(Photo: Profonanpe)

Sustainable fishing offers lifeline to communities hit by climate crisis

An ancient way of life is being forced to adapt to the reality of climate change.

Today, as it has been over centuries, the fishing industry contributes to a huge number of livelihoods which greatly depend on the practice. Recent research by the FAO, for example, found that 58.5 million people are employed by primary fishing and aquaculture. Those jobs hauled in an astonishing 214 million tonnesof aquatic animals in 2021.

The economic and social value that fishing brings to coastal communities around the world can’t be underestimated. But commercial fishing is also responsible for deeply unsustainable practices which are putting extreme pressure on biodiversity and the resilience of global fishing stocks.

The climate crisis multiplies these threats. Warming waters lead to species migration, creating a perfect storm which threatens the long-term viability of many fish species and, as a result, the livelihoods of millions of local fishermen everywhere from Senegal to South Korea.

Fishing is so ingrained into different cultures and geographies that solutions to increase sustainability need to be appreciative of the unique context in which they operate. The Adaptation Fund (AF) is supporting a number of projects globally which aim to build resilience against climate change and the unpredictability it now brings to each fishing season.

Continue reading the full story here on Climate Home News.