Sustainable Management of Small-Scale Fisheries Systems
Summary
Small-scale fisheries constitute complex social-ecological systems in which livelihood security, cultural identity and biodiversity conservation intersect. Predominantly operating in coastal and inland waters, these fisheries support millions of fishers and their families, especially in low-income regions, by providing food, employment and a buffer against economic shocks. Sustainable management requires a nuanced balance between harvesting practices and ecosystem integrity, achieved through regulatory instruments, participatory governance and adaptive decision-making. Key challenges include overexploitation, habitat degradation, climate variability and institutional fragmentation, all of which can undermine resource resilience and community wellbeing. Promising approaches combine rights-based arrangements, co-management frameworks and dynamic spatial planning, often underpinned by local ecological knowledge and scientific monitoring. Through examples such as community-driven closures, flexible catch quotas and integrated livelihood support, practitioners demonstrate that equitable governance and iterative learning can foster both productive fisheries and healthy marine environments.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Sustainable Management of Small-Scale Fisheries Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable management of small-scale fisheries systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Adaptive management: A structured, iterative process of decision-making that evolves in response to ecological and socio-economic feedback.
Co-management: A collaborative governance model in which local communities and government agencies share authority and responsibility for resource stewardship.
Common-pool resource: A natural resource system characterised by difficulty of user exclusion and subtractability of use among multiple actors.
Catch per unit effort (CPUE): An indicator of fishing efficiency, calculated as the amount of catch obtained relative to the effort invested (for example, hours fished or number of gear units deployed).
References
- Adaptive fisheries responses may lead to climate maladaptation in the absence of access regulations. npj Ocean Sustainability (2023).
- Incorporating climate-readiness into fisheries management strategies. The Science of The Total Environment (2024).
- To Fish or Not to Fish: Factors at Multiple Scales Affecting Artisanal Fishers' Readiness to Exit a Declining Fishery. PLOS ONE (2012).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.