Fisheries Transparency Initiative fosters sustainable use of global fish stocks

Effective and ecosystem-based fisheries management is essential to rebuild fish stocks, sustain catches and restore ecosystems to a healthy and productive state. By monitoring and controlling fishing activities and stock sizes, governance bodies can set up sustainable fishing quotas, leading to the long-term securing of fish biomass.

Several aspects need to be clarified such as: “Who is allowed to fish where (in which waters)? How much fish is caught, and where and by whom? Which gear and methods are being used?” But in many countries with access to vast fisheries resources, because of inadequate governance structures, there is a big lack of information and transparency, which fosters potential overfishing.

Promoting governance and policy reforms, fostering effective management frameworks including enhanced transparency, establishing innovative technologies and adequate social protection are urgently needed in the fisheries sector.

The BMZ is supporting the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), whose goal is to enhance sustainability of global marine fisheries by increasing the accessibility, credibility and usability of national fisheries management information. The global and voluntary initiative provides internationally recognised procedures to increase transparency and participation in the marine fisheries sector. It enables public debate on a country's fisheries policy and meaningful participation in fisheries decision-making.

A variety of sector stakeholders are involved in the FiTI process through national multi-stakeholder groups, which consist of representatives from government, civil society and the business sector. The latter is not only represented by industrial stakeholders, but also by small-scale fishers to strengthen the voice of these important actors in aquatic food systems. The multi-stakeholder groups work collectively to assess whether government information in the public domain is accessible, complete and credible, and give recommendations to national authorities on how to improve the availability and usability of information over time.

The fourth annual FITI Report by GIZ

To this point, twelve countries around the globe have joined the FiTI and committed to follow its goal including Mauritania, Madagascar, Ghana, Seychelles, Ecuador and Chile.

Mauritania was the first country to commit to the FiTI in 2016 and has significantly enhanced its level of transparency since then, regularly disclosing important information on its fisheries sector. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) supported the country technically and financially, e.g. by publishing its 4th annual FiTI Report in March 2024, which contains key information about fishing agreements, fisheries data and a newly established vessel register. This report enables all interested stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the status of the country’s fisheries sector as well as the benefits and challenges of working towards sustainability. This improved state of information must be followed by actions and ambitions to manage fisheries effectively, which still represents a challenge for many countries.

The FiTI celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2025, looking back at successfully contributing to the sustainable transformation of global fisheries.

Further information:

The FiTI Standard – Defining what information on fisheries must be published online by governments (video)

Germany supports FiTI through 5-year grant to enhance transparency in global fisheries management – FiTI - Fisheries Transparency Initiative

Contact: Annika Mackensen, Sector Project Food and Nutrition Security, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarabeit (GIZ) GmbH; Bonn, Eschborn, Germany.