Small-scale fisheries make up a large proportion of world's fisheries, both by catch and participation. Effective management is essential to ensure access to fish for food and income. Covering social and economic aspects of the fishery management and governance challenge, this book provides guidance on innovative and alternative management measures and methods for small-scale fisheries. The book covers key topics such as rights, policy, co-management, communications and trade, and is an important reference for researchers and students in fisheries science and management as well as fisheries re.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) represent the first ever international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. They represent a global consensus on principles and guidance for small-scale fisheries governance and development. They were developed for small-scale fisheries in close collaboration with representatives of small-scale fisheries organizations in a participatory process between 2011-13, involving over 4000 stakeholders; facilitated by FAO, based on a mandate by COFI. They are directed at all those involved in the sector and intend to guide and encourage governments, fishing communities and other stakeholders to work together and ensure secure and sustainable small-scale fisheries for the benefit of small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities as well as for society at large.

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 case studies were also intended to promote participatory approaches – in line with the SSF Guidelines principles – and to promote increased interaction between research and fishing communities, including the use of traditional knowledge and participatory research. It is hoped that the case studies will inform policy and policy processes and, in this way, promote sustainable small-scale fisheries according to the SSF Guidelines and the human rights-based approach to development (HRBA). The case studies constitute a rich selection of experiences and are diverse, not only with regard to their geographical setting but also in scope and approach. They span from looking at one specific tool for sharing experiences (the fisheries learning exchanges methodology in Madagascar and Mozambique) or examining the enabling environment in a specific thematic area (disaster risks in Bangladesh), to regional policy formulation on small-scale fisheries (the SSF Guidelines protocol for Caribbean policies) and reflection on how to use the SSF Guidelines in participatory processes (the Myanmar step-by-step approach to discussions with small-scale fisheries communities). A few of the papers look at co-management, in some cases combining fisheries management and social development (Senegal, Uruguay and Nepal), with one focusing on the role of small-scale fisheries and community organizations (India). Generally, the case studies refer to HRBA but, perhaps because many of the activities have taken place in the past, it seems that HRBA has rarely been consciously and explicitly implemented. Still, the case studies bear witness to a number of experiences and practices that are clearly steps in the right direction. Key good practices emerging from the studies refer to, among other things, holistic approaches to co-management and social responsibility; broad engagement, inclusiveness and partnerships; the power of communication; and gender equality and the role of women. As more experience is gained, our knowledge of how to go about implementing the SSF Guidelines will improve and nurture new and continued initiatives. For the present and the future, efforts should be made to apply HRBA, while continuing to share experiences and good practices showing how to do so when implementing the SSF Guidelines.

This book is a contribution to our understanding of the worrying situation of small-scale fisheries (SSF) which face marginalisation in most coastal countries. The authors explain why SSF are so pressured; how there has been a powerful backlash against this marginalisation during the last 30 years; what are the main ideational currents supporting this backlash; and what is the enduring value of SSF that justifies that support. The authors discuss the major contemporary interpretations of SSF; the challenges facing SSF globally and in England; and SSF’s coping strategies in response to those challenges through the framework of resilience theory. In an innovative analysis, the authors show how there are three kinds of resilience: passive resilience (where fishers are resigned to their adverse fate), adaptive resilience (where fishers make the best use of the opportunities that are available to them), and transformative resilience (where fishers attempt to change the system that faces them). The authors draw on an extensive range of interview data to provide rich insights into the world of SSF, and they discuss a variety of proposals for improving their conditions. The book will appeal to the growing academic and public community that is following with increasing concern the debate about the future of SFF, and to the environmental movement which has committed itself to support SSF as a greener form of fishing than the large-scale industrial sector.

This manual aims at providing practical guidance on how to achieve gender-equitable small-scale fisheries in the context of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. Women play a key role, in particular in post-harvest activities relating to processing, marketing and trade, but their role remains undervalued. Within the broader context of the FAO Blue Growth Initiative, this publication therefore contributes to SP 1 Outcome 101 - Member countries and their development partners make explicit poli tical commitments in the form of policies, investment plans, programmes, legal frameworks and the allocation of necessary resources to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The target audience for this manual is twofold: (i) policy makers/public administrations working on small-scale fisheries will be informed about ways to ensure gender-sensitive policies, investments and small-scale fisheries sector support, (ii) CSOs/Fisheries organizations will receive guidance on how to active ly support the empowerment of women in small-scale fisheries. However, this publication is also relevant for other audiences who can provide a support function to the to key audiences, namely: academia/research, donors/resource partners, FAO staff.

Managing Small-Scale Fisheries: Alternative directions and methods