Managing for Diversity: Keeping Everyone Afloat in Irish Fisheries
An animation by Ruth Brennan, Ireland
A short animation based on research carried out between 2018 and 2020 into the challenges faced by small-scale island fishing communities. The animation tells the story of how access to Irish fisheries, a public resource, needs to take account of the diversity of contexts within the Irish fishing industry, to ensure equitable access that keeps everyone afloat.
Small-Scale Fisheries of the Eastern Mediterranean: a Source of Life Accompanied with Knowledge Gaps
An essay by iSea, Greece
“iSea” is an NGO based in Greece that works closely with the SSF community, aiming to increase their sustainability and influence co-management of the resources. They believe that the best way to reach the goals of sustainability and management is through establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between fishers and the state. Together with fishers, they work towards increasing their capacity and, consequently, securing their livelihood while transforming them into guardians of the Mediterranean.
The Pride of Being a Fishingwoman
Story by Mayri Espadas, Mexico
Mayri is a chairwomen of fishing cooperative “U-Meya Coolelo” in Chuburna Puerto, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The cooperative is a collective of 15 members and their name “U-Meya Coolelo” comes from Mayan, meaning “woman working”. Their history dates backs 20 years ago, when they were an informal working group, until one day the authorities came to the community to work with men, on issue such as sustainable management of fishing resources. At that moment, the women approached authorities looking for support and decided to organize themselves formally as a cooperative. Today, they are dedicated to gathering, processing and local commercialization of chivitas.
A Sea Full of Life: Visions from the Azores
A photo narrative book by Alison L. Neilson, Portugal
This photo-stories collection highlights the people whose love of the ocean brings sustainable food to our tables. Through these stories of people who live with the consequences of declining fish populations, reduced quota for how much fish they are allowed to catch as well as the other types of regulations on fishing, the reader will learn about the economic and political realities of small-scale fisheries. But despite being threatened, they are very much alive and kicking.
Dry Anchovies on a Concrete Floor
Short story by Isaacs Nyameke, Ghana
Ghana is one of the traditional small-scale marine fishing countries along the coast of West Africa. The favourable upwelling makes anchovies’ catches very abundant and the harvested anchovy are either sun dried or smoked and sold at the market for food consumption. With the current climate change, any negative impact on small-scale fisheries will have a big effect on livelihood and community setting of the fishing communities of Ghana.
Why Small-Scale Fisheries Matter! The Bangladesh Story
Story by MD Shahadat Hossain, Bangladesh
Fish are inextricably connected with the Bengali culture. The contribution of SSF in increasing food supply, job creation, rising nutritional status, and earning foreign exchange have been developed in the last few decades. Most of the fishers in Bangladesh engage with small-scale fisheries. By promoting SSF in Bangladesh, huge change can be done to the livelihood of the coastal people of Bangladesh.
A Glimpse of Marine Small-Scale Fisheries in Bangladesh
A video by Eurida Liyana and Emrul Hasan, Bangladesh
This video is a brief depiction of why SSF matters to the economy, and to the lives and livelihoods of the coastal peoples of Bangladesh. The video focuses on the marine SSF, which although they account for only about 34% of the total SSF production, contribute to almost one-third of the total contribution to GDP from the fisheries sector.
