TBTI Global Foundation (TBTI Global) is a registered non-governmental organization, based in Bangkok, Thailand. It was established in 2019 to amplify the work of the original Too Big To Ignore (TBTI) Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries Research, which began in 2012 with six-years funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to Memorial University, Canada. The name ‘TBTI’ is known among fisheries actors, including governments and intergovernmental organizations, as the research center and knowledge mobilization hub for all aspects of small-scale fisheries, arguing that they are ‘too big to ignore’.
TBTI Global’s key mandates are to rectify the marginalization of small-scale fisheries in national and international policies, and to develop research and governance capacity to address global fisheries challenges. It achieves its mission through activities and deliverables such as a comprehensive open-access information system in small-scale fisheries, conducting in-depth social science and interdisciplinary research on topics related to small-scale fisheries; and synthesizing and mobilizing knowledge for policy discussion and capacity development in small-scale fisheries. TBTI Global has more than 800 members and 20 partner organizations, working in over 50 countries around the world.
TBTI objectives
- Understand the importance of small-scale fisheries to livelihoods, poverty alleviation, and food security
- Explore small-scale fisheries contribution to economic development, sustainability, and community viability
- Assess vulnerability of small-scale fisheries to global change processes
- Improve policy discussions and decision making about small-scale fisheries
- Strengthen knowledge about small-scale fisheries and build capacity in research and governance
- Advance implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines)
What we do
- Facilitate networking opportunities
- Organize meetings, workshops, and webinars
- Develop capacity in transdisciplinary research
- Connect sciences to policy and society
- Produce books, papers, reports, and briefs
- Host World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress (WSFC)
Our approach
Conduct research and knowledge mobilization activities
Through its clusters and working groups, TBTI Global has been conducting research and knowledge mobilization activities, covering key issues and concerns related to sustainable small-scale fisheries. The primary goal of our research effort has been improving fisheries governance for small-scale fisheries in a way that will lead to a governance system that is based on universal principles, including human rights, dignity, and justice.
Provide a global repository of small-scale fisheries data
To help improve information about small-scale fisheries, TBTI Global has developed one of the most comprehensive information systems on small-scale fisheries (issfcloud.toobigtoignore.net/). Information System for Small-scale Fisheries (ISSF) is a global collaborative online database providing information on small-scale fisheries to help enhance knowledge about this sector and their overall contributions.
Facilitate networking and capacity building opportunities
We organize conferences under the World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress series (WSFC) and SSF Regional Symposiums. We also hosts workshops, lectures, seminars, and annual public events such as those marking the World Fisheries Day. These events facilitate knowledge exchange, foster collaboration, and mobilize support for the viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries.
Apply transdisciplinary perspective
Since 2015, TBTI has been developing a transdisciplinary (TD) training program to help build capacity for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines, as well as for promoting viable and sustainable small-scale fisheries more broadly. The main objective of the TD training program is to engage participants in a critical examination of a range of issues, challenges and concerns related to fisheries and ocean sustainability, especially those affecting small-scale fisheries.
Build capacity through TBTI hubs
Sustainable small-scale fisheries begin in the communities where they belong. TBTI country hubs are established to strengthen the national network of researchers and stakeholders supporting small-scale fisheries, highlight their contribution to food security, social wellbeing and ecosystem health, and enhance the inclusion of small-scale fisheries in national policies and development strategies, grounded in equity and justice principles.
Please contact us if you would like to establish a hub in your country,
and help make small-scale fisheries too big to ignore!
TBTI staff
Ratana Chuenpagdee is TBTI Director and a University Researcher Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada. Her research emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches to coastal fisheries and ocean governance, focusing particularly on small-scale fisheries. Aside from TBTI, she also co-leads a research module on informing governance responses in a changing ocean for the Ocean Frontier Institute, another major collaborative research.
Vesna Kerezi is TBTI Program Manager and Communication Specialist who has been working with TBTI since 2013. A geographer by training, she holds a MSc from Memorial University, Canada. Her interests lie in human dimensions of small-scale fisheries, social science communication and knowledge mobilization. In 2023, Vesna was awarded Memorial University’s President’s Award for Exemplary Employees in the Champions of Innovation category.
Evan Andrews is a resource geographer working at the intersections of small-scale fisheries, marine conservation, and natural resource governance. He has a PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability. Evan is a Banting Fellow with TBTI. He is the lead editor of Thinking Big about Small-Scale Fisheries in Canada and co-founder of TBTI Canada, a cross-Canadian hub of TBTI Global, focused on increasing the visibility, recognition and enhancement of small-scale fisheries in Canada.
Edgar Becerril is a TBTI postdoctoral fellow. He has experience in the interdisciplinary study and conservation of threatened marine resources, as well as in environmental education through exhibitions and citizen science projects. His work with TBTI includes research and synthesis to improve our understanding of justice and equity issues on small-scale fisheries by analyzing datasets and case studies from the ISSF and applying the I-ADApT analytical framework.
Nova Almine is a a research assistant with TBTI Global. She studied Geography at Memorial University where her research focused on understanding the benefits, challenges, and opportunities of the dried fish sector and small-scale fisheries. Before moving to Newfoundland, she enjoyed SCUBA diving and help took care of a coral nursery in the Philippines to maintain and improve coral reef health and support local fish populations.
Daniela Bernot Simon is a Mexican oceanographer who is passionate about the study of marine wildlife. She obtained her master’s degree studying the reproduction of resident fin whales in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Later, she was involved in a project focusing on commercial species distribution in the Gulf of California and Mexico under climate change scenarios. Daniela is currently working as a research assistant for TBTI.