Social protection plays a key role in protecting, promoting, and transforming the lives of individuals and households in fisheries and aquaculture. Globally, an estimated 492 million people rely on small-scale fisheries for income and subsistence (FAO, Duke and Worldfish, 2023). 

FAO’s approach to social protection for fisheries and aquaculture forms part of the Blue Transformation Strategy. FAO recognizes the importance of social protection in safeguarding fishers' well-being and promoting sustainable practices. By aligning social protection with fisheries policy, FAO is developing strategies to ensure equitable access to safety nets, guided by Chapter 6 of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, which focuses on social development, employment, and decent work. To support this, FAO has developed a Framework for Analysis and a Diagnostic Tool to strengthen policy coherence. The framework highlights benefits and options for alignment, while the tool provides a methodology for assessing coherence and guiding interventions. 

Global evidence demonstrates that fisheries and aquaculture make important contributions across multiple dimensions of sustainable development, and that these contributions benefit greatly from integrated and innovative management approaches (Basurto et al. 2025). Similarly, FAO’s work on expanding coverage and access to social protection makes valuable contributions across multiple goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda, including: 

• Social Protection Systems for all (SDG 1.3)
• Build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations to climate-related extreme events and other shocks (SDG 1.5)
• Ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination (SDG 5.7)
• Promote economic growth (SDG 8.1)
• Support the creation of decent jobs (SDG 8.3)
• Reduce income inequality (SDG 10.1)
• Promote social inclusion (SDG 10.2)
• Ensure sustainable management of marine ecosystems and access rights for small-scale fisheries (SDG 14.4, 14.7, 14.9, 14 b1) 

This approach aims to promote social development and strengthen the resilience of fishing communities worldwide while providing access to the right policies and instruments to promote a sustainable and equitable Blue Transformation.