Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries

in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication

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. They are the result of a long and intensive global bottom-up consultative process.

What makes the SSF Guidelines stand out is that they go beyond fisheries and highlight the rights of fishers and fish workers. In sum, they are about people, not just about fish. The SSF Guidelines are aimed at all actors striving to secure sustainable small-scale fisheries, to end hunger and poverty and strengthen human rights. They are a tool to guide dialogue, policy processes, and action at all levels, from local communities to global fora.

Get to know the SSF Guidelines

The principles in the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) address policies, strategies and legal frameworks concerning small-scale fisheries, but also other matters affecting lives and livelihood in fishing communities. They have a clear human rights-based approach, and they put people, rather than fish, in focus. The SSF Guidelines are global in scope, and they guide dialogue, policy processes and actions at national, regional and international level.

Latest news
29/11/2024
From September 30 to November 3, 2024, 510 leaders and members of the Tanzania Women Fishworkers Association (TAWFA) were trained on Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) and Village Community Banks (VICOBA), a key community-based microfinance model...
13/11/2024
From November 4 to 7, the Tanzania Women Fish-workers Association (TAWFA) held its General Assembly in Kigoma, accompanied by a capacity-building workshop focused on gender equality. This was followed by a meeting of the National Task Team (NTT) on November 8...
Recent publications
30/11/2024

This publication aims to directly contribute to the development of an enabling policy environment to innovate, formulate and reform policy and legal frameworks to support the multidimensionality of small-scale aquatic food producers.

30/10/2024

This review analyzes trends of inland capture fisheries at global, continental and subcontinental levels, highlighting the crucial role these fisheries play in food security, nutrition, employment and local economies...