PRODUCTIVE AND RESILIENT SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES

Millions of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas and count heavily on fish for food and income. Small-scale fisheries—fishers working from shore or from small boats in coastal and inland waters—provide most of that fish, with local households and economies benefiting from fish trade and related activities. It is estimated that three-quarters of the world’s 30 million fishers work in small-scale fisheries (SSF). If fisheries-associated livelihoods, such as marketing and processing as well as women, children and the elderly are also included, an estimated 150 million people directly depend on SSF and the associated industries.

Small-scale fisheries are diverse in nature, geographically dispersed, vulnerable to external forces and in crisis. Historically, development interventions have sought to reduce poverty through economic growth, improvements in technology and infrastructure and market-led economic policy reform. However, the limited positive results have led to the recognition that other factors such as establishing appropriate governance and institutions are central to the problems of food security and poverty alleviation.

HIV/AIDS incidence rates in fishing communities are five to ten times as high as those in the general population. The factors behind this include the typical age of fishermen (who, at 15 to 35, are most sexually active), mobile lifestyles that increase exposure to risky behaviors, and inadequate health care and HIV/AIDS support services in marginalized fishing villages.

Why small-scale fisheries matter

WorldFish Center is working to improve the resilience of small scale fisheries to help them overcome problems at the ecosystem level (from overfishing or pollution), in marketing and in governance, in health and from natural disasters.

Click on the links below to see how the WorldFish Center will help reduce poverty and hunger by improving small-scale fisheries.

Improvements needed
The need for resilience
The research agenda
Evidence of success

Key publications:

A WorldFish Center publication on small-scale fisheries is in preparation.