Workers selecting Yellowfin tuna for processing at Ensis Fisheries in the Maldives
Giulio Napolitano, FAO
A new initiative called Wavemakers invites female professionals in the fisheries sector to share their experiences on a voluntary basis and strengthen dialogue with young professionals in the sector to empower the next generation.
Wavemakers, an initiative of the International Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Network (IMCS Network), connects early and mid-career professionals, or ‘navigators’, with experienced women leaders, or ‘guides’, from across the global fisheries community.
“We created Wavemakers because we believe that when people are given the environment to reflect, grow and connect, something powerful happens — not just for them, but for the oceans they are working so hard to protect,”
said Sarah Lenel, the executive director of the IMCS Network, who is also a member of the Wavemakers Advisory Group and a guide.
Over a period of nine months, participants will share their experience, reflect on challenges and build the confidence and connections that sustain value-centred careers in this field.
The IMCS Network has invited experienced women leaders from UN organisations, regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs), national agencies, and other organisations to share their experience and know-how to advance fisheries governance.
The Common Oceans Program, led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), supports the initiative.
Alice McDonald, secretary of FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI) and Viktoria Varga Lencses, senior fishery officer and Common Oceans coordinator, are Wavemaker guides.
They both emphasised that building strong professional networks and learning from peers was important, not only for developing experience and building careers, but also for making the work more collaborative and rewarding.
Rhea Moss-Christian, executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), is a member of the Wavemakers Advisory Group and is also a guide.
“Wavemakers creates a space for MCS professionals to explore new ideas without limitation or stigma, and these are conversations that are essential to meeting the growing challenges in international fisheries management.”
She said.
The IMCS Network is a global community of fisheries professionals from national agencies and regional organisations, and it works with the FAO Common Oceans Program to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and improve fisheries compliance globally.
Together, they support the Tuna Compliance Network, which aligns monitoring and compliance practices across international waters.
The Common Oceans Tuna project supports sustainable tuna fisheries that ensure responsible management and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).
About the project
The Common Oceans Tuna project brings together a global partnership dedicated to sustainable tuna fisheries, aiming to advance responsible tuna fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it works in collaboration with five regional tuna fisheries management organisations, intergovernmental organisations, the private sector, and civil society.
For more information please contact: Joseph.Zelasney@fao.org
Related content: https://imcsnet.org/wavemakers
Words by Josephine McKenna.