Ocean Outcomes Home
Ocean Outcomes Home
Language Close

What We Do

Small-Scale Fisheries

To date, small-scale fisheries and their stakeholders are underserved and underrepresented in the global seafood environment and movement. New approaches, collaborations and tools from Ocean Outcomes and partners are working to change this.

page.title

Small in scale, big in value

Small-scale fisheries sit at the center of global seafood systems, supporting livelihoods, feeding communities, and shaping the health of coastal ecosystems worldwide. Fish and seafood provide a primary source of protein for nearly half the global population, and small-scale fisheries play a disproportionate role in meeting that need, producing much of the seafood destined for direct human consumption and employing the vast majority of fishworkers globally.

Yet despite their importance, these fisheries remain among the most underserved in sustainability efforts. Many face mounting pressures — from overfishing and climate-driven shifts in fish populations to pollution and degraded ecosystems — while the communities that depend on them often lack access to markets, services, and decision-making processes.

The future of fisheries will not be determined by large-scale systems alone. It will also be shaped in coastal communities, where access, equity, and opportunity define what sustainable fishing looks like in practice.

At Ocean Outcomes, we work alongside communities, governments, and partners to strengthen the conditions that make lasting change possible — supporting local leadership, building capacity, and co-developing solutions that reflect the realities of each fishery. Because there are no universal solutions in small-scale fisheries, only approaches that work when they are shaped by the people and systems they are meant to support.

A more complete approach to the needs of small-scale fisheries

woman-processing-fish.png

Our work in small-scale fisheries is grounded in a triple bottom line approach — considering and working to advance environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and economic viability together.

Alongside partners SmartFish AC and Conservation International, we are taking this approach to address a clear challenge: efforts focused on environmental outcomes alone often fail to deliver lasting results when social and economic realities are left unaddressed.

See our triple impact case studies that demonstrate how Ocean Outcomes and partners are successfully producing outcomes in small-scale fisheries.

Community Fishery Improvement Projects (CFIPs)

Community Fishery Improvement Projects (CFIPs) bring this approach into practice.

Building on traditional Fishery Improvement Projects, CFIPs are designed specifically for small-scale fisheries, shifting from top-down interventions to bottom-up, community-led action. Fishers and local stakeholders define priorities, co-design solutions, and lead implementation. CFIPs apply the triple impact lens, allowing actions to be sequenced and adapted based on local realities — ensuring that improvements are relevant, achievable, and durable.

CFIP-Manual-Image.png

To support the adoption and implementation of this approach, Ocean Outcomes worked alongside Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society to develop a practical guide to designing and implementing CFIPs. The manual outlines the full process — from scoping and co-design through implementation and measuring impact — grounded in real-world application across small-scale fisheries.

Partnerships & Collaborations

We work as part of a broader ecosystem supporting small-scale fisheries globally. This includes our engagement with the Small-Scale Fisheries Intermediary Collective – a growing network of non-profits, startups, researchers, cooperatives, and intermediaries all working shoulder-to-shoulder with small-scale fishing communities around the world. Other Collective members include organizations such as ABALOBI and SmartFish Rescate de Valor, with whom we have worked on a number of projects that support improvements to small-scale fishing practices and healthier fishing communities.

At a global level, we are contributors to events such as the World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress and the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), and knowledge-sharing initiatives like the Small-Scale Fisheries Hub. These collaborations help strengthen connections, share knowledge, and elevate community voices across the sector.

Stories from the Field: Small-Scale Fisheries