This document includes eight studies showcasing good practices in support of sustainable small-scale fisheries. FAO commissioned these studies aiming to share experiences and promote the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

The contributions of women to fisheries are often invisible, ignored, and unrecognized even though they represent 47% of the global fisheries workforce, especially in pre- and post-production activities. Poor data systems lead to incorrect assumptions about the gender division of labor in fisheries. This causes the role of women in fisheries to be overlooked. To evaluate the contribution of women in the value chain, a participatory methodology was implemented in three small-scale, fisheries in Mexico: California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) fishery from the northern Mexican Pacific, penshell (Atrina maura) fishery from the Gulf of California, and Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery from the Mesoamerican Reef region.

Collective action is recognized as a key element to successfully implementing sustainable fisheries. Nevertheless, gender equality, as an essential component in such actions, is often missing. In fisheries, women’s contributions are regularly invisible and remain unrepresented in statistics. In this paper, we examine the current status of women in Mexican fisheries based on governmental reports and programs, as well as five case studies from small-scale fishing communities.

Taking into account the economic importance of this sector for small-scale producers, as well as its high degree of vulnerability, the aim of this report is to give an overview of the current state of social protection and challenges facing small-scale fishers and fish farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean. It analyses the social protection needs of this population segment, the main social protection programs in the region, and proposes a roadmap with public policy recommendations to promote adequate social protection.

This review includes the findings of a desk study, complemented by consultation and validation missions, on social protection systems in place and available to small-scale fishers in Mediterranean riparian states, and it outlines the specific cases of five Mediterranean countries (Albania, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia), setting out best practices and sharing recommendations.

"This Toolkit presents a methodology for assessing the reform needs to strengthen SSF governance, along with examples of model regulatory language for the core governance elements."

This document provides a summary of the presentations, discussions, working group sessions and recommendations of the workshop “Strengthening organizations and collective action in fisheries: towards the formulation of a capacity development programme,” held in Barbados on 4–6 November 2014. The document also includes the nine in-depth case studies presented during the workshop and a contributed paper.

"Cooperatives in the small-scale fisheries sector are a way of maximizing long-term community benefits to deal with the threats of fisheries mismanagement, livelihood insecurity and poverty – harsh realities for many of the world’s small-scale fishers. Communities with successful community-based organizations are better off than those without (Ostrom, 1990). Successful cooperatives are possible, feasible and desirable and play an important role in community development. Cooperatives have the potential to empower small-scale fishers against environmental and socio-economic shocks such as catch shortfalls, sickness and death in their families, natural disasters and hunger.

The following case studies show how fisheries cooperatives contribute to improving the conditions of small-scale fishers around the globe."

The Baja California Regional Federation of Fishing Cooperative Societies (FEDECOOP) is a Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURF) program in Mexico. FEDECOOP consists of 13 fishing Cooperatives that collectively manage 10 TURFs to promote sustainable harvests, increase market access and power and provide stability to fishermen and fishing communities.