SDG #14 is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”
Within SDG #14 are 10 targets, of which we here focus on Target 14.b:
Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
Target 14.b has one indicator:
Indicator 14.b.1: Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries
The FAO issues Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries. The purposes of these are to improve food security and reduce poverty.
The measure for protections of small-scale fisheries along such guidelines is from a 1-5 scale, 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest. As of 2022, the country with the lowest protections among those with data is landlocked Nepal. Excluding some smaller states, the lowest protections are also in:
China
Namibia
land-locked Tajikistan
Azerbaijan, which only borders the inland Caspian Sea
The global scorecard for this measure is at the highest level of 5.
