World Fisheries Day 2025; November 21st.

FORUM: "Beyond the Catch: Advancing towards Dignity and Decent Work for All in the Sector" World Fisheries Day 2025. The theme this year will highlight the importance of fair labor practices and social protection for fishers. Fisheries and aquaculture provide livelihoods for millions worldwide and are crucial to the economies of coastal and rural areas. Yet, many fishers continue to face unsafe conditions, low wages, and limited access to social protection. Every year on November 21st, the world celebrates World Fisheries Day to recognize the crucial contribution of fishers and fish workers to food security, employment, and sustainable development. The day serves as a reminder of the urgent need to protect their human and labour rights, ensuring fair, safe, and dignified working conditions across the sector. Celebrating World Fisheries Day is a tribute to the work of fishers and fish workers, as well as a call to strengthen decent work, social dialogue, and sustainability in the sector. Their work must be valued and safeguarded through policies and partnerships that ensure fair, safe, and dignified employment, gender equality, and social justice for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

EVENTS: On November 21st, to mark the World Fisheries Day, the FAO is organizing a virtual event. In celebration of World Fisheries Day 2025, FAO GLOBEFISH is organizing a virtual event titled “Beyond the Catch: Advancing towards Dignity and Decent Work for All in the Sector”. The event will highlight the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in promoting labour rights and ensuring decent work within the fisheries and aquaculture sector to foster dialogue on how stronger governance, enhanced social protection, and greater international cooperation can improve the livelihoods and resilience of fishers and fish workers worldwide. The FAO also supports other events, such as the EAF-Nansen Programme's workshop in South Africa focused on scientific collaboration for sustainable fisheries. Register to participate!

Agenda Programme

12:00 -12:05 : Welcome remarks
12:05 -12:15 : Presentation by Christine Bader, Maritime Specialist, Sectoral Policies Department, ILO
12:15 -12:45 : Roundtable moderated by Daniela Kalikoski, FAO 

Kirill Buketov, International Policy Officer, Seafood Workers Division, IUF – International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations 

Claudia Uribe, CEIPA - Ecuadorian Chamber of Tuna Industrialists and Processors 

Tim Hill, CEO/National Director, Stella Maris UK
Audun Lem, President of the technical scientific committee at Assoittica Italia
12:45 - 12:55: 

Q&A sessionThe audience is invited to pose questions and share experiences
Q&A sessionThe audience is invited to pose questions and share experiences
12:55 - 13:00:  Closing remarks


For more information about this event, please email us at mariana.toussaint@fao.org or sonia.dapontefreire@fao.org

LIVESTREAM: Empowering fisheries, Strengthening Livelihoods.

International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 2024; June 5th.

FORUM: "Achieving sustainable fisheries is a commitment for states around the world." International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing 2024. IUU fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability and responsibility. Moreover, IUU fishing greatly disadvantages and discriminates against those fishers that act responsibly, honestly and in accordance with the terms of their fishing authorizations. If IUU fishers target vulnerable stocks that are subject to strict management controls or moratoria, efforts to rebuild those stocks to healthy levels will not be achieved, threatening marine biodiversity, food security for communities who rely on fisheries resources for protein and the livelihoods of those involved in the sector. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #5june, #IUUFishing, #PSMA, #FightIUUfishing,

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations provides different types of support to assist States improve their capacity to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. To learn more and contact FAO at FAO-IUU@fao.org for more information.

EVENTS: On June 5th the FAO will held a webinar to mark the International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing 2024. Explore the calendar of events!

- On May 27th, 2014; Africa and Near East countries meet to discuss the PSMA.
- On May 24th, 2024; Second edition of the FAO course on Advanced Monitoring, Control and Surveillance held in Zaragoza
- On May 17th, 2024; Latin American and Caribbean countries meet to discuss the PSMA
- On May 8th, 2024; Expert Workshop on the FAO Compliance Agreement to bolster flag State responsibilities.
- On April 25th, 2024; FAO experts return to Honduras to provide technical assistance.
- On April 24th, 2024 ;FAO supports South Africa through a legal and an MCS review
- On April 8th, 2024; Comoros and Papua New Guinea become Parties to the PSMA
- On March 29th, 2024; FAO provides workshop and training to various officers in Guinea
- On March 25th, 2024; Seventh meeting of the Global Record Working Group held in Panama.
- On March 25th, 2024; Fourth meeting of the Technical Working Group on Information Exchange held to discuss initial stages of GIES operationalization.

