World Fisheries Day is celebrated every November 21 to honor fishing communities around the world, as well as to highlight the importance of fishing for human life, promoting sustainable, sustainable fisheries and healthy marine ecosystems.
The United Nations Environment Organization decreed this date in 1998 to support sustainable fisheries as a key element in achieving the Global Goals.
One of the great challenges to be faced on this world day is the harmful practices that threaten the oceans: overfishing, unregulated and destructive fishing practices, as well as inadequate waste management.
According to recent United Nations studies, more than two-thirds of the world's fisheries are exploited or overfished and more than one-third are in decline, due to factors such as global warming, as well as coastal and ocean pollution caused by domestic and industrial activities that affect essential fish habitats.
Among the complicated obstacles to overcome related to this global day are harmful practices that threaten the oceans such as:
Overfishing
Unregulated and destructive fishing practices
Inadequate waste management
Every year, more than 100 million tons of fish are consumed by the world's population, which is equivalent to 25% of the world's dietary protein.
The progressive pollution of the oceans and coasts generated by runoff and household and industrial activities in nearby regions has impacted the disappearance of fish stocks, forcing fishermen to fish in areas distant from their traditional zones.
On the other hand, overfishing, bottom trawling and other illegal fishing practices have led to the obligation to prioritize sustainable fishing practices in order to consolidate the livelihoods of fishing-dependent communities, the feeding of the world's population and the well-being of the oceans.
On the other hand, small-scale fishing (marine and inland) is an activity that involves between 30 and 60 million people worldwide, 50% of whom are estimated to be women. Fishing is their main source of livelihood and also contributes to the nutrition of people around the world.
Since 2020, the fisheries sector and the ocean economy have faced the COVID-19 pandemic, which together with the adverse effects generated by climate change in the oceans put biodiversity and people at risk. It is vitally important to reinforce priority attention to the recovery of the fisheries sector in the face of these enormous challenges.
In 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Vatican and the Catholic maritime charity Stella Maris called for the promotion of social protection for small-scale fishermen and workers in the fishing sector.
In this sense, they pointed out the importance of: "Investing in social protection to achieve an equitable blue transformation in the fishing sector".
Mr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, has said that many workers in the fishing sector have limited access to finance and insurance, safety nets and social programs to help them survive and thrive.
"Small-scale fisheries produce 40% of the total fish we consume," Mr. QU has said. "It is small in scale, but not in value! Yet many small-scale fishers and fish workers suffer from poverty and marginalization, work in poor conditions, record high mortality rates, and suffer from occupational safety and health risks."
Mr. QU said that social protection and labor market interventions were the most important policy response to address the socioeconomic effects of COVID-19. Social support allowed households to invest in education and youth employment, he added.
The Committee on Fisheries, in its 2021 Declaration for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, urged States to facilitate access to social protection programs for fishers, fish farmers and their communities.
At Pescatore Seafood we support all initiatives aimed at developing sustainable fishing and social protection plans for all members of the value chain of the fishing sector.
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