Ahead of the celebration of World Fisheries Day 21 November, the Vatican asked Catholics to think about the perils faced by people who fish for a living and to advocate for their rights.
“Lamentably, many fishermen face storms far beyond the seas: low income, job insecurity, poor working conditions, being far from their families,” wrote Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
“We must not forget that behind each catch there is a life, a family, a call to integral development,” he wrote in the message released at the Vatican 14 November.
The world day, the cardinal said, calls attention “to the way of life in the fishing sector. It also supports sustainable fishing, recognising and rendering homage to the fishing communities of all the world and highlighting the importance of this activity for human life and the health of ecosystems.”