In small-scale fisheries around the world, fishing communities and organizations are actively involved in a wide range of environmental conservation and stewardship activities. This key role of small-scale fisheries can be essential to the health and livelihoods of fishing communities, and the environment and economy broadly, but it is not always widely known and appreciated. To improve this situation, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Saint Mary’s University, in cooperation with global fisher organizations, are engaging with small-scale fisher organizations and fishing communities to document their experiences with environmental conservation and stewardship.
A new 90-minute webinar highlights the efforts of small-scale fishing communities and organizations around the world to protect and restore their local environments and fishery resources, and to safeguard livelihoods and food security. Webinar speakers include leaders of global fisher organizations, local-level fishers sharing their stewardship experiences, FAO representatives and the SSF-Stewardship project team. A question-and-answer period is included.
This work will produce a better understanding of how small-scale fisheries protect and care for the environment, and what leads to success in environmental stewardship and in supporting sustainable livelihoods. The work will assist small-scale fishers to build stewardship capacity and networking opportunities, as well as providing guidance on how government legislation and policy can better support environmental stewardship in small-scale fisheries. The results will be widely publicized, including through a new guidebook for fishing communities, organizations and policymakers. The outcomes will support implementation of theVoluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), and contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The webinar can be watched in the SSF-Stewardship website.
