To make small-scale fisheries in Kenya more sustainable, fishers need to invest in responsible fishing operations and technologies, reduce overfishing, contribute to fisheries management, and implement climate change adaptation measures. Small-scale fishers often do not have access to financial services to innovate and to make the necessary transition to sustainable fishing operations. Access to financial services will help them to innovate and adopt measures that will provide social, economic and environmental returns, the desired triple bottom line. The African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) and FAO, in collaboration with the State Department for Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Blue Economy in Kenya, implemented a project to analyse and improve the access of small-scale fishers to financial services in Kenya. The project identified the key finance- and fisheries sector stakeholders, carried out surveys and interviews, and conducted a techno-economic performance analysis of some small-scale fishing fleets, to investigate the potential innovations for investment. A two-day stakeholder workshop was held in 2021, in which the participants agreed to constitute a CAFI-SSF Network Kenyan Chapter. AFRACA developed and tested training materials on lending to the fisheries sector for financial service providers. This circular provides a summary of the project achievements.

To make small-scale fisheries in Thailand more sustainable, fishers need to invest in responsible fishing operations and technologies, reduce overfishing, contribute to fisheries management, and implement climate change adaptation measures. Small-scale fishers often do not have access to financial services to innovate and to make the necessary transition to sustainable fishing operations. Access to financial services will help them to innovate and adopt measures that will provide social, economic and environmental returns, the desired triple bottom line. The Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) and FAO, in collaboration with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), implemented a project to analyse and improve the access of small-scale fishers to financial services in Thailand.The project identified the key finance and fisheries sector stakeholders, carried out surveys and interviews and conducted a techno-economic performance analysis of some major fishing fleets, to investigate the potential innovations for investment in small-scale fisheries. APRACA and BAAC drafted training materials and conducted various trainings on financing small-scale fisheries. The project also supported the launch of a national network for stakeholders involved in financing the fishing sector in Thailand (ThaiNet SSF). This circular provides a summary of the project achievements.

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

To make small-scale fisheries in Thailand more sustainable, fishers need to invest in responsible fishing operations and technologies, reduce overfishing, contribute to fisheries management, and implement climate change adaptation measures. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and FAO carried out an assessment of the sustainability of currently used fishing technologies and operations in Thailand, to identify options for innovation and improvements. This circular provides information on the current technological status of the Thai fishing fleets, the costs of fishing operations, the management of the main fisheries, and on the status of the main marine fisheries resources targeted by the various fishing fleets. Options for introducing technological innovations for fishing vessels include the reconfiguration of the hull by installing a bulbous bow, stabilizing fins, duct propellors and wave resistance reduction measures. On-board equipment innovations identified include hydraulic hauling systems, power blocks, refrigeration systems, fuel flow monitoring systems, solar panels, and LED lights. To improve safety, vessel owners are recommended to provide lifesaving equipment, radio communications and firefighting equipment, first aid kits, cooking and sanitation facilities, emergency stops on winches and hauling devices, lightning conductors, and distress signal devices. Fishing gear innovations such as circle hooks, low-resistance gears, turtle excluder devices, juvenile and trash excluder devices, and fish aggregating devices are also important innovations for fishing vessel owners to consider.This circular gives fishing vessel owners and financial service providers in Thailand insights in the innovations available, to make better informed fisheries investment decisions.

This publication supports the AgrInvest-Food Systems project by analyzing Kenya’s national food system through food systems and political economy approach. These approaches resulted in mapping and linking Kenya’s food system outcomes and challenges, structural factors and drivers, sustainability challenges, and institutions and actors. These analyses led to the identification of two promising value chains for SDG-aligned investments, namely indigenous vegetables and aquaculture, and of the bottlenecks that currently impede more investments in Kenya.

Meat, Milk & More: Policy Innovations to Shepherd Inclusive and Sustainable Livestock Systems in Africa highlights options for sustainably promoting growth in the livestock sector, drawing from what four African countries—Ethiopia, Mali, South Africa, and Uganda—have done successfully in terms of institutional and policy innovation as well as programmatic interventions. By adapting these lessons to countries’ specific contexts and scaling them up across the continent, African governments can meet their national and international commitments to agricultural growth and transformation.

Lack of information on fish stocks, inadequate and unreliable data have been a major concern in the management of marine resources in Kenya. A need to improve methodology in data collected and stock assessment has been recognized. Data collected by the Fisheries Program at Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute from Lamu and Vanga areas was used to demonstrate various analyses. Mapping of catch distribution in the two areas, CPUE calculation, species composition, length distribution, length-weight relationships for selected species were performed. The estimated b values for the length-weight relationships for three species ranged from 1.954 to 2.326. No deductions can be made due to the limited data, however, recommendations on improvement of data to be collected and type of analyses to be performed in future when adequate data is available have been suggested.