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CONTENTS
1. BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................ 1
2. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 1
3. STRATEGY PRIORITY 1: EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE
FISHERIES ............................................................................................................... 3
3.1 KRA 1: NATIONAL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORKS .................................. 3
3.2 KRA 2: ADDRESSING SPECIFIC THREATS TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................... 11
3.3 KRA 3: CONFORMANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND
GUIDELINES ............................................................................................... 14
3.4 KRA 4: REGIONAL COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS ..................... 18
4. STRATEGY PRIORITY 2: PROMOTING OPTIMAL RETURNS FROM FISHERIES
TRADE .................................................................................................................... 22
4.1 KRA 5: ACCESS TO MARKET ................................................................... 22
4.2 KRA 6: OVERCOMING TECHNICAL BARRIERS ...................................... 24
4.3 KRA 7: ADDRESSING KEY EXTERNAL CAUSES OF VALUE LOSS ....... 25
4.4 KRA 8: ADDING VALUE FOR ACP COUNTRIES ...................................... 27
5. STRATEGY PRIORITY 3: SUPPORTING FOOD SECURITY IN ACP COUNTRIES
................................................................................................................................ 40
5.1 KRA 9: PLANNING FOR FOOD SECURITY ............................................... 40
5.2 KRA 10: ARTISANAL FISHERIES .............................................................. 42
5.3 KRA 11: LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ........................................... 45
6. STRATEGY PRIORITY 4: DEVELOPING AQUACULTURE ................................... 47
6.1 KRA 12: PLANNING FOR AQUACULTURE ............................................... 48
6.2 KRA13: INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ...................... 49
6.3 KRA 14: DEVELOPING MARKETS ............................................................ 58
7. STRATEGY PRIORITY 5: MAINTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT ........................... 60
7.1 KRA 15: ECOSYSTEMS APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT .... 60
7.2 KRA 16: COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ............................................... 62
7.3 KRA 17 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) ....................... 65
7.4 KRA 18: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE ....................................... 65
8. ANNEX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FROM SENT TO THE ACP COUNTRIES ................ 72
ii
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AARTC Africa Aquaculture Research and Training Center
ACIAR Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
ACP African Caribbean and Pacific
ADB Asian Development Bank
AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act
AIS Automatic Identification System
APDRA Association Pisciculture et Développement Rural en Afrique tropicale
humide
APRIFAAS African Platform for Regional Institutions for Fisheries, Aquaculture and
Aquatic Systems
ASC Aquaculture Stewardship Council
AU African Union
AU-IBAR African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources
AWFishNET African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network
CARICOM Caribbean Community
CARIFCO Caribbean Fisheries Co-Management
CCRF Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
CC4FISH Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector Project
Cefas Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora
CMR Critical Maritime Routes
COAST Caribbean Oceans and Aquaculture Sustainability Facility
COMHAFAT Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States
Bordering the Atlantic
COREP Regional Commission of Fisheries of Gulf of Guinea
CRIMARIO Critical Maritime Route Wider Indian Ocean
CRIMGO Critical Maritime Routes in the Gulf of Guinea Programme
CRIMSON CMR Monitoring, Support and Evaluation Mechanism
EAF Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Program
ECCAS Economic Communities of the Central African States
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
iii
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
EFCA European Fisheries Control Agency
EC European Commission
EFMIS- Ke Electronic Fish Market Information Services
EPA Economic Partnership Agreement
ESA-IO Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean
EU European Union
FADs Fishing Aggregated Device
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
FFA Forum Fisheries Agency
FIMS Fisheries Information Management System
FCWC Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea
FIP Fisheries Improvement Plans
FIRST Food and nutrition security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and
Transformation
FLE Fisheries Learning Exchanges
FSP Food Security Program
FTT-Thiaroye FAO-Thiaroye Processing Technique
GAP Global Action Programme
GEF Global Environment Facility
GGC Gulf of Guinea Commission
GIZ Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
GoGIN Gulf of Guinea Inter-Regional Network
HACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
ICCAT International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
IPMU Interim Project Management Unit
IPOA-IUU International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
IUU Illegal Unreported and Unregulated
LVFO Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation
KRA Key Result Areas
MCS Monitoring, Control and Surveillance
MCSCC Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Coordination Centre
iv
MESA Monitoring for Environment and Security in Africa
MMP Mariculture Master Plan
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
MPA Marines Protected Areas
MSC Marine Stewardship Council
MSE Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises
