Millions of people throughout the world, particularly
in Asia, Africa and Latin America, rely on small-scale
fisheries as a major source of food, income or as a
contribution to their livelihoods. Yet, despite the critical
role small-scale fisheries play in contributing to food
security, poverty alleviation and rural development, this
sector has been systematically neglected by fisheries
managers over the years in favour of the commercial
fisheries sectors [1–5]. The lack of understanding of the
dynamic and diverse nature of small-scale fisheries has
contributed to their neglect and the failure to design and
implement appropriate policies and management systems
to cater for their special characteristics. However,
over the past two decades the economic and sociocultural
value of this sector in realising sustainable
development goals has increasingly been recognised and
is being afforded greater attention internationally,
regionally and nationally [1,2,4–9].