Small-scale fisheries play a key role in reducing poverty and hunger

Branco Weiss Alumnus Michael Fabinyi has contributed to a research paper that made it on the cover of Nature in January 2025. The paper puts the spotlight on small-scale fisheries and the key role they play in reducing poverty, hunger and malnutrition. The researchers estimate that small-scale fisheries contribute at least 40% to global catches, worth about US$77.2 billion per year. The livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the world depend at least in part on such fisheries. The team notes that the scale and range of the contributions made by small-scale fisheries has largely been overlooked, and that a deeper understanding of them is needed to design and implement policies for sustainable development.

Dr. Fabinyi was a Branco Weiss Fellow from 2012 to 2017. Last year, he was appointed full professor at the University of Technology Sydney. He uses theories and methods from the social sciences to understand the social, political and cultural aspects of marine resource use and management. His research includes coastal livelihoods, agrarian change, food security in coastal contexts, seafood trade and fisheries governance.

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Read the paper in Nature

See the article on the cover of Nature