NAP National Adaptation Plan
NEA National Environment Agency
NPOA-IUU National Plan of Action to fight against IUU fishing
OSBP One-Stop Border Posts
PACER Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations
PAFHa Projet d’Appui à la Filière Halieutique
PASA Projet d’Appui au Secteur Agricole
PANTHER Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination, Transparency, Human
Dignity, empowerment and Rule of Law
PEUMP Pacific European Union Marine Partnership
PNA Parties of the Nauru Agreement
PNG Papua New Guinea
PSMA Port States Measures Agreement
RAFEP African Network of Women in Fisheries
REC Regional Economic Commission
RFB Regional Fisheries Body
RFMO Regional Fisheries Management Organisation
RPOA-IUU Regional Plan of Action to tackle IUU Fishing
RWG-IUU Regional Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
SADC Southern African Development Community
SIDS Small Island Developing States
SMA Special Management Areas
SOPs Standard Operating Procedures
SPC Pacific Community
SPS Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary
SRFC Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission
SWAIMS Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security
TAAT Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation
v
TCP- Technical Cooperation Programme
TED Turtle Excluder Device
TFSP Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan
ToT Training of Trainers
UN United Nations
UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNFCC UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNFSA United Nations Fish Stock Agreement
USA United Stated of America
VCA4D Value Chain Analysis for Development
VGGT Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure
VGSSF Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in
the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
VMS Vessel Monitoring System
WATF West Africa Task Force
WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union
WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
WECAFC Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission
WIF Women in Fisheries Information
1
1. BACKGROUND
As part of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Ministerial fisheries Mechanism,
the Ministers in charge of fisheries and aquaculture meet biennially since 2009 to
enhance coordination and cooperation in the development and sustainable
development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector and reinforce their collective
interests. During the third meeting in 2012, the ACP Ministers in charge of Fisheries
and Aquaculture adopted the Strategic Plan of Action for Fisheries and Aquaculture
2012-2016, to streamline and harmonise initiatives aimed at increasing the contribution
of fisheries and aquaculture to social and economic development in ACP countries. At
their 4th meeting in 2015, Ministers decided to extend the Strategic Plan of Action until
2020 and also adopted a roadmap to guide the implementation of the Plan of Action.
The Plan of Action sets out five strategic priority axes for action, each broken down
into Key Result Areas (KRA) areas:
Effective management for sustainable fisheries;
Promoting optimal returns from fisheries trade;
Supporting food security in ACP Countries;
Developing aquaculture; and
Maintaining the environment.
At the 5th Conference held in the Bahamas in 2017, the meeting considered the report
of the state of play of implementation of the strategic plan of action, at both national
and regional levels, outlining in particular the progress and achievements my countries
and regions. As a result, ACP Ministers stressed the need to share successful
experiences and lessons learnt, which bring a strong contribution to the
implementation of the ACP Strategic Plan of Action. The ACP Secretariat was therefore
requested to reinforce South-South and Triangular Cooperation to catalyse
implementation of actions that support the sharing of successful experiences and
lessons learnt, based on demonstrable progress made by some States in advancing
the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture.
2. METHODOLOGY
The 2019 state of play review of the ACP Strategic Plan of Action is designed to
highlight the main actions achieved by the ACP countries for each priority axe laid
down in the Strategic Plan of Action, as well as to report on experiences and initiatives,
i.e. actions and programs implemented either nationally or regionally whose can
advance the implementation of the Plan of Action.
The report is organized following the five strategic priorities of the Strategic Plan of
Action and the key results areas defined under each priority. In order to collect the
most accurate information, the ACP Secretariat invited member States to respond to a
questionnaire highlighting key areas outlined in the 2015 roadmap for the
implementation of the Strategic Plan of Action. The 2019 questionnaire was updated
with additional elements to capture member states progress in addressing key
thematic issues for consideration at the 6th meeting including the issues developed in
2
the policy briefs, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing; Small scale
fisheries for food security and livelihoods; Post-harvest losses reduction, enhanced
value addition and market access; Climate change and fisheries; Inland fisheries for
economic transformation; and Aquaculture development. (see questionnaire in annex
1). The policy briefs present a broader picture of issues at stake for each of the six
named issues and relate briefly to the situation of ACP States. The development of this
review of the State of Play relies on replies from ACP States to the questionnaire, as
it was the case for the 2017 edition of the state of play prepared for the 5th Meeting of
ACP Ministers before.
The methodology of the 2017 state of play outlined the challenges to monitor progress
made due to a low response rate (27%) of ACP States to the questionnaire. This issue
has been discussed by delegates attending the 5th meeting, and one of the reasons
tabled was that the questionnaires may not have reached the right persons in due time.
To prevent this situation from arising again this year, the ACP Secretariat acted to
improve the distribution channels of the questionnaires and prepared a Note verbale
accompanying the questionnaire to clearly indicate to recipient contact points in ACP
countries the scope of the questionnaire (fisheries, aquaculture and blue economy)
and to encourage them to dispatch the questionnaire to the relevant competent
authorities in their countries without delays.
As a result, the number of contributions received from ACP States has increased with
29 ACP countries1 responding to the questionnaire out of the 79 concerned ACP
countries (37% response rate overall as at 19 July 2019 as shown in the following
figure), enabling to draw an overall picture of the situation in the ACP countries.
Figure 1 : Questionnaire response rate by region as of 19 July 2019
1 Bahamas, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali Niger, Central African Republic, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago and Tuvalu
38%
20%
44%
41%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Carribean
Pacific
Africa (landlocked)
Africa (coastal)
Number
Response rate to questionnaire by ACP States groups
Number submitted Number received
3
Noting that the participating countries have different capacities to implement the plan
and the unbalanced sample received from a region to the other, the state of play relies
on qualitative elements with a broad compilation of experiences rather than assessing
the performance of the ACP countries to achieve the objectives of the Action Plan
either at national or (sub)regional levels.
All contributions were compiled and analysed. Most of the contributors sent detailed
information and shared experiences on their domestic situation, which the report
endeavours to reflect as precisely as possible. The document also mentions additional
experiences found in the literature to broaden the perspective of the ongoing
development initiatives in the ACP regions, framed in the core text along with the most
detailed experiences received by the participant countries. Unless otherwise cited,
examples of achievements mentioned in this document are extracted from ACP States
responses to the questionnaire.
During the preparation of the assessment of the report, it was envisaged that data and
information received from ACP States could be complemented by information
collected by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) from
its Member States on the implementation status of the Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries (CCRF). However, FAO data confidentiality requirements
prevented this approach.
3. STRATEGY PRIORITY 1: EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE
FISHERIES
The 2012 Strategic Plan of Action prioritized the effective management for sustainable
fisheries as one of the strategic priorities to ensure the sound management of wild
fisheries resources. Accordingly, the Plan identified the need to strengthen national
fisheries governance frameworks (KRA1) by updating national legal instruments and
development of long-term managements plans to the key fisheries. The Plan also
emphasizes the need for stakeholders’ engagements to enhance compliance to
fisheries management measures. Moreover, the 2017 Bahamas Declaration recalled
the need to enhance actions to tackle specific threats to sustainable fisheries
management such as Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and
overcapacity (KRA2). As to effectively manage sustainable fisheries, the Strategic Plan
of Action highlights the need to enhance compliance with regional management and
conservation measures and recommendations of international agreements (KRA3)
and to build cooperation and partnership, through inter alia regional and South-South
cooperation, notably in relation to the success achieved, and create synergies among
the various strategic frameworks (KRA4).
3.1 KRA 1: NATIONAL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORKS
Update of the fisheries management frameworks
4
In the Caribbean Region, all responding countries are reforming their domestic
fisheries and aquaculture laws and policies. For instance, the Bahamas with the
assistance of the FAO drafted a new Fisheries Act, incorporating provisions in line with
the FAO’s International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU), as well as the FAO Port States
Measures Agreement (PSMA). The draft Act also stipulates the establishment of
fisheries management plans for each major fishery, and the involvement of all
categories of stakeholders in the decision-making process. Guyana, Suriname and
Trinidad and Tobago reported the establishment and implementation of national
management plans for their main fisheries.
In the Pacific Region, Fiji is developing a comprehensive Ocean Policy along with a
new National Fisheries Policy. Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu have developed various
management plans for key fisheries in line with the regional legal instruments, such as
the plan for the tropical tuna fisheries. In the three countries, any adoption of new policy
or regulation is subject to prior community consultations. As an example, the 2018
shark management plan of Tuvalu has been referred back for further community
consultations prior adoption. With regard to the safety of the crew, the recent Forum
Fisheries Agency (FFA)’s proposal for a Resolution on Labour Standards for Crew on
Fishing Vessels2 adopted by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
(WCPFC) formally encourages flag States to establish minimum standards regulating
the safety of vessels and crew, including observers and service personnel as required
by the ACP Strategic Plan of Action, and to ensure that standards are applied (as
described in the box below). This FFA initiative is the first time that a labour proposal
was tabled in any Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) at global
level.
Examples of initiatives on fisheries management frameworks
The WCPFC Resolution 2018-01 on Labour Standards for Crew on Fishing
Vessels encourages its members to ensure consistency of their domestic legislation
with generally accepted international minimum standards for crew on fishing vessels,
and to ensure fair working conditions on board for all crew working on fishing vessels
flying their flag. National legislation should establish minimum standards regulating
crew labour conditions, including, inter alia:
a) A safe and secure working environment with minimum risk to health and
wellbeing;
b) Fair terms of employment, that are enshrined in a written contract or in equivalent
measures, which are made available to the employee, in a form and language that
facilitates the employee’s understanding of the terms and is agreed by the employee;
2 WCPFC Resolution on Labour Standards for Crew on Fishing Vessels Resolution 2018-01. https://www.wcpfc.int/doc/resolution-2018-01/resolution-labour-standards-crew-fishing-vessels
5
c) Decent working and living conditions on board vessels, including access to
sufficient fresh water and food, operational safety protection and medical care, and
that facilitate acceptable standards of sanitary hygiene;
d) Decent and regular remuneration as well as appropriate insurance for the crew;
and
e) Providing crew members with the opportunity to disembark, and seek repatriation
if so entitled.
The adoption of the Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan (TFSP) in 2016 is a major
strategic step for the management of Tonga’s fisheries, and it proposes a very
ambitious program of reforms for 10 years.
The TFSP provides overall objectives for increasing the sustainable shared benefits
for Tonga, from the best use of our fisheries. These shared benefits are things like
income, employment, and food security, as well as spiritual and cultural values, and
the capacity to make provisions for climate change and natural disasters.
The purpose of the TFSP is to:
a) identify priority areas for investment that will maximise the sustainable contribution of the fisheries sector to food security and economic growth
b) present and cost specific programs/activities to achieve these priorities c) identify possible sources of financing for the specific programs/activities d) provide a framework for implementation and to monitor progress in the short-
to medium-term. The sector plan has three goals:
Goal 1 is : Sustainable community fisheries, and sustainable use of coastal marine
ecosystems
Goal 2 is: Profitable, sustainable and responsible commercial fisheries and
aquaculture, that contribute to economic growth and revenues
Goal 3 is: Efficient and knowledge-based government services, and effective
collaboration with industry and civil society
The coastal African countries have completed or are in the process of reviewing their
fisheries and aquaculture management frameworks. Mid-term and long-term national
strategies policies are in place. Various national management plans are in place. For
instance, Sierra Leone has developed a marine artisanal fisheries management plan
and a management plan for demersal and shrimp fisheries. With the FAO’ support, the
Democratic Republic of Congo has developed, in 2015, a plan to manage the shrimp
fisheries at sea as well as in the estuary of the Congo river. Kenya and Togo have also
elaborated plans to manage inland fisheries. Existing Ghanaian and Guinea
management plans are being reviewed and updated as necessary to address current
fisheries management challenges. Mauritania is in the process of developing a
management plan for small pelagic and meagre (agyrosomus regius) fisheries, in
addition to the existing management plan for the octopus fishery.
6
However, the number of long-term management plans remain limited, most of the
responding countries highlight the inadequate capacities and scientific information to
develop management plans with accurate stock assessment information. In Côte
d’Ivoire, universities and research centres are in charge of collecting accurate data for
the purpose of elaborating long-term management plans.
In general, the African landlocked countries adopted management frameworks with
national policies and legislation in place, Central African Republic and Eswatini are
currently elaborating domestic legislation to regulate the management of inland
fisheries and aquaculture resources.
The adoption of national management plans is not well developed due to insufficient
data and up to date stock status information on the main fisheries and in adequate
capacities especially on stock assessments. However, Burkina Faso elaborated 10
management plans corresponding to fisheries zones of economic interests and four
fishing concessions and, Burundi plans to develop management plans in a near future.
Botswana is also currently reviewing development strategies on Aquaculture and
Aquatic Animal Health in line with the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) strategies.
Involvement of fishing communities, fishermen and processors in sustainable fisheries management (education, sensitization, meetings, etc.)
Answers from the questionnaires and literature demonstrate ongoing States efforts in
facilitating stakeholder’s involvement in the management of fisheries and aquaculture
sector. The form of engagement varies and is reflected through education,
sensitization campaign, meetings, consultation and co-management mainly.
A selection of examples is presented below to illustrate initiatives on stakeholder’s
engagement.
Examples of initiatives on the involvement of fishing communities, fishermen and processors in sustainable fisheries management In Ghana, the Far Ban Bo Project creates awareness among citizens and generate discussion around fisheries issues by working with or using the social media and traditional media to highlight key project activities. This awareness creation resulted in an increase in the number of media reports on fishery issues. The project also engaged in advocacy activities at the community and national levels using media and community mobilisation. The project has supported fisheries association to play active part in fisheries governance in Ghana. This 4-year fisheries governance project is implemented jointly by a consortium consisting of Care International in Ghana, Friends of the Nation and Oxfam and supported by European Union and covers 30 districts in the four coastal Regions of Ghana3. In Senegal, a success pilot co-management trial conducted on the Ngaparou small-scale fisheries site with a decisive role played by social responsibility
3 EU (2018). Interim narrative report on the Far Ban Bo Project
7
implementation. The trial was based on promoting local co-management initiatives defined by the fishers themselves and implementing regulation governing fishing in the adjacent maritime area4. In Botswana, the Lake Ngami Conservation Trust which constitutes 6 lake villages that leave around Lake Ngami was formed in 2015. The main objective of the trust is to ensure sustainable management and utilization of lake Ngami resources for the benefit of the communities. A management Plan for the Lake was developed in consultation with the communities. The management Plan includes various activities within the Lake such as fisheries, tourism, wildlife and farming. Togo has established 11 co-management Committees involving all stakeholders in the management of delimited inland fisheries. Each committee is equipped with motorised canoes and appropriate material for monitoring, control and surveillance of the fishing activities. In Niger, fishermen, fishmongers and fish farmers have organized themselves to constitute various representatives’ groups according to each category. The authorities supported these initiatives by providing available meeting location to debate on sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture resources. Engagement with stakeholders has been reviewed by the Forum Fisheries
Agency to ensure that stakeholders are involved in co-management of the fisheries.
The outcomes of this review highly recommended cooperation and collaboration with
stakeholders as a way forward for the sustainable management of fisheries in Tonga.
As a result, Representatives from Tonga National Fisheries Council and fishing
communities are now included in all Management Committees for each commercial
fishery and also Fisheries Management Advisory Committee.
Kenya has established community platforms such as the Tuna fisheries Dialogue forum and revised the Beach Management regulations to incorporate responsibility in co-management of the fisheries and environment as espoused in the Constitution of Kenya. Côte d’Ivoire is working on two initiatives of co-management in Kossou Lake and the Aby lagoon, which should be generalise to all inland fisheries. In Mauritania and Sierra Leone, the fishing communities are involved in the consultation process to determine closed fishing seasons. Fishermen communities in Republic of Central Africa, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo fully participate to monitor activities to ensure full implementation of technical measures.
Improved compliance to management measures
4 FAO (2019). Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: sharing good practices from around the world
8
New and updated legislation usually contain measures to establish stronger
Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) schemes in line with international and
regional requirements. The responding countries reported specific developments in
national fishing information survey systems, observers coverage, introduction of vessel
Monitoring systems, establishment of fishing MCS centres, prosecution of fisheries
infringements and deterrent sanctions, elaboration of compliance strategies,
involvement of fisheries communities in MCS activities, Port States Measures
Agreement provisions incorporated in domestic legislation, coordination between
national competent authorities and cooperation between States.
Examples of national initiatives on the improvement of compliance measures
Trinidad and Tobago is engaged in a recast of its MCS scheme with the re-
establishment of a fisheries MCS centre within the Fisheries Division, the
improvement of inter-agency cooperation and the introduction of vessel tracking
system on fishing vessels flying the national flag.
In 2014, Guyana introduced a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which is
implemented and mandatory for all trawlers targeting seabob shrimps. The spill over
effect resulted in other prawn vessels also being equipped. To enhance further the
MCS activities, the authorities have introduced the Remote Electronic Monitoring
with Closed-Circuit Television on board of all seabob trawlers.
The Government of Sierra Leone set up a Joint Maritime Committee comprising
of various maritime stakeholder institutions including the Ministry of Fisheries and
Marine Resources, the Sierra Leone Navy, Sierra Leone Maritime Administration,
National Revenue Authority, Marine Police, immigration Department, The Office of
National Security and the Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the Environment
Protection Agency of Sierra Leone to collaborate in fisheries compliance and
customs enforcement related issues. Fisheries observers have been trained and
placed on all industrial fishing vessels for data collection, excepted on tuna vessels.
The authorities of Fiji have developed significant efforts to monitor off-shore
tuna fishery with measures such as 100% observers’ coverage for all fishing
vessels coming from outside Fiji’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) until the landing
in Fiji Port, successful prosecution of fisheