How can your fishery help build stronger communities? Small-scale fisheries are often social and economic engines for their communities. Responsible small-scale fisheries governance requires understanding the socioeconomic circumstances of all fishery-dependent stakeholders and requires finding ways to develop communities so that all people have decent work, access to essential services, and the ability to meet their basic needs. Start here to learn about social development, employment, and decent work, and explore the sub-categories below to find ways you can help build stronger communities. 

Resources

FishCounts: increasing the visibility of small-scale fisheries in Cambodia's national planning

This report explores the current state of Cambodia’s fisheries and the data that would be needed to develop such a set of accounts. It considers the country’s existing statistical information and monitoring efforts, and where the gaps, inconsistencies and overlaps lie. It proposes a phased approach to build on what already exists to create greater visibility for the contribution of small-scale fisheries to the national economy and their role in developing sustainable fishing and aquaculture in the face of growing demands and climate change.

Socioeconomic characteristics of hilsa fishers in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar

The Darwin-Hilsa project is developing an incentive-based system of hilsa fisheries management in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to assess the socioeconomic status of local fishing households.

Fish Forever: Socioeconomic Data

The tool below summarizes information collected through the Fish Forever Household Survey (HHS). The HHS contains defined-answer questions assessing respondents’ livelihoods, engagement with the local fishery, resilience to economic shocks, social capital, knowledge of fishing regulations, attitudes toward fisheries management, participation in fisheries management, and perceptions of current management approaches.

Women's economic empowerment in fisheries - In the blue economy of the Pacific Rim

This report provides a baseline analysis of women’s economic empowerment in the fisheries sector in the blue economy of the Indian Ocean rim region. The report focuses on the 22 Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and includes both marine and inland fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Unveiling women's roles and inclusion in Mexican small-scale fisheries (SSF)

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.

Manual para implementar el Programa de Liderazgo Comunitario

Este manual sistematiza las fases del programa de liderazgo comunitario a lo largo de dos generaciones (2013-2019). El tejido social y la preservación del medio ambiente son factores indivisibles si se quiere trabajar en aras de la sostenibilidad. De este modo, quienes lideran han vivido momentos clave de crecimiento personal, que se han plasmado en el desarrollo de iniciativas comunitarias basadas en el bien común, la inclusión, la diversidad y la igualdad de género

Women's empowerment, collective actions, and sustainable fisheries: lessons from Mexico

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.

Social protection in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean

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.

Social protection for small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean region

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.