdaptationPlans – Supplementary guidelines (referred to as NAP-Ag Guidelines, FAO 2017a). It aims to draw the attention of policy makers and government officers responsible for NAP planning and processes generally, as well as fisheries and aquaculture officers at country level, specifically. It collates and analyses relevant information from fisheries and aquaculture to support the sector’s ability to take part in [...]

The Ecosystem approach to aquaculture mangament handbook aims to provide skills and tools to develop in stakeholders and facilitators the necessary know-how to develop an Ecosystem approach to aquaculture managment plans targeting sustainable and climate change resilient aquaculture. The handbook will provide the necessary knowledge on how to:- manage aquaculture under holistic approaches;- address aquaculture issues and challenges;- apply Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management strategies- reduce user group conflicts;- work cooperatively with other stakeholders;- empower communities towards political changes- help unlock financial resources to implement plantThe handbook also provides the information to understand the principles of EAAM, how [...]

This third edition of the State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries provides a comprehensive overview of the status of fisheries in the region, looking at their main features and trends, in order to better inform their management and better examine current and future challenges that they will face in the near future. The aim of this report is to produce a document that could provide useful analysis and direction for decision-making and future action. In this respect, this publication also represents a convenient source of information for the FAO Committee on Fisheries and offers a practical complement to the [...]

This policy brief highlights SponGES project findings that are relevant to policymakers and fisheries managers. It provides an overview of the tools that are increasingly being used to build knowledge on where deep-sea sponges occur, their quantity and quality, and the role they play in the larger ocean ecosystem in order to enhance their protection, management, and conservation against anthropogenic pressures.

The analysis made of the effectiveness of national fishery and aquaculture policies and strategies in ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania has shown overall that their implementation faces with problems related to the low level of domestic funding allocated. This is compounded by their heavy dependence on external financing through TFP programmes and projects in which the objectives are not always aligned with those of national policies. Thus, the attractiveness of the sector will have to be improved by establishing a much more favourable environment for private sector investment in fisheries and aquaculture, given the substantial investment gaps highlighted by the [...]