IYAFA2022

International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022).

IYAFA 2022 aims to raise awareness on the role of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, strengthen science-policy interaction, empower stakeholders to take action, and to build new and strengthen existing partnerships. IYAFA 2022 can also act as a springboard towards implementing the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and related documents, like the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, and take concrete actions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as we enter the last decade of action to achieve the 2030 Agenda.  It also falls within the UN Decade of Family Farming, the two observances will reinforce one another in providing greater visibility to small-scale artisanal fishers, fishfarmers and fish workers.

In the Global Action Network meeting in November 2021, FAO invited the Global Action Network to engage in IYAFA. It was suggested to partner with CFS and bring IYAFA into the next plenary and to establish a small working group to explore and coordinate. Participants from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and WorldFish volunteered to be part of this initiative. Please email us (foodfromtheocean@hi.no) to join this working group.