Audio
Audio
In pursuit of securing the rights of fishing communities
I. de Borhegyi
17 October 2013, Rome – After over 30 years of service, Senior Fishery Planning Officer, Rolf Willmann will leave FAO. But not without leaving a legacy behind him. Willmann has dedicated his career to championing the interests of small-scale fishers and fish workers who are often marginalized men, women and children. They are the producers, processors and marketers of most of the food fish from our oceans and inland waters and key suppliers of highly nutritious food to rural and urban consumers, many of whom are equally poor and marginalized. Through the course of his career Willmann witnessed an evolution in the challenges and solutions encountered by those working in this field. For his contribution to this work, the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) honored him with the first-ever Oeuvre Award for his excellent lifelong commitment to the cause of small-scale fishworkers.

Rolf Willmann is a Senior Fishery Planning Officer in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department - Policy, Economics and Institutions (FIPI). In the following interview he explains what drew him to his focus on small-scale fishers, the evolution of his work in the field, and the importance of small-scale fishers and fish workers in the world’s food systems.
5min. 09sec.
Topic(s): Fisheries & aquaculture
Produced by: Sandra Ferrari
 
Reference: 10135