Fisheries

Using economic instruments, we work to address threats faced by marine fisheries, and the people who depend on them, and help to shape policy options for realising the global goals

Also related to

Sustainable fisheries

Economic incentives for marine and coastal conservation

Marine conservation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

People in a plenary room cheering and clapping.

Making global trade rules work for small-scale fisheries

Annabelle Bladon
28 October 2026

Boat of fisherman returning to shore in Ghana

Rebuilding trade rules through WTO reform: what next for sustainable development?

Anna Ducros and Laura Kelly
09 April 2026

Fishers on small boats have their belongings searched while the boats are afloat.

Rights and housing justice for urban small-scale fishing communities

Began October 2025

Thousands of fish are caught in a net off the side of a large trawler ship.

IIED at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum 2026

Event on 15 September 2026

Team of small-scale fish farmers in a boat, casting a net in the water.

Cutting edge work puts local people at the heart of policy and practice

Impact story 2 minute read

Head and shoulders photo of four people alongside the words 'podcast episode 36'.

Solidarity, collaboration and justice – the future of food systems: Make Change Happen podcast episode 36

18 September 2025

Inclusive blue economy

A programme of work supporting resilient marine and coastal ecosystems and the millions of people who depend on them to thrive by aligning incentives with investments

Publications

View more Fisheries publications

Cover for 22301iied.pdf

What about seafood? The role of seafood in UK food systems transformation

Cover for 21986iied.pdf

Philanthropy’s role in sustaining fisheries for people and nature

Cover for 21306IIED.pdf

Sustainable seafood and small-scale fisheries

Cover 20986iied

Connecting social protection and fisheries management for sustainability

cover image

Climate change and aquatic food systems

Cover image

The contribution of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture to food systems

Cover for 16609IIED.pdf

Food and feeding ecology of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) in Bangladesh’s Meghna River basin

Cover for 16669IIED.pdf

Financing incentive-based hilsa fisheries management in Myanmar through fiscal reform

Cover for 6129IIED.pdf

PLA Notes 30: Participation and Fishing Communities

Cover for 17462IIED.pdf

Equity and benefit sharing from marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction

111 entries

A fishing boat and cruise liner cross paths outside Zakynthos Harbour (Photo: Robert Wallace, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

The blue economy and maritime security in Africa: why now?

Insight, 13 October 2016

A wholesale fish market in Cox's Bazar on the Bay of Bengal. Fishing communities need access to finance and infrastructure such as clean water, refrigeration and transport (Photo: Aftab Uzzaman, Creative Commons via Flickr)

Untangling the net: what does 'leave no one behind' mean for fishers?

Insight, 11 July 2016

Protecting the world's oceans: three key tasks

News, 08 June 2016

An image of an artisanal fisher in Kiribati casting his net into the water; 90 per cent of all fishers are small-scale or artisanal (Photo: Quentin Hanich/WorldFish, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

Towards an inclusive blue economy

Insight, 01 June 2016

An image of Mohammad Sayedul Haque, the Bangladesh Minister of Fisheries and Livestock alongside a table around which sit participants from Bangladesh, Myanmar and India as they discuss sustainable hilsa fishery management (Photo: Essam Yassin Mohammed/IIED)

Scientists call for international collaboration to safeguard hilsa fish stocks

News, 06 May 2016

Policymakers at a UN meeting in New York discuss how to end the legal 'no man's land' on 50 per cent of the Earth's surface (Photo by IISD/Francis Dejon)

Governing the ungoverned 50% of the planet

Insight, 11 April 2016

A hilsa, the national fish of Bangladesh. Inadequate government compensation during periods when fishing is banned has a harsh economic consequence for families (Photo: BBC World Service Bangladesh Boat, Creative Common, via Flickr)

Forced to sell the roof over their heads

Insight, 04 April 2016

A fishing vessel is dwarfed by a crude oil tanker in Singapore harbour, illustrating the impact oil prices have on sustainable fisheries (Photo: Andrew Thomas, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

Plunging oil prices: what happens to our oceans?

Insight, 15 February 2016

A fish market in Vĩnh Trường, Vietnam. More than 300 million people are directly or indirectly employed by the fisheries sector, and must be addressed by the oceans SDG (Photo: Khánh Hmoong, Creative Commons, via Flickr)

A sustainable ocean by 2030

Insight, 14 September 2015

Essam Yassin Mohammed argues that Goal 14 cannot be seen in isolation from the other Sustainable Development Goals (Image: IIED)

Understanding the SDGs: the importance of Goal 14

News, 07 September 2015