Human rights are about more than political and civil rights, they also include a bundle of “economic, social and cultural rights” which include rights to food, water, housing, and decent work, and the rights of children, migrants and women. Each of these rights has a legal framework supporting it, which forms the international architecture of human rights law. The "rights-based approach" to development argues that human rights are integral to development outcomes, as international human rights norms highlight the freedoms and capabilities of each individual, essential components of the human side of development. This special edition brings together contributions on human rights perspectives and approaches as applied to fisheries. The papers are written by academics, activists and international development agency workers. In fact, some of the contributing authors and editors defy these categorizations and all have maintained personal and professional networks across the interfaces between research, management and development, policy and activism.