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Today, on World Fisherpeoples’ Day, Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific and Friends of the Earth India stand united with fisher people across the world—communities that embody resilience, wisdom, and a steadfast commitment to protecting our waters and ecosystems.
This is not just a day of celebration. It is a day of assertion. A day that recognizes the dignity, the heritage, and the enduring rights of fisher people who safeguard our coasts, rivers, and oceans. It is a day that amplifies the voice of the fisher people and the struggles to defend livelihoods, homes, and the waters that sustain us all.
A Day Rooted in Resistance
World Fisher Peoples’ Day is born of solidarity and struggle. On 21 November 1997, in New Delhi, fisher people from across the globe came together to form a united platform for action: that later embodied as the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP). Since then, this day has become a rallying point for fisher communities in over 100 countries, recognised globally as a symbol of their resilience and defiance against exploitation and marginalisation.
This year, we also celebrate the historic call from the Indian Fisherwomen Assembly 2024 to mark 5 November as the International Day of Fisherwomen. Fisherwomen, the unsung custodians of traditional knowledge and conservation, stand at the heart of our ecosystems. Their recognition is long overdue, and we honour their indispensable contributions.
Fisher communities are the frontline defenders of our rivers, seas, and oceans – hence the climate too. Yet they are faced with mounting threats:
- Oceans poisoned by industrial waste and plastics.
- Rivers drained and polluted by unchecked development.
- Coastal lands stolen in the name of the blue economy.
- Livelihoods shattered by climate disasters
Today one of the greatest challenges faced by traditional fisher peoples is the phenomenon of overfishing and depletion of fisheries resources due to increased mechanisation, bottom trawling, non-implementation of fishing gear practices and use of destructive gears by industrial fishing fleet. This is destroying the ocean and the waters and killing the marine wealth by the day. Oceans provide us much of the oxygen we breathe, and if oceans are choked by such unscientific practices, the earth is bound to breath worse
These are not isolated challenges—they are assaults on humanity itself. When fisher people are forced off their lands, when waters are polluted beyond repair, and when ecosystems collapse, it is a blow to us all.
Raising the Blue Flag of Unity
On this day, we honour the courage and wisdom of fisher communities. Let this 21 November be a call to all of us:
- To defend the rights of fisher communities against displacement and exploitation.
- To demand justice for the destruction of our rivers, seas, and coasts.
- To insist on urgent, bold action to address climate change and its devastating impacts.
We raise the blue flag as a symbol of unity, of resistance, and of respect—for fisher people, for the waters, and for the ecosystems that sustain life. The traditional practices, songs, stories, and skills are not just cultural treasures—they are keys to a sustainable future.
World Fisher Peoples’ Day is more than a symbolic day—it is a movement. It is a reminder that the waters we protect today will shape the world we leave for tomorrow.
In solidarity, now and always.
