The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

World Wetlands Day 2007

Fish for tomorrow?

World Wetlands Day 2007

Message from the Secretariat

Will there be fish for tomorrow?

Fish for Tomorrow, our slogan for World Wetlands Day 2007, is one that touches almost all of us, wherever we live and whatever we do. One billion people rely on fish and shellfish as their main or even sole source of protein, and most of us include fish as part of our regular diet. Yet the current state of the world's fisheries is a matter of great concern. Most of our commercially important marine fisheries and many of our inland stocks are currently being overfished or are being fished at their biological limits, yet the demand for fish will continue to grow as the global population increases. The majority of our fishers are small-scale fishers: their livelihoods depend on making sure that there will be fish for tomorrow.

We hope that this World Wetlands Day will be an opportunity for you to look at local and national fisheries issues, and to make that vital link between healthy, well-managed coastal and inland wetlands and the long-term sustainability of your fisheries.

The potential solutions to the problems facing the world's fisheries are many, as our World Wetlands Day materials illustrate, and while some of them require international cooperation, many depend on national and local commitment. The true success of WWD and its outcome depend on that all important ingredient - the local and national 'flavour' that you can add to this year's focus - so that your WWD targets are well informed of the issues and their role in finding solutions.

We wish you a happy and productive World Wetlands Day 2007. Let's make sure that there will indeed be Fish for Tomorrow.

The Ramsar Convention Secretariat

Photo at top: Chilika Lake Ramsar site, India (Ramsar / Najam Khurshid)

For further information about World Wetlands Day or the Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 5 January 2007, Dwight Peck and Sandra Hails, Ramsar.