Upwelling: Fishers Organizing for their Rights and Sustainable Fisheries

Fishers face increased risks to their lives and livelihoods. Climate change and overfishing are sending fishers out to sea for longer periods of time or at distances beyond the capacity of their vessels. In response, fishers are pursuing new strategies to organize, build power, and defend their rights.

This paper presents lessons from fisher organizing in diverse sectors. It aligns with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 188 (C 188) on Work in Fishing, which defines fishers as all those working in marine capture, from artisanal fisherfolk to workers on the distant water fleet (DWF). The research reviews organizing trends in six countries and identifies common challenges and factors contributing to fisher organizing. In all six countries—Ecuador, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand—new organizing initiatives have recently emerged.

This research considers a range of dynamics that affect fisher organizing and their ability to access information, seek remedy, and influence policy outcomes. It provides insights from interviews with organizers and other fishery experts. The findings highlight areas where more work and strategizing are needed to build stronger and more influential fisher organizations. These should also inform international and national advocates for fisher rights and environmental justice. Findings include:

• The growing number of unions and worker organizations that have formed over the past ten years are building momentum but need greater cohesion. Many still need to strengthen their internal structures, grow their membership, and unite with peer organizations to hold governments and employers accountable.

• A lack of policy coherence creates challenges for protecting fisher rights, as Ministries of Labor, Fishing, and Transportation struggle to coordinate. Failure to remedy this dysfunction adds to fishers’ distrust of government and facilitates already entrenched opposition to fisher organizing.

• Additional resources make a critical difference to incubate organizing in sectors previously unorganized, particularly in a context where companies pay consultants and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to ‘hear’ worker voice. However, these resources can also create divisions among member-based organizations and must be managed carefully.

• Fisher organizers may be stretched between leveraging international campaigns, navigating national politics, advancing solutions with local government, and bargaining with employers. International allies need to build campaigns around fisher organizations’ priorities.