The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium today inked a deal that will kick off a collaboration to improve social protection for small-scale fishers in Tunisia. The agreement signed at FAO headquarters in Rome will see the California-based non-profit support a project to increase access to social security for fishers, focusing on the developing blue crab fishery in Tunisia.

Join this seminar to explore together a cross-sectoral approach to social protection and fisheries. The presenters will provide an overview of the new “Blue Social Protection Handbook” which offers practical knowledge to those who are working at country level on the social protection and fisheries sectors in search of innovative ways to promote sustainable fisheries while reducing human vulnerability. You will also be provided with an overview of the World Bank’s as well as partners´ emerging country engagements in this area.

Welcome to this newsletter showcasing key activities, workshops, and events from this year. Notably, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, along with important highlights on advancing social protection initiatives for the small-scale fisheries sector.

This course provides an introduction to climate-poverty interactions and entry points for addressing them. The course aims to improve knowledge and capacities for more integrated, multi-sectoral approaches, so that policies, investments, and programmes have a greater impact on rural poverty reduction and climate change adaptation/mitigation and the interactions between the two.

This webinar focused on how social protection can improve the design and delivery of targeted and more cohesive climate responses and poverty reduction efforts for the fisheries sector. It included some preliminary results from a new global database and supportive tools and knowledge resources.

Shorter value chains mean clam collectors are getting fairer prices for their work.

This article summarizes how small-scale fisheries and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication.

Meet Abdessalem, Taher, and Marbouka, fishers from Tunisia. Through their voices, discover their work, challenges, and the obstacles they face in accessing social protection. Find out more about FAO's social protection initiative for the fisheries and aquaculture sector (socPro4Fish) in Tunisia. 

FAO and ILO organized a two-day workshop to update their Guidance on addressing child labour in fisheries and aquaculture, a key, comprehensive document designed to provide policymakers, fisher organizations, sectoral institutions, and the private sector with recommendations and practical solutions to combat child labour in the sector. 

This event provided a platform to reflect on the achievements, challenges and lessons learned of the SocPro4Fish project and explored future directions for social protection in the fishing sector. 

Among the decisions made at the last Climate change summit (COP28), was the establishment of the new Loss and Damage Fund, designed to assist countries most vulnerable to climate change. We talked to our guests about the structure of this new fund and the possibilities for countries to draw on such climate financing mechanisms to build and enhance their social protection systems.

Small-scale fisheries are essential for global livelihoods but face challenges such as poverty, overfishing, and climate change. Social protection helps through assistance, insurance, and labor market interventions, but access is often limited, especially for women. The FAO's SocPro4Fish project supports the expansion of social protection. Key achievements include supporting unemployment benefits during closed seasons, creating a global social protection database, building capacity in over 50 countries, and fostering cooperation. Social protection is essential for an inclusive Blue Transformation that leaves no one behind.

This event is designed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) to advance priority actions for sustainable small-scale fisheries and to assess the current status of the SSF Guidelines implementation at the national, regional and global level to inform future actions. 

In this edition of the SocPro4Fish Updates, we bring you an enriching collection of reading materials and captivating podcasts that delve into the fascinating world of Social Protection in the Fisheries sector. 

In this heartwarming tale, meet Sandra Gómez Montaño, a dedicated 55-year-old fish processor, and the inspiring Platoneras, Afro-Colombian women vendors, who play a crucial role in providing essential nutrition for local families.

On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Tunis, the FAO, alongside the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries, the Tunisian government, and CRES, organized a workshop on the social protection of small-scale fishers. This event was the culmination of a socio-economic survey aimed at gaining a better understanding of the challenges faced by fishers in Tunisia. Funded by NORAD, the project aimed to improve the welfare of those working in the fisheries sector, recognizing the importance of inclusive social protection systems. 

At the recent Fish Forum 2024 in Antalya, Turkey, experts gathered to discuss how to improve support for fishers. The workshop, organized by FAO's SocPro4Fish project, the FAO General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), aimed to evaluate the current social support systems and find ways to make sure they reach everyone who needs them. 

 First issue of the year of the SocPro4Fish! This month we are focusing on one of FAO's dearest battles: the one against food loss and waste (FLW). Explore the topic through e-learning modules, websites, tools and publications and discover the key role of social protection in reducing FLW in the fisheries sector. Below you will be able to get practical information and solutions to tackle this important issue. 

Welcome to the updates of SocPro4Fish project! In this issue, we focus on the heart of South America, Paraguay, where the project is being implemented. The project aims to assess social protection programmes in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, to build resilience of fishers in the face of various adversities and promote knowledge exchange to strengthen social protection programmes in the fisheries sector.