It was a busy day today at #UNOC2022. A key topic was making fisheries sustainable and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets. Fish is a key source of food and nutritional security. It ensures livelihoods for 59.5 million people and you might be surprised to learn that small-scale fisheries account for nearly half of global seafood catches - half a billion people are at least partly dependent on them for food, employment and income. They are the largest group of ocean users, which is why they are incredibly important to global food security and livelihoods, as well as being socially and culturally important in many regions.

Despite this, however, small-scale fisheries are often overlooked or ignored, especially in government policy and regulations. They also directly feel the impacts of climate change, are threatened by competition from other industries, lack alternative livelihoods, have weak representation, little control over how diminishing resources are managed, and are typically excluded from decision-making.

In short, the sea and its resources are governed by policies crafted in offices far from coasts and coastal communities, and this needs to change.

A lot needs to happen. We need to address overfishing, and unreported, unregulated and illegal fishing, which means improving overall fisheries management. We need to promote the co-management of resources, equitable and sustainable business opportunities, education and services, and legal measures to protect this. In particular, we need to focus on women - they comprise half the global fisheries workforce yet have less access to resources and services, and bear the brunt of discrimination, as usual.

It's also a personal topic to me: a big part of my PhD research looked at the relationship between the fishing industry, local communities and decision-making processes, investigating how power dynamics influence decisions for sustainability.

So yes, a lot to discuss and a lot to change.

#Fishers #OceanAction #SaveOurOcean #SDG14 #BecauseOceans #onassignment #livingfiercely