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The MedBycatch project works on improving knowledge, providing skills, tools and means towards the reduction of incidental catch of vulnerable species in the Mediterranean, with particular focus in Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Croatia. The on-the-ground activities aim at implementing standardised data collection and testing mitigation measures towards effectively reducing single and multi-taxa bycatch, induced by trawls, longlines, gillnets and purse seines, through a collaboration approach between national fisheries institutes, local NGOs and fishers and fishing associations. The project plans to leverage change within all the coastal Mediterranean countries on the issue of incidental catch of vulnerable species, including through communication [...]

This policy brief summarizes the findings of surveys among financial and insurance providers, fishers and fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines in 2021. It explains why financial services are important for small-scale fishers (SSF) and provides recommendations for improving their access to finance and insurance. SSF make an important contribution to food security and the rural economy.The average income of most SSF is below the poverty line of USD 2 500/year. For economic growth and sustainable fishing operations SSF need access to financial and insurance services. Less than 50 percent of the SSF have access to financial services. Only 30 percent [...]

The global aquatic food industry, long under scrutiny over environmental sustainability concerns, has also come under increased scrutiny within the past decade over poor working conditions and severe human rights violations, including widespread use of forced labour and child labour. However, there is limited research and documentation available on child labour in fishing, aquaculture and fish and aquatic food processing globally. Much of the available evidence is centred on labour conditions in global supply chains. However, due to higher levels of informality, limited law enforcement capacity, and so on, it is more likely that children produce fish and aquatic-sourced foods [...]

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, at its Seventeenth Regular Session, requested its Secretary to prepare for review by the intergovernmental technical working groups on animal, aquatic, forest and plant genetic resources to produce an up-to-date survey of existing legislative, administrative and policy approaches, including best practices, for ABS for the different subsectors of GRFA and traditional knowledge associated with GRFA held by indigenous peoples and local communities, with the aim of identifying typical approaches and lessons learned from their implementation, as well as challenges and possible solutions.The current survey comprises a baseline desktop review of legislation, [...]

Fish and other aquatic foods are often also the most affordable sources of animal protein. However, small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities still face constraints in effectively participating in decision-making processes that shape their lives, therefore remaining marginalized, and their contribution to food security and nutrition remains under-recognized. The following two international instruments can help small-scale fisheries actors overcome these challenges: CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSN) and Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) play an important role in food security and poverty reduction. However, this role is not always recognized and many SSF communities remain marginalized, both with regard to resource management and from a broader social and economic perspective. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the immensely important small-scale fisheries sector. The project “Enhancing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and sustainable livelihoods through better policies, strategies and initiatives” is part of the FAO Umbrella Programme [...]

To support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines, seven additional sets of cards for an interactive educational card game will be developed, to facilitate dialogue and learning about small-scale fisheries and support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. It will combine facts related to the content of the Small-Scale Fishing Guidelines (e.g. the guiding principles, fisheries-specific topics or inter-sectoral issues) with illustrations to aid conceptualization and contextualization of these topics

This brief provides an update on the status of the study and shares emerging insights on the need for better data collection and analysis, and additional monitoring capacity to improve our collective understanding of small-scale fisheries. This is critical to increasing government attention and improving policy responses and outcomes for the sector.

When Peruvian fisher, Karin Abensur, caught nearly 800 kilograms of fish early one morning five years ago, she calculated roughly how much she would earn. “I thought, worst case scenario, they would give me 6 soles (USD 1.76) per kilo,” Karin said. But when she returned to the port of Pucusana in central Peru, after four hours on the high seas, she was disappointed to be offered just 1 sol per kilogram – roughly USD 0.30. "They told me to take it, because no one would give me more.”  Read the whole story here.

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