Working with national governments and partners, FISH focuses on improving the productivity of fisheries and aquaculture to reduce poverty and improve food and nutrition security.
Stories of change
Ingredients for Success
Behind a small house in the coastal village of Beacou in Timor-Leste, several women crowd around a table. It’s covered with jars and plates of brightly-coloured ingredients—fish, marungi leaves, dried shrimp, roasted sesame seeds, onion powder, salt, pepper, sugar, oil and cooked chili. The women...
The cool women of Malaita
In the Solomon Islands, an archipelago of almost 1000 islands, fishing provides an income for 30 percent of the population. Improving the way people catch, process or trade fish is a critical pathway for rural development in coastal communities. “In very remote villages, opportunities for earning...
New private GIFT hatchery in Timor-Leste boosts fish seed supply
The first public-private partnership model tilapia hatchery has opened in Leohitu, boosting the country’s production of GIFT fingerlings and paving the way for the aquaculture sector’s sustainable development.
Going to market with low-cost, fish-based innovations
Poverty, vulnerability and inequality persist in many sectors of Pacific Island society. But development investments often deliver ‘white elephants’—costly and poorly integrated infrastructure that is left unused. In coastal communities in Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, we are helping to strengthen people’s own inventive solutions or build on their existing assets to enhance fish-based livelihoods.
Gaining a voice: First Women Fishers’ Forum held in Timor-Leste
On Atauro Island in Timor-Leste, men have typically made the decisions about how fishery resources should be managed. But following efforts to build women fishers’ empowerment, women now have a greater voice in governance discussions and are engaging in collective action.
Research underlines potential of rice-fish farming in Myanmar
Research by FISH and partners shows that farming rice and fish together can increase rice yields, double profits and boost consumption of fish by poor households, providing a means to reduce poverty and achieve national nutrition and rural development targets.
How rice field fisheries are netting nutrition gains in Cambodia
A challenge faced by many caregivers in rural Cambodia is making sure their children get enough nutritious food. An integrated approach is leveraging rice field fisheries to address multiple causes of malnutrition.
Carrots and sticks: How incentives are conserving the hilsa fishery in Myanmar
For Myanmar's small-scale coastal and inland fishing communities, the hilsa fish, known locally as nga tha lauk , is a vital resource. Fishing hilsa employs over 1.5 million people in the country's most impoverished areas and provides a crucial source of food for many more. Hilsa can live for up to...
Photovoice: A high-impact research method that empowers women
Photovoice was the focus of a special workshop at the FISH-sponsored 7th Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries conference in Bangkok on 18-21 October 2018. The workshop – ‘Photovoice: Researching gender in aquaculture and fisheries though the camera lens’ – was run by Dr. Janine Pierce, an adjunct...
Farmer-to-farmer learning is boosting aquaculture in Sierra Leone
Small-scale aquaculture has significant potential to diversify livelihoods, raise incomes and create employment opportunities as well as improve household food security through greater access to fresh, nutritious fish. Despite these benefits, few farmers in Sierra Leone are currently engaged in...
Fish farmers celebrate tilapia harvest in Timor-Leste
The Partnership for Aquaculture Development in Timor-Leste (PADTL), a five-year project funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme, has played a crucial role in diversifying rural livelihoods in the country through the promotion of sustainable aquaculture. On 23 August 2018, the project farmers...
Water for fish: Sustainable inland fisheries
Finding solutions to this challenge was the topic of ‘ Water for Fish: Sustainable Inland Fisheries ’, a side event hosted by Conservation International (CI) on 28 August 2018 during Stockholm World Water Week . Using examples from inland fisheries across Africa and Asia, speakers from CI, FAO ,...