Written by Mamadou Aliou Diallo, Head of Communications at the African Confederation of Artisanal Fishing Professional Organizations (CAOPA)

From June 9 to 13, 2025, the city of Nice (France) hosted the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3). Over the co...

The Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed a Letter of Agreement to host a regional capacity-building workshop in September 2025 to support the development of National Plans of Action for Small-Scale Fisheries (NPOAs-SSF) in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka...

The 13th edition of the MARE Conference, held from 24 to 27 June 2025, centered on the theme of balancing tensions and trade-offs toward continued transformations and long-term sustainable marine resource management and governance. This focus was particularly relevant to small-scale fisheries (SSF), whose communities often find themselves at the intersection of environmental pressures, social justice struggles, and the drive for economic development...

FAO staff from different teams in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division gathered at FAO headquarters for an internal workshop aimed at shaping the development of a new co-management guidance for small-scale fisheries (SSF)...

The workshop, facilitated by a team of FAO experts, guided small-scale fisheries (SSF) trainers and MFMR staff, through a series of theory and practical sessions. Topics covered included improved fish handling and processing practices, value addition, new product development, and financial management...

Every day by the sea in Ifaty, a small tourist village in south-west Madagascar, a group of women gathers to talk. Their conversations often centre on family life – but just as frequently, they turn to work. All the women are fishmongers, and they regularly share experiences, problems, a...

Haura Mohamedi Saidi processes and sells fish in the Muleba District of the United Republic of Tanzania. With six of her children still living at home, the 54-year-old needs a steady income.

“I used to struggle to sell small amounts of fish before. It was hard to sell even 10 tins ...

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.

Carla Ramos, 35, is ...

The meeting aimed at checkpointing on progress, as the project is about to reach its final semester. Most project logframe targets have been met or exceeded thanks to dedicated implementation teams in the various country offices and the collaboration with small-scale fisheries and government counterparts...

The official SSF Summit 2024 proceedings have now been published and are available in English, French, and Spanish. These comprehensive documents capture the key discussions, case studies, and policy recommendations that emerged from the Summit...

11 April 2025, Bangkok: Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are the backbone of many coastal and inland communities in Asia, supporting the livelihoods of approximately 46 million people. Women represent 40 percent of those involved in the sector, which contributes nearly half of the region’s total fi...

A Stakeholder’s Conference on Uganda’s National Plan of Action for Sustainable Small- Scale Fisheries (NPOA-SSF) was held on 14th March 2025 at the Serena Conference Centre...

In Ifaty, a small tourist village near Toliara in Madagascar, a group of determined women has taken control of their future. Their story is one of solidarity, mutual support, and hope for a better tomorrow—not just for themselves but for their entire community...

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.

The agreement signed at FAO headquarters in Rome will see the California-...

From 11-13 December 2024, FAO, in collaboration with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Provincial Fishery Office of Misamis Occidental,conducted a  training on Values Formation and Team Building for the “Women in SSF of Libertad Bajo Association”...

FAO and Fisheries Comission train stakeholders on participatory management of small-scale fisheries infrastructures. By the end of the workshop, each community group had mapped relevant stakeholders, developed the structure of their management committees, assigned roles...

At FAO headquarters, the Small-Scale fisheries team develops activities and projects related to the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. The team comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each contributing unique expertise...

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...

From 25 to 27 November 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in collaboration with Fisheries Commission and African Skill Hub foundations (ASH foundation), organized a training for 35 participants to enhance essential business skills, focusing on entrepreneurship, financial management, and record-keeping—key areas for managing processing operations...

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...