Projects 2022
2022 is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA2022). With several postponements due to the pandemic it's an even more crucial year for the ocean than 2021 was expected. The Second UN Ocean Conference is scheduled in June in Lisbon, a major conference on biodiversity should set new targets to revert us from the trend to mass extinctions, more countries are making commitments towards ocean protection expected to translate into more concrete delivery, including bringing to a successful close the on-going UN negotiations about protecting 30% of the ocean and 30% of the land area by 2030 (30 X 30). All this must bring about changes to our wasteful production and consumption patterns. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) is getting into gear and improve our understanding of the ocean and enhance ocean literacy. And we continue to put pressure on the World Trade Organization's (WTO) negotiation to phase out harmful fisheries subsidies, which must finally deliver. That would also be an important step to curb widespread Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing costing legitimate businesses and developing countries' fiscal authorities billions as well as constituting a major threat to viable and prosperous small-scale fisheries. We will continue our advocacy and awareness-raising activities in these directions and keep supporting the implementation of global Sustainable Development Goals and the Voluntary Guidelines for Ensuring Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries at local levels underpinned by academic work.