World Fishery Day: A Celebration of Those Who Bring Us Fish Every year, June 27 is marked by a special date on the calendar — World Fishery Day. This celebration unites professional fishermen who go out to sea on commercial vessels, fishing enthusiasts for whom fishing is a passion and a way to relax, and everyone else connected to the fishery industry. In 2026, the celebration falls on a Saturday. It is an ordinary weekday, but for millions of people around the world, it becomes an occasion to remember the importance of fishery to humanity, those who catch fish, and the need for careful stewardship of the planet's water resources. The History of the Celebration: How June 27 Became World Fishery Day World Fishery Day is a relatively young celebration. Its history began in July 1984 in Rome at the International Conference on the Regulation and Development of Fishery. It was then that the decision was made to establish an official holiday dedicated to everyone connected to fishery and fishery industry. The day was first celebrated in 1985. The decision to create the holiday was not made by chance. By the mid-1980s, it became clear that fishery plays a huge role in ensuring global food security, but at the same time, water resources are being depleted, and the profession of a fisherman remains undervalued. Establishing World Fishery Day was meant to draw attention to these issues and raise the prestige of the profession. Interestingly, in the Soviet Union and then in Russia, a separate Day of the Fisherman appeared almost twenty years earlier. In 1965, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree establishing a professional holiday — the Day of the Fisherman. It was set for the second Sunday in July, and in 2026, it falls on July 11. The date was chosen for a reason: by mid-July, the spawning period ends in most of the country, and fishermen can finally go out to fish after seasonal restrictions. So, Russian fishermen have two holidays a year. ... Read more