Value chains & post harvest

This guide contains five information sheets about how to handle and care for fish as a fisher, fish vendor or customer, to make sure that fish stays fresh, healthy and safe for human consumption.

The Monterey Framework is a collectively agreed-upon definition of socially responsible seafood with input and backing from over two-dozen environmental and human rights organizations and voluntary commitments from an equal number of seafood businesses.

These Guidelines for micro-finance and credit services in support of small-scale fisheries in Asia, have been developed as a complement of the 2014 Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). They were developed to provide implementation guidance for increasing access to financial services, particularly micro-finance and credit, by small-scale fisheries.

This publication brings to the frontline, issues that beg for attention in the fisheries sector.

Chapter one of this publication, titled COVID-19 and Fisheries, highlights how the pandemic has affected the fisheries subsector.

Chapter two, titled Dead Fish is not Manna, captures the peculiarities and challenges of fisheries in Nigeria noting the contaminated state of some of the fishes sold in the country's markets.

Women play crucial roles in small-scale fisheries, yet their contributions are largely invisible, often ignored and unrecognized. This study conducted household and focus group surveys to examine the role of indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) women in SSF, documenting fishing practices and contributions to household food security and income.

This document, Towards Gender-Equitable Small-Scale Fisheries – A handbook In support of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (henceforth the “handbook”), was developed to support gender-equitable small-scale fisheries by enhancing the understanding of their gender dimensions, with a focus on the specific role and conditions of women in the small-scale fisheries sector.

The Financial Rapid Assessment tool provides an objective way to rapidly and efficiently quantify the key business attributes (organizational capacity and operational capacity) of a Seafood Enterprise.

"The triple impact framework described in this document has been developed to evaluate needs, plan improvements, and monitor and publicly report progress against the environmental, social and financial dimensions of sustainability. "

The aim of this report is to present evidence towards how Information and Communication Technologies for Small-scale Fisheries (ICT4SSF) might enable and support the implementation of the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). We present case studies of ICT4SSF initiatives in different use areas to identify key themes and reflect on successes and failures.

"The training manual aims to disseminate technical information related to the fish handling and preservation techniques in small-scale fisheries in order to improve technical know-how of the fisher-folk, fish processors, fish transporters and other fisheries stakeholders to produce quality fishery products in compliance with safety standards."

"This manual provides small-scale fisheries stakeholders with guidance on how to handle fishery products (FP) hygienically and carefully to produce food that is safe to eat and of high quality. It is intended for use by small scale fishers and other stakeholders in community based FP supply chains. It is a working manual and aims to raise awareness of hygiene and quality standards and how to achieve them. The overall aim of the manual is to provide small scale fisheries stakeholders with the basic knowledge to improve food health quality of FP, reduce post harvest losses and so increase income from small-scale fishery operations."

"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 focus of this study was on Dagaa (sardines) (Rastrineobola argentea) Fishery which involves mostly women in its overall value chain. The study sites were areas that are specialized in dagaa fishery and these include Lushonga Island located in the Muleba district of Kagera region, Mwanza Kirumba international fish market and in some of the landing beaches in Nyamagana and Ilemela districts in Mwanza.