- On March 21th, 2024; Fisheries professionals debate FAO’s IUU fishing estimation guidelines.
- On March 19th, 2024; Needs assessment workshop held in Angola to strengthen fight against IUU fishing.
- On March 6th, 2024; Fifteen officers in the Gambia participate in FAO port inspection training.
- On February 26th, 2024; FAO-supported fisheries policy and strategy becomes law in Mozambique.
- On February 23rd, 2024; MCS review held in the Comoros.

- On February 21st, 2024; New technical assistance programme launched in the Comoros
- On February 19th, 2024; FAO delivers fisheries risk assessment training in Kenya
- On February 19th, 2024; 2024 round of PSMA regional coordination meetings kicks off in New Zealand to cover the Southwest Pacific.
- On February 16th, 2024; FAO supports Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in new Fisheries law.
- On January 31st; FAO and other UN agencies strengthen coordination to combat IUU fishing.

PUBLICATIONS:

Checklists and technical guidelines to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Volume III: Checklist of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) systems, operations, procedures and tools.

This document is the third volume of a series of publications entitled Checklists and Technical Guidelines to Combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. This checklist provides a list of minimum requirements to ensure that the national MCS systems, operations,...


PSMA Report
Report of the fourth meeting of the Part 6 Working Group established by the Parties to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Rome, 4 April 2023.

This document contains the report of the fourth meeting of the Part 6 Working Group established by the Parties to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing.


Methodologies and indicators for the estimation of the magnitude and impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing: 1.3 A catalogue of examples.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is, by definition, carried out in contravention of the law, perpetrated without being immediately detected by monitoring and surveillance, or conducted without the constraints of any regulatory system.


Methodologies and indicators for the estimation of the magnitude and impact of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing: 1.2 A practical guide to delivering an estimate.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity is a persistent and pervasive problem in many different types of fisheries around the world. Understanding the nature and magnitude of these activities is an important, but often daunting, step toward combating them.


CAMPAIGN: Together we can stop it.

Did you know that:

• IUU fishing represents up to 26 million tonnes of fish caught annually
• IUU fishing occurs on the high seas and in other areas within national jurisdiction, especially effecting coastal rural populations in vulnerable areas
• IUU fishing may sometimes be associated with other crimes
• FAO is working closely with IMO, ILO and UNODC to counter IUU fishing and associated illicit activities

GET INVOLVED: Follow and share your commitment to Fight IUU fishing, and explore sharable materials on FAO's campaign kit.

World Tuna Day 2022; May 2nd.

 FORUM: Raise awareness about the importance of tuna and to promote more sustainable fishing practices. World Tuna Day 2022.

 The World Tuna Day is observed on 2 May to Address the decline in tuna stocks resulting from overfishing in the world’s oceans, the UN Legal Counsel emphasizes the critical importance of effectively implementing the international legal framework, as reflected in the UNCLOS Convention.

Learn about

The Global Tuna Catches by Stock;

The Global Atlas of Tuna and Tuna-like species;

The Global Capture Production.

World Tuna Day 2021; May 2nd

FORUM: Sustainable development and management of fisheries and aquaculture.  

World Tuna Day 2021.

Their meat is rich in Omega-3 and it also contains minerals, proteins, and vitamin B12, among other advantages. If tuna markets can't control overfishing, more than biodiversity will be endangered. Learn about the goal's target related to overfishing and its importance for an industry that employs more than 200 million people. At present, over 96 countries are involved in the conservation and management of tuna, which has an annual value of almost 10 billion USD, and some FAO relevant programmes have started giving positive results in reducing overfishing.

Let's be optimistic about the tuna of tomorrow.

                                                            

Improve the identification of marine organisms of actual and potential interest to fisheries.

• Provide and disseminate tools to facilitate species identification in fisheries, and in so doing, improve fisheries data quality.
• Provide a global and coherent system of scientific and common nomenclature.

Priority is assigned to resources of major commercial importance or threatened and to developing regions facing difficulties in species identification.

Activities

• Secure the best up-to-date information calling upon knowledgeable specialists in taxonomy.
• Compile information on species distribution to produce distribution maps.
• Draw reliable and accurate illustrations of marine organisms and their anatomical details.
• Produce and distribute through different media, species identification information for fishery purposes.

 The United Nations General Assembly designated 2 May as World Tuna Day in its Resolution 71/124.