Why Hold a Small-Scale Fisheries Conference?

Good question.

This October's event will mark the first ever World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress. It'll be a chance for small-scale fisheries researchers, managers and interested public to connect, share and discuss the big issues affecting small-scale fisheries, both in their home regions and in the global context.

While there have been five World Fisheries Congresses (the first one was held in 1991 in Athens, Greece), it has become more and more clear that, although there are certainly areas of overlap (technological, ecological, social, and organizational challenges), there are enough specific issues facing small-scale fisheries to warrant a congress all their own.

Importantly, there are a lot of small-scale fishers in the world- estimates are as high as 35 million people, contributing something between 65% and 90% of world fisheries production!

As a result of these fisheries' staggering impact upon world food supplies and economies, the effects of emerging issues such as over-exploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, unplanned development, over-population and climate change deserve special attention.

From ecosystem dynamics and resource/space competition, to integration and global markets, the inaugural conference in Bangkok will take a distinctly small-scale approach to some fairly large-scale issues...

Exploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, unplanned development, over-population, and climate change all continue to affect small-scale fisheries—WSFC will help draw attention to the overall importance of this sector, the specificity of small-scale fisheries around the world, and the contributions that this sector can make to reverse some of the existing dire situations and to safeguard against future mishaps.
 

There is still time to register— just visit the official WSFC website here.