PURPOSE: World Fisheries Day is celebrated across the world on 21 November annually. The main purpose behind this day is to highlight the importance of sustainable stocks of fisheries in the world, to strengthen human rights for the small-scale fishing communities, to make a true difference in the working conditions of fishing communities and to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The WWF is helping fisheries transition toward more responsible, sustainable practices through fishery improvement projects, or FIPs. These projects are multi-stakeholder efforts to improve fishing practices and management so that species, habitats, and people can all thrive. The FIPs pair the private sector with fisheries’ stakeholders around the world to incentivize positive, enduring change.
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.
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
12:55 - 13:00: Closing remarks
For more information about this event, Register to participate, for further information email us at mariana.toussaint@fao.org or sonia.dapontefreire@fao.org.
The FAO also supports other events, such as the EAF-Nansen Programme's workshop in South Africa focused on scientific collaboration for sustainable fisheries..
LIVESTREAM: Empowering fisheries, Strengthening Livelihoods.
PUBLICATIONS: The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the immensely important small-scale fisheries sector.
This edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 entitled “Blue Transformation in action” features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers. Read the full report!
Over 58 million people are engaged in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, approximately 37% are engaged full time, 23% part time, and the remainder either occasional fishers or of unspecified status. Over 15 million are working full-time on board fishing vessels. Fishing is one of the most challenging and hazardous occupations ILO is working to ensure decent work for all fishers. Issues relating to migrant fishers as part of the follow-up to the Resolution concerning the promotion of welfare for fishers.
Guidelines
Training material
ILO training package on inspection of labour conditions on board fishing vessels.
Handbook for improving safety and living conditions onboard fishing vessels.
Training Manual on the Implementation of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188).
Safety Recommendations for Decked Fishing Vessels of Less than 12 metres in Length and Undecked Fishing Vessels (FAO/ILO/IMO).
PODCASTS: The world is rapidly maxing out its draw on this essential natural resource, and it will take every tool in the box to reverse declines and sustain fish populations well into the future; Let’s talk about a new vision for transforming aquatic food systems. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Promote long-term conservation and sustainable use of fisheries. Towards blue transformation.
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
HOW TO GET INVOLVED!
PARTERNERSHIPS
The World Fisheries Day is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the World Food Programme (WFP). With the collaboration of the NOAA Fisheries, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), the South-East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO), the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA), the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), the Convention on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (CCBSP), the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme (AIDCP), theNorth Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC), the Fisheries Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), the Sustainable Fisheries Partnerships. With the participation of the fishing communities, the fish workers, fishermen and women, the Civil Society Organizations, the Public and Private sectors, the Non-Governmental Organizations, Reserchers and Academia.
Fishing involves long hours and strenuous activity in an often-challenging marine environment. Fishers may be using simple or complex dangerous machinery.
Adopt the standards on the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) and The Work in Fishing Recommendation, 2007 (No. 199)
Support the millions of lives and livelihoods and contribute to food security.
Help Feeding the growing population while preserving natural resources and the ecosystems that sustain them.
Enhance the role of aquatic food systems by providing the legal, policy and technical frameworks required to sustain growth and innovation.
Support resilience in aquatic food systems and ensure fisheries and aquaculture grow sustainably.
Leave no one behind, especially food deficit communities and those that depend on the sector.
Make the ideal vision of sustainable aquaculture and fisheries a reality.
Climate and environment-friendly policy and practices, as well as technological innovations, are critical building blocks for Blue Transformation.
The World Fisheries Day helps in highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it sustains, both in and out of water. Water forms a continuum, whether contained in rivers, lakes, and ocean. 25% of the world’s dietary protein is provided by fish and around 200 million people are directly or indirectly employed in the Fishing industry. Keeping our oceans healthy to sustain fisheries is crucial for our future and the world’s food and livelihoods.
What does the ideal aquatic food system look like?
For starters, it would be able to provide sufficient aquatic food for our growing population in a sustainable way. The perfect aquatic food system would also be resilient to human and environmental shocks, including climate change. Achieving this vision is possible, and necessary. Let’s see why we need to transform our aquatic food systems and how we can make it happen.