International Collective in Support of Fishworkers

05/10/2026

🎣 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗻𝗮𝗺’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮

In fishing ports around Vietnam, thousands of boats stayed docked for months as the global fuel crisis made sea-bound trips unprofitable. The hike in fuel prices did not just raise the cost of diesel - it raised the cost of everything else that supports a fishing boat, from ice to food.

But fuel has not been the only pressure faced by fishers: declining fish stocks - the result of years of unsustainable and illegal fishing, compounded by climate change - along with international pressures to tighten fishing enforcement and the growing presence of Chinese vessels add to the strain. The toll on fishers is economic, mental and, for some, brutally physical.

While tighter anti-IUU fishing enforcement has added layers of bureaucracy and more opportunities for petty corruption along the way, clashes in the contested South China Sea during 'island protecting' trips - subsidised territorial claims-staking efforts add to the burden.

QUANG NGAI, Vietnam — When diesel prices in Vietnam hit an all-time high in March, Vo Huu Viet, a fisherman with more than 30 years at sea in Quang Ngai province in Central Vietnam, did something he rarely does. He stayed on shore. “The catch is simply not enough to make up for the labor of […...

02/10/2026

🌊 𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗜𝟯𝟳: 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲
The dust has settled on the 37th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI37). Sifting through the discussions and deliberations reveals a mixed bag of outcomes for small-scale fisheries. These realities are made starker when viewed against the goings-on at COFI36 in 2024.

These findings indicate that, over the 12-year period since the adoption of the SSF Guidelines, there has been growing recognition of SSF' vital contributions to food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and rural development. They also make it clear that threats to SSF - from industrial aquaculture, extractivism, and the Blue Economy, among others - persist. The work to counter them must, as well.

29/09/2026

𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘂𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗰𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard that extractive activities in the ancestral territory of the Mashco Piro Indigenous People, who live in voluntary isolation, are incompatible with the protection of their lives.

The two-day hearing in Montevideo, Uruguay, marked the first time the tribunal has considered a case involving Indigenous Peoples living in isolation in Peru. The case centers on the Mashco Piro, Yora and Amahuaca Peoples, who live in remote areas of the Peruvian Amazon.

During the sessions, organizations representing the plaintiffs detailed how the Peruvian government has failed to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the principle of non-contact and the integrity of ancestral territories, including through logging concessions and other incursions, thereby increasing the risk of violent encounters and exposure to diseases to which isolated peoples may have little immunity.

Montevideo, September 25, 2026 – The public hearing before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in the case of the Mashco Piro Indigenous People v. Peru has concluded. During the sessions, organizations representing the plaintiffs detailed how the Peruvian government has failed to ful...

28/09/2026

🛳 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

As modern mechanised fishing fleets plunder global waters, populations in low-income countries are losing out. If the fish caught by foreign-flagged bottom trawlers went to local populations instead of international markets, over 10 million people in nutritionally-vulnerable countries could reach adequate vitamin and mineral intake, according to new research published in the journal, npj Ocean Sustainability.

In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, micronutrient deficiencies -including a lack of omega-3, vitamin B12 and zinc - are a significant cause of cognitive and immune impairments.

Seven of the top ten most impacted nations are in West Africa: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, The Gambia, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Togo. Three other African nations fill the top spots: Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and Namibia.

Foreign-owned bottom trawlers are emptying African waters and taking the continent’s biologically valuable nutrients with them.

25/09/2026

📢 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗗𝗥𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 & 𝗬𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

ICSF invites contributions to the December 2026 editions of its biannual publications, the SAMUDRA Report and the Yemaya Newsletter.

🌊 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗗𝗥𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 #𝟵𝟱, will continue to offer perspectives and raise awareness on the key issues that matter to small-scale fisheries, including: tenure and access rights, labour, fisheries management and policy, gender, biodiversity, and the impacts of MPAs, the Blue Economy and industrial aquaculture.

🎣 𝗬𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 #𝟳𝟯, will keep the spotlight on the often invisible work and contributions of women in fisheries, from the value chain to food security, biodiversity and traditional knowledge, as well as the challenges they face, including tenure insecurity, unequal access, decent work and gender-based violence.

☑ Contributors are requested to email their articles, photographs, author bylines and other relevant details to 𝗶𝗰𝘀𝗳@𝗶𝗰𝘀𝗳.𝗻𝗲𝘁, with the subject line indicating the publication (whether SAMUDRA Report or Yemaya Newsletter) for which the submission is intended.

