A/HRC/40/56 Fish-i Africa, for example, help Governments and the private sector flag illegal activity through vessel monitoring systems and tracking a vessel’s automatic identification system via satellite. The private sector should consider providing additional funding support for that type of research and for collaboratively responding to findings that may reveal patterns of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and worker exploitation. 73. In 2017, nine of the world’s biggest fishing companies, with a combined annual revenue of about $30 billion, signed the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship initiative to protect the world’s oceans, pledging to help stamp out illegal activities, including the use of slave labour. This effort marks the first time that industry actors from Asia, Europe and the United States have jointly committed to ending unsustainable practices. Such involvement of large-scale industry operators is important, as 13 multinational companies produce 11 to 16 per cent of global marine catches and control 19 to 40 per cent of the largest and most vulnerable stocks, such as tuna and grouper.73 C. Role of international and regional fishery organizations 74. FAO, ILO and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) continue to raise awareness of the socioeconomic value of fisheries and the conditions facing workers. ILO is leading the international dialogue on forced labour and trafficking in fisheries, while FAO has introduced programmes such as the Computerized System of Fish Marketing Information, or GLOBEFISH, and has collaborated with other United Nations agencies to monitor the sustainability of global fisheries and call for State commitments consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. 75. FAO is also working to understand the specific needs of small-scale inland and capture fisheries and to promote policies and programmes that enable them to build resilience in the face of dual challenges from globalization and climate change. The Hidden Harvest 2 study by FAO is expected to be the most extensive compilation to date of the available information on the diverse contributions of small-scale fisheries to communities and countries around the world, and will include case studies from the coastal and island States where most of the world’s small-scale fishers live and work. 76. Civil society and NGOs, including those with fishery workers as members, are critical for supporting such initiatives, empowering workers and ensuring that States are engaging in efforts to provide protective measures. In August 2018, for example, several civil society organizations issued a joint statement urging Thailand to ratify the Work in Fishing Convention by the end of the year. 74 There is also a broader global fishermen’s movement, with chapters in Canada, Chile, Italy, Japan, Norway, Senegal and the United States, which focuses on safeguarding common access to oceans and protecting the food security of the world’s fishers.75 77. Particularly in the context of small-scale fisheries, fishery organizations can help challenge the prevailing assumption that small-scale fisheries do not significantly contribute to macroeconomic indicators but are simply a social welfare net that supports the basic livelihoods of large swathes of the rural poor. On the contrary, organizations such as the World Forum of Fisher Peoples, which comprises 29 member organizations from 23 countries and represents over 10 million fisher people, has helped portray small-scale fisheries as critical to global food security. The Forum has promoted a human rights-based approach to the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication and has advocated for more inclusive decision-making. 73 74 75 16 Henrik Österblom and others, “Transnational corporations as ‘keystone actors’ in marine ecosystems”, PLoS ONE, vol. 10, No. 5 (May 2015). “Joint civil society statement concerning ratification of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188)”, 17 August 2018. Matthew Quest, “Barbuda fisher folk fight for community control”, Black Agenda Report, 19 July 2018.