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Unsustainable fishing practices put at risk the long-term viability of fisheries and livelihoods of fishers and fishing communities, which depend upon them. Over the last few years, FAO has developed several policy instruments which, alongside an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, aim to address unsustainable and harmful fishing practices. FAO’s work on the reduction of impacts of fishing operations facilitates improved sustainable fishing practices and reduced impacts of fishing operations on ecosystems within the context of the Code of Conduct for Responsible fisheries. FAO’s work supports States, and especially developing countries including Small Island Developing States (SIDS), by providing assistance to implement measures, and strengthen institutional capacity to address environmental and socio-economic impacts of fishing operations, based on guidance provided by  FAO instruments such as the  International Guidelines on the Management of Bycatch and the Reduction of Discards  (2011), the  Technical Guidelines to Prevent and Reduce Bycatch of Marine Mammals in Capture Fisheries  (2021), the  Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear  (2018) and accompanying Suppl. 1 A framework for conducting a risk assessment for a system on the marking of fishing gear (2023), and Suppl. 2 Manual for the marking of fishing gear (2023)

In Depth
Recent events

29/4

2025

RegLitter Virtual Regional Meeting
Virtual Event, 29/04/2025

The RegLitter project aims to prevent and reduce sea-based marine plastic litter (SBMPL) within the Asia region and as also the GloLitter Partnerships project falls under the OceanLitter Programme in the IMO.

12/11

2025

14/11

2025

OceanLitter Programme Global Task Force Training and Workshop
London (United Kingdom), 12/11/2025 - 14/11/2025

The OceanLitter Programme, established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), houses projects which target the prevention and reduction of marine plastic litter from the maritime transport and fisheries sectors and are jointly implemented by IMO and FAO.

8/12

2025

12/12

2025

Third RegLitter Asia Regional Task Force Workshop
Kochi (India), 08/12/2025 - 12/12/2025

The RegLitter project, falling under the umbrella of the OceanLitter Progamme of IMO, aims to prevent and reduce sea-based marine plastic litter (SBMPL) within the Asia region.

Recent publications
Reducing ghost fishing from lost lobster traps in Brazil
05/11/2025

This fact sheet summarizes key findings from lobster trap modification trials in Brazil to reduce ghost fishing.

Reducing ghost fishing from lost crab pots in Indonesia
05/11/2025

This fact sheet summarizes key findings from blue-swimming crab pot modification trials in Indonesia to reduce ghost fishing.

ICES-FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB)
08/10/2025

The Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) discusses and synthesizes recent research on topics related to fishing technology and fish behaviour in relation to commercial fishing and...

Did you know?
  • In 2022, total capture fisheries production was estimated in 92.3 million tonnes.
  • The top seven capture producers (China, Indonesia, India, Peru, Russian Federation, United States of America and Viet Nam) accounted for over 48 percent of total global capture production.
  • The world's fishing fleet was estimated to have 4.9 million vessels in 2022. Asia dominates the global fleet, hosting roughly 71% of the total vessels in 2022, while Africa's share has been increasing.
  • Our World in Data, citing recent, improved research, estimates that 1 to 1.7 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean each year. Based on estimates from Richardson et al. (2022)*, approximately 2% of all fishing gear becomes abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded (ALDFG) each year FAO is working closely with independent scientific experts to accurately estimate the contribution from the fisheries sector through the FAO Global Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) Survey.
    * Richardson, K., Hardesty, B. D., Vince, J., & Wilcox, C. (2022). Global estimates of fishing gear lost to the ocean each year. Science Advances, 8(41), eabq0135.