⚠️ 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀: October 31, 2026

📝 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀: 1,500-2,500 words (SAMUDRA Report) and 1,000-1,500 words (Yemaya Newsletter)

The 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 #𝟵𝟰) of the SAMUDRA Report is available at https://icsf.net/samudra-articles.php?id=11094

The 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 #𝟳𝟮) of the Yemaya Newsletter is available at https://icsf.net/yemaya-articles.php?id=11060

16/09/2026

🌊 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: 𝗦𝗦𝗙 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀

Throughout the third edition of the SSF Summit, fishers and SSF actors repeatedly emphasised the importance of small-scale fisheries, and highlighted the need for this to be better reflected in national and international policy processes and agendas. On the eve of COFI37, the three-day event reinforced the call to translate the SSF Guidelines into concrete action that supports the livelihoods, food security and resilience of small-scale fishing communities.

16/09/2026

🌊 Recap: SSF Summit 2026 Outcomes

Throughout the third edition of the SSF Summit, fishers and SSF actors repeatedly emphasised the importance of small-scale fisheries, and highlighted the need for this to be better reflected in national and international policy processes and agendas.

On the eve of COFI37, the three-day event reinforced the call to translate the SSF Guidelines into concrete action that supports the livelihoods, food security and resilience of small-scale fishing communities.

14/09/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗵𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲?

Across coastal Bangladesh and riverine chars, women collect water, fish, farm, tend animals and make goods for sale. But unpaid care work, seasonal employment, weak transport, unsafe markets and repeated climate shocks prevent that labour from translating into reliable income or savings.

Women in climate-exposed communities are not waiting to be brought into work. They already work across the household, the field, the pond, livestock rearing and small-scale production. The problem is not that women are excluded from work. It is that they are excluded from the systems that turn work into lasting financial security.

The same structural weakness is experienced across different landscapes: women’s labour is central to household survival, while the systems surrounding water, employment, transport and markets repeatedly diminish the returns from that labour.

Women across coastal Shyamnagar and the chars of Kurigram spend their days fishing, farming, tending animals, and making goods to sell. Yet unpaid care work, distant water sources, unsafe markets, and repeated climate shocks keep that labour from ever becoming steady income or savings.

11/09/2026

📢𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗜𝟯𝟳: 𝗜𝗖𝗦𝗙 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺 #𝟭𝟮

At COFI37, ICSF made a statement in response to Agenda Item #12: FAO’s Work in Fisheries and Aquaculture under the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31. In the statement, ICSF called upon FAO to prioritise small-scale fisheries, recognise their central role in the food security and well-being of coastal and marine communities, and the need to support them within the framework of the SSF Guidelines and a human rights-based approach.

ICSF noted with concern that Indigenous Peoples are not mentioned once in the FAO work programme - despite their role as long-standing stewards of marine and coastal biodiversity. Urging recognition of their rights, customary governance, tenure and knowledge systems, ICSF stated that implementation must be carried out in partnership with their institutions.

Advocating for a quality-over-quantity approach to inform how FAO measures progress on aquatic food value chains, ICSF warned that the intensification of large-scale industrial aquaculture risks disrupting ecosystems and traditional practices, and undermining access and tenure rights for communities. Whereas, SSF can deliver development that is not only sustainable, but also equitable and just.

While supporting FAO’s move to strengthen COFI Members’ capacities to address social protection, decent work and child labour within SSF, ICSF highlighted that such efforts must not overlook the informal, precarious and seasonal nature of work in the sector. ICSF also called for IUU frameworks that do not inadvertently criminalise the informal, small-scale nature of fishing activities.

ICSF called for the recognition of women’s crucial contributions - emphasising how they are often categorised as ‘helpers’, rather than formally recognised as fishers or fishworkers. Noting that this lack of legal status results in their systemic exclusion from social security, labour protections and subsidies, ICSF urged COFI Members to grant formal recognition to women across the entire value chain, to ensure their access to decent and viable work.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘁: https://icsf.net/resources/icsfs-statement-at-cofi37-on-agenda-item-12-faos-work-in-fisheries-and-aquaculture/

11/09/2026

📢𝗖𝗢𝗙𝗜𝟯𝟳: 𝗜𝗖𝗦𝗙 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺 #𝟭𝟭

At COFI37, ICSF made a statement in response to Agenda Item #11: Supporting small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, including inland fisheries, and elevating their contributions to food security, nutrition and livelihood support.

In the statement, ICSF urged COFI Members to: partner with fishers and Indigenous Peoples to accelerate implementation of the SSF Guidelines; continued political and financial commitment for the SSF Summit; continued support for the Global Strategic Framework in support of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines (SSF-GSF mechanism); address policy gaps and systemic barriers (particularly for women in fisheries) impacting access and tenure rights; and prevent the unchecked expansion and intensification of industrial aquaculture and Blue Economy initiatives.

While welcoming increased recognition of SSF' many contributions to food security, nutrition and livelihoods, ICSF called for greater understanding of small-scale fishers and fishworkers as custodians of territories, waters, aquatic ecosystems, cultures and traditional knowledge that sustain present and future generations.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘁: https://icsf.net/resources/icsfs-statement-at-cofi37-on-agenda-item-11-supporting-small-scale-fisheries-and-aquaculture-including-inland-fisheries/