The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Bank, Worldfish Center, International Collective in Support of Fish workers (ICFS), World Fisher Forum (WFF), international experts and researchers have all contributed to recent progress in understanding small-scale fisheries. The Big Number Project (BNP) has reconfirmed the importance, scale and size of this sector. Hence, it is crucial that fisheries governance and human rights based approaches secure social and economic justice for small-scale fishers and this should be in balance with environmental sustainability. This paper reviews recent progress in recognising and addressing issues in small-scale fisheries in southern Africa. Specifically it asks what approaches, frameworks, and concepts are driving the discussions and debates on small-scale fishing?