The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020

partners as part of the development of the 
Hand-in-Hand Initiative led by FAO, in close 
collaboration with the International Fund for 
Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food 
Programme (WFP). Through building partnerships with 
other United Nations agencies and multilateral 
development banks, this country-led and country-owned 
initiative identifies best opportunities to raise incomes 
and reduce inequities and vulnerabilities, while 
ensuring that United Nations’ standards are fully 
reflected in policies that advance all three pillars of 
sustainable development – economic, social and 
environmental. To this end, the initiative promotes the 
sustainable use of biodiversity, natural resources and 
ecosystem services. It also supports climate change 
adaptation, mitigation and resilience, and supports key 
objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
Development, including the sustainable development of 
food system.
5
1
1 Pörtner, H.-O., Karl, D.M., Boyd, P.W., Cheung, W.W.L., Lluch-Cota, S.E., Nojiri, Y., Schmidt, D.N. & Zavialov, P.O. 2014. Ocean systems. In C.B. Field, V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. 
Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea & L.L. White, eds. 
Climate 
Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 
on Climate Change
, pp. 411–484. Cambridge, UK, and New York, USA, Cambridge University Press. 1132 pp.
2
Barange, M., Bahri, T., Beveridge, M.C.M., Cochrane, K.L., Funge-Smith, S. & Poulain, F., eds. 2018. 
Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture: synthesis of current 
knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options
. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 627. Rome, FAO. 628 pp. (also available at www.fao.org/3/i9705en/i9705en.pdf).
3
Barange, M., Merino, G., Blanchard, L., Scholtens, J., Harle, J., Allison, E., Allen, I., Holt, J. & Jennings, S. 2014. Impacts of climate change on marine ecosystem production in societies 
dependent on fisheries. 
Nature Climate Change
, 4: 211–216 [online]. [Cited 20 March 2020]. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2119
4
Op. cit., note 2, pp. 63–85.
5
FAO. 2020. 
Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, Thirty-fifth Session, Thimphu, Bhutan, 17–20 February 2020: FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative: a New Approach
[online]. 
APRC/20/INF/21. [Cited 20 March 2020]. www.fao.org/3/nb850en/nb850en.pdf
FIGURE B
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON MARINE CAPTURE FISHERIES AND VULNERABILITY: RISK BY COUNTRY
NOTE: This indicator combines 
vulnerability and potential catch 
change. Scenario: DBEM 2050 2.6.
The map only shows countries for which 
data on changes in catch potential up to 
2050 were available. Final boundary 
between the Sudan and South Sudan 
has not yet been determined.
SOURCE: FAO.
Low
Medium
High
Very high
No data
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PART 3 
OUTLOOK AND EMERGING ISSUES
ILLUMINATING HIDDEN 
HARVESTS: THE 
CONTRIBUTION OF 
SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES 
TO SUSTAINABLE 
DEVELOPMENT
Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) is a new 
global study into the contributions and impacts of 
small-scale fisheries in the context of sustainable 
development. With its release due in late 2020, the 
study has been led by FAO, Duke University and 
the CGIAR Research Program on Fish Agri-Food 
Systems led by WorldFish. The Norwegian 
Agency for Development Cooperation, Swedish 
International Development Cooperation Agency, 
Oak Foundation and CGIAR Trust Fund have 
provided funding for the study.
The IHH study represents one of the most 
extensive efforts to compile available data and 
information on small-scale fisheries around the 
world.
 
It aims to contribute evidence to inform 
global dialogues and policy-making processes 
to enable fishers, civil society organizations and 
NGOs to advocate for productive, sustainable and 
equitable small-scale fisheries.
Sustainable development and
the contributions and impacts of
small-scale fisheries
From roadside drainage channels in Southeast 
Asia, to the mega-deltas of the world’s large 
river systems and the nearshore waters of 
oceans and seas, small-scale fisheries play an 
important role. While small-scale fisheries can 
look very different in each of these contexts, they 
have in common that they provide livelihoods 
for millions, essential nutrition to billions, 
and contribute substantially to household, 
local and national economies and economic 
growth. It is estimated that small-scale fisheries 
provide 90 percent of the employment in the 
marine fisheries sector (World Bank, 2012). 
Inland rivers, lakes and floodplains support 
even more fishers, processors and traders 
than do marine sectors, often as a crucial 
component of a complex and seasonally variable 
livelihood. In addition, small-scale fisheries 
are often culturally important to the identity 
of those involved, and can be central to coastal 
communities’ social structures, cultural heritage 
and trade.
However, owing to the highly diverse and 
dispersed nature of small-scale fisheries, 
quantifying and understanding their multiple 
contributions to and impacts on sustainable 
development is difficult. As a result, despite 
at times impressive headline statistics, 
small-scale fisheries are too frequently 
marginalized in social, economic and political 
processes and not given due attention in policy. 
This invisibility is becoming increasingly 
problematic as growing pressure from outside 
the sector (e.g. through competition for 
coastal/marine space and aquatic resources, 
and impacts of climate change) and from within 
(e.g. rising fishing effort, limited investment in 
management, and expansion of certain types 
of conservation measures) and the costs of 
marginalization are increasingly apparent.
The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing 
Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context 
of Food Security and Poverty Eradication 
(SSF Guidelines) represent a global, highly