Resilience Amidst Turmoil: The Ongoing Struggles of Chilika Lagoon’s Small-Scale Fishers Against Aquaculture and Sea Mouth Opening
The Chilika Lagoon, located in eastern India, is a 1100 km² brackish water ecosystem that hosts a stunning array of ecosystems and species and is a vital resource for small-scale fishing communities. However, it faces disruption from shrimp aquaculture and an opening of the lagoon to the sea. These disruptions are directly affecting environmental dynamics, altering access rights, and impacting small-scale fishers.
Webinar: A Global Spotlight on Ocean Defenders
Check the recording of our first webinar on Ocean Defenders. Learn more about the fights they lead, and how we can best support them.
The Alliance of Solwara Warriors’ resistance against deep sea mining in Papua New Guinea
The Alliance of Solwara Warriors (ASW) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) stands for resistance, resilience, education, and coalition building against deep sea mining (DSM). ASW brings together coastal communities from 6 provinces and various groups to address DSM threats, including concerns about cultural ties to the ocean, livelihood impacts, and potential environmental harm. ASW is committed to pursuing a permanent ban on deep sea mining in PNG.
Ocean-defending small-scale fishers in South Africa say NO to seismic surveys
As part of their Blue Economy strategy, the South African government has granted exploration permits covering 98% of the country’s EEZ. Small-scale fishers and their partners in South Africa have achieved two successful court cases in 2022, halting seismic surveys by multinational companies exploring for oil and gas. Small-scale fishers have led a strategic resistance, asserting their identity as ocean defenders, and defending their rights, livelihoods, and marine ecosystems.
Small-scale fishers fight against illegal industrial fishing in Northern Peru
Small-scale fishers from northern Peru are experiencing negative impacts from illegal industrial fishing practices within the protected 5-mile area. Despite the advocacy efforts of local fishers for enforcement of the zone designated for small-scale fishers and for the creation of an MPA, political instability, corruption, and the influence of oil companies have hindered progress.
The struggle of Indigenous peoples to protect the Chilean Blue Patagonia
Local Indigenous communities are establishing “Espacios Costeros Marinos para Pueblos Originarios” (ECMPOs) to increase control over their territories in response to the environmental and social impacts caused by the salmon aquaculture industry in Chilean Blue Patagonia. ECMPOs allow them to protect the environment and their traditional livelihoods, as well as halt the expansion of salmon farms.
