The United Nations General Assembly declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) and has identified FAO as the leading agency of the project. Telespazio and e-GEOS support the initiative and have dedicated their 2022 Love Planet Earth Calendar, now in its fourteenth edition, to these topics.

Oceans and seas, rivers and lakes, rice paddies and canals – the world's waters provide not only fish, but also other foods that help mankind face the complex and critical challenges of nutrition, public health, climate change, resilience, gender equity, social inclusion and sustainable growth across the globe.

In 2022, month after month, Love Planet Earth calendar offers the possibility to take a trip around the world and observe, through photographs and satellite images, the work of artisanal fishermen, fisheries and fish workers.

Such activities, while conducted on a small scale, can contribute to the well-being of Man, creating healthy food systems and helping to eradicate poverty through the responsible and sustainable use of fishing and aquaculture resources.

The scenic satellite images produced by e-GEOS were captured by the radar eyes of Italy’s first and second generation COSMO-SkyMed satellites and by the constellations of the world's leading Earth observation operators.

These are extraordinary, unexplored views of our planet, from the Polynesian and Caribbean islands to Hawaii, the rice paddies of China, the aquaculture centres of Zambia and Tunisia, the world’s great rivers, such as the Mekong and the Amazon, the small ports of Mauritania and Yemen, and through to the Chilean coasts.

A real journey around the globe to describe the daily challenge faced by peoples and cultures in an attempt to reconcile sustainability and growth through traditional and natural food production practices.

Have a good trip! 

January
Kneiss Island, near Sfax, Tunisia is an area where women collect clams based on simple sustainability criteria, supported by an association addressing capacity development, off-season activities, and social empowerment.

SuperView-1 Image © China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology 2020. Distributed by SpaceWill
February
The shallow, warm and protected waters of Barbuda offer spawning and nursery habitats for fish, lobster and conchs which disperse across the region to replenish stocks crucial for small-scale fishers in Barbuda island, eastern Caribbean.

COSMO-SkyMed image © ASI, processed and distributed by e-GEOS
March
Many Small Island Developing States encompass large marine areas and therefore rely heavily on small-scale fisheries for both food security and as a source of export products, as is the case in Tuvalu in the southern Pacific.

Sentinel-2 © ESA 2021. Processed by e-GEOS
April
Seaweed farming sites fill the Fujian bay in China, producing not only aquatic food but also providing habitat, ecosystem benefits and water quality improvement.

Sentinel-1 © ESA 2021. Processed by e-GEOS
May
In Nouadhibou harbor, Mauritania, thousands of densely packed boats of the small-scale fishing fleet form a shape resembling ice crystals when seen from above.

Image from GEOSAT 2 © 2021 GEOSAT
June
In the coves and bays along the coast of Chile (Caleta Coliumo), small-scale fishers and fish farmers harvest the ocean’s bounty, but climate change is threatening their traditional practices and requiring them to adapt.

COSMO-SkyMed image © ASI, processed and distributed by e-GEOS
July
Thousands of islands in the Mekong River, near the Champasak Province, in southern Lao PDR, provide fertile fishing grounds for many freshwater species, essential for food, nutrition and livelihoods in the local communities.

COSMO-SkyMed image © ASI, processed and distributed by e-GEOS
August
Recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, the Hani Rice Terraces, in Honghe Prefecture, China combine rice fish farming and traditional terracing techniques, with the importance of aquatic biodiversity celebrated in the Hani culture.

COSMO-SkyMed image © ASI, processed and distributed by e-GEOS
September
Communities are restoring ancient fishponds, or loko iʻa, across the Hawaiian Islands like He'eia (USA) with small-scale fish farmers combining modern techniques with traditional knowledge to adapt to today’s shifting needs.

Pléiades Image ©️CNES 2021, Distribution Airbus DS
October
Outside Balanbeen, Zambia, a government aquaculture research station provides local small-scale fish farmers with training, support and improved tilapia and catfish fingerlings.

WorldView-3 image © Maxar Technologies
November
Containing the highest freshwater biodiversity on Earth, the Amazon river is a fundamental source of food and income for riverside communities.

Landsat-8 2021 © USGS
December
Hundreds of fishing vessels anchored offshore of a fish landing site near Shoqra, Yemen, underscore the importance of small-scale fisheries for the food security and nutrition of nearby communities.

Kompsat-3A Image © KARI 2017

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