FISHERS AND PLUNDERERS
What Walter Scott said in 1816 stili rings true two centuries later. The main purpose of this book is to raise concerns about the deaths, dangers and deplorable conditions experienced by fishers who earn a living from the sea, and also about che communities that depend on them. This chapter provides a perspective on the book as a whole and its thematic sections.
There are 16.5 million fishers engaged globally, hunting for and landing some 90 million tonnes of fish each year. Toey comprise a vast dìversity of national, ethnic and cultura) participants in a fleet of over 4 million different types of crafi. with equally diverse gears. 1he largest group are the 15 million small-scale fishers (SSF). 1 They work out of thousands of coastal communities on a day-Lo-day basis on boats less than 10 m in length.