Today at the Food and Agriculture Organization Headquarters in Rome, countries endorsed a set of wide-reaching guidelines that will boost the already vital role of small-scale fishers in contributing to global food security, nutrition and poverty eradication. Small-scale fisheries account for more than 90 percent of the world’s capture fishers and fish workers – about half of whom are women – and supply around 50 percent of all global fish catches. They provide a valuable source of animal protein for billions of people worldwide and often underpin local economies in coastal and lake- and river-side communities. But despite their importance, many small-scale fishing communities continue to be marginalized. Often located in remote areas with limited access to markets and to health, education and other social services, small-scale fishers can have difficulty in making their voices heard.