To celebrate its 80th anniversary, FAO has launched a recognition initiative for individuals or entities that have made significant contributions to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Applications are open until June 2025.

An international training course aimed at strengthening labour conditions in the fisheries sector concluded in Isla Cristina, Spain. The five-day event brought together more than 30 participants including managers of fisheries administrations, labour inspectors, technical advisors and specialists from 19 countries for a series of technical sessions, practical activities, and inter-institutional exchanges. 

From 19 to 23 May 2025, the Isla Cristina National Maritime Training Centre (CNFM) in Huelva, Spain, hosted the International Advanced Course on “Promoting Decent Working Conditions in Fisheries”, jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM). The course was held with the support of the Social Marine Institute in Spain (ISM) and in collaboration with the Spanish National Institute for Safety and Health at Work (INSST).

In Cabo Verde, more than 1 500 women known as peixeiras, work daily to sell fish, sustaining their families and feeding their communities. They are resilient women who face multiple challenges to keep alive an activity that is vital for the country's food security.

A new inter-institutional working group has been created in Cabo Verde to support the development of inclusive social protection measures and strengthen the resilience of fishers and fish workers in the face of climate change and economic shocks.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium launched activities in Tunisia to prepare for the execution of a new project that aims to strengthen social protection for small-scale fishers.

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.

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.

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. 

For one day and a half, experts from government authorities, FAO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), regional intergovernmental organizations, and a range of non-state actors (workers’ organizations, employers’ organizations, small-scale fishers’ organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academia)  discussed and deepened the understanding of international and regional standards for decent work in marine fisheries, fostered collaboration among agencies, and exchanged country experiences on that topic.

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. 

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.

On Friday 12 July, FAO and the World Bank, in collaboration with the Governments of Brazil and Kenya, organized a session at the FAO Headquarters in Rome in the COFI Speaker’s Corner entitled “Social protection for small-scale fisheries: protecting people, fish and food”. 

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. 

Welcome to this new edition of the SocPro4Fish Updates! This is a special issue as it marks the end of our project. We will highlight the major achievements and key takeaways from our initiatives. We aim to maintain this newsletter as a platform for knowledge sharing on our favorite topic and continue advocating for more adaptive and inclusive social protection for the fisheries sector.

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.

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.

The workshop aimed to explore the integration of social and economic dimensions into fishery management and policy decisions. 

Welcome to the third issue of the SocPro4Fish Updates for this year! In this edition, we are going to focus on social protections, a tool for economic inclusion in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Economic inclusion is at the forefront of the social protection agenda, and a concept increasingly recognized and developed by policymakers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and development partners at large.