The important role of
organizations in SSFs had already been underscored during the Global Conference on
Small-scale Fisheries held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008, and in a series of consultative
workshops on securing sustainable SSFs facilitated by FAO between 2010 and 2012.1
FAO’s work on fishers organizations and cooperatives dates back to 1959, when, with
the International Labour Organization, it organized a technical meeting on fishery
cooperatives.