Fig. 1: Global examples of ocean defenders’ struggles to protect their environment and rights.

1. Heiltsuk Indigenous First Nation protest and close commercial herring fishery in Canada. 2. Raizal small-scale fisherfolk in Columbia denounce post-hurricane reconstruction undermining their livelihoods and coastal ecosystems. 3. Chilean artisanal fisherfolk protest industrial pollution of coastal waters. 4. Senegalese fisherfolk oppose licenses for Chinese and Turkish vessels to fish overexploited small pelagic fish. 5. Nigerian fisherfolk denounce oil spills and call for clean-ups in the Niger Delta region. 6. French fisherfolk push back against British vessels harvesting scallops during the off-season. 7. Palestinian fisherfolk denounce brutal water access restrictions by Israeli forces leading to overfishing in nearshore areas. 8. Bahraini fisherfolk protest against coastal land reclamation projects. 9. Bangladeshi small-scale fisherfolk and coastal populations oppose shrimp farming. 10. Vietnamese fisherfolk and coastal residents demonstrate to demand an immediate stop of toxic effluents by a Taiwanese steel plant. 11. Indonesian fisherfolk demonstrate against sand mining in South Sulawesi. 12. Filipino fisherfolk associations denounce illegal fishing threatening their livelihoods; secretary of the Saghay Tuna Fishing Association, Gerlie Alpajora, murdered in 2015. 13. Cook Island traditional leaders and fisherfolk push for a moratorium on seabed mining.