This past World Fisheries Day, on 21st November 2025, I had the privilege of attending a global forum that brought into focus the often-overlooked inland fisheries. Organized by TBTI Global, the webinar brought together researchers, students, government officials, and representatives from various national, regional, and global organizations. Ratana Chuenpagdee, the Director of TBTI Global, led the event.
The highlight of the webinar was the launch of the e-book, ‘The Beauty and the Bounty at Risk: Small-Scale Fisheries of Nepal,‘ by TBTI Nepal, which focuses on inland small-scale fisheries. TBTI Nepal is a recent hub within TBTI global – the 11th hub in total and the 4th in Asia, following those in Bangladesh, Japan, and the Philippines. These hubs connect researchers, governments, and NGOs both within their countries and internationally, with the aim of promoting sustainable fisheries and regional collaboration.
Check out the recording of the webinar
Participants of the World Fisheries Day webinar
The global stage: A crisis in freshwater food systems
The webinar opened with several international speakers providing an overview of the significance, challenges, and opportunities of inland small-scale fisheries. Mr. Valerio Crespi from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) highlighted the importance of inland small-scale fisheries, as this sector accounts for 12% of the global catch. And yet, with only 1% of water use, the sector faces severe threats from climate change. In response, the FAO’s Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Inland Fisheries Initiative, launched in 2023, aim to incorporate fisheries into broader water and land management. Dr. Crespi encouraged researchers and organizations to join this initiative, emphasizing that protecting these systems requires a united, global effort.
Dr. Gretchen Stokes from the University of Florida spoke about the threats to inland fisheries, including habitat loss due to climate change and the need for innovative monitoring methods. She described a new index that spatially maps these risks by watershed to facilitate comparable, global assessments, guiding future management and resilience-building pilot projects. She showcased a five-stage intersectoral framework for integrated basin assessment and management. This structured approach is currently being tested in seven pilot studies across Latin America, Africa, and Asia to evaluate and refine the methodology for scalable, sustainable inland fisheries management.
Dr. Cécile Brugere from the Nature Conservancy, UK, highlighted the critical role women play in inland fisheries and how their contributions are often undervalued. She highlighted the Nature Conservancy’s projects in Brazil, Colombia, and Tanzania that focus on promoting gender equity through action plans, capacity building, and amplifying women’s voices in management. The key successes of their work include empowering women with knowledge and strengthening institutional links. However, significant challenges persist, such as discriminatory customs, the often-hidden prevalence of gender-based violence like “sex-for-fish,” and gender-blind policies.
The heart of the event: Launching Nepal’s e-book
The core of the webinar was the launch of the TBTI Nepal e-book. The introduction to this important achievement was smoothly handled by Prof. Svein Jentoft, a founding member of TBTI, whose remarks officially introduced the book to the global community. He highlighted the vital role of compelling narratives in advocacy, stating that “The Beauty and the Bounty at Risk” offers exactly the kind of strong, grounded story needed to shed light on the value and vulnerabilities of small-scale fisheries. He linked this achievement to the broader vision of the TBTI Global network, noting that one of the main aims of establishing regional hubs worldwide is specifically to produce such impactful, place-based knowledge. This book, he affirmed, exemplifies “a nice example of how things can be done,” showcasing successful collaboration between local experts and a global support system.
The journey of this collaborative book began with a workshop in Nepal that brought together students, researchers, and fishers. The speakers from Nepal expressed great pride and hope at the launch of the country’s first-ever e-book dedicated to small-scale fisheries. They stressed that despite being a landlocked, mountainous country, Nepal is the “water tower of Asia,” with fisheries providing crucial livelihoods, food security, and cultural identity for many communities. Historically, these fisheries have remained largely invisible in mainstream policy and research. The topics include the rich ecology, value chains, gender roles, governance, and challenges like climate change and habitat loss facing these vital systems.
The book ‘The Beauty and the Bounty at Risk’ is the first e-book on small-scale fisheries in Nepal. This book has twenty-nine stories of fishes, fisheries and fishers of Nepal, which are written by experts, early career scientists and students of the B.Sc. Fisheries and M.Sc. Fisheries in the Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur... The book offers insights of different aspects of the small-scale fisheries such as fishing technology, socio-economics, environmental issues, and governance. It has covered fisheries in different water mass, both stagnant (lake, pond, reservoir, wetland) and running water (river, stream), and cold-water and warm-water from mid hills and Terai (plain area). The book also highlights cross cutting issues such as women empowerment, climate change and its impacts on aquatic biodiversity, and the need for conservation. Finally, the book explores the challenges, opportunities and visions, which are useful for future development of fisheries. I believe that the book will be helpful to draw the attention of policy makers and researchers, and promote sustainable, equitable and resilient fisheries in the country.
From the Foreword by Sunila Rai
Professor of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal
Call to action: From awareness to advocacy
The book was edited by Ranju Ghimire, Nelson Pokhrel, Thaneshwar Bhandari and Tek Bahadur Gurung, the coordinators of TBTI Nepal. The contributors see the publication as a foundational document that will inspire future research, engage youth, guide policymakers, and highlight the significant contributions of small-scale fishers, advocating for their rights and equitable governance. This book serves as a call to action by making Nepal’s small-scale fisheries visible, offering an essential evidence base for researchers, a guide for policymakers, and an inspiration for local communities and advocates striving for sustainable and equitable management of these vital resource
The webinar was more than a launch; it was a powerful convergence of global science and local voices. It presented a clear picture: the challenges facing Nepal’s fishers are a microcosm of a global crisis in our freshwater food systems. Yet, in the detailed assessment frameworks, the push for gender equity, and most importantly, in the passionate narrative of Nepal’s new e-book, we also find a blueprint for hope and action. This World Fisheries Day was a reminder that these communities, and the bounty they steward, are truly Too Big To Ignore.
Written by:
Md. Ruyel Miah
Project Coordinator, CiCADD, York University
Research Associate, V2V Global Partnership
Member, TBTI Bangladesh