In recognition of the crucial role played by the world's 482 million traditional fisher people in ensuring food sovereignty and guaranteeing the human right to adequate food and nutrition (RtFN), not only for themselves but for millions of others, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022). IYAFA envisions a world in which "small-scale artisanal fishers […] are fully recognized and empowered to continue their contributions to human well-being, healthy food systems and poverty eradication […]." Yet, the 2019/2020 Fishers' Blue Economy Tribunal brought to the fore the ever-increasing territory grabbing, and the competition among various actors for ocean spaces, driving away traditional fisherfolk from their fishing grounds and territories, and jeopardizing their ability to feed themselves and their families. This article is based on the voices and experiences shared by the traditional fisher people representatives who are members of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples in dialogues held on their relationships with oceanic ecologies, the multi-faceted challenges they continue to face, and the future they envision for themselves and for future generations in attaining food sovereignty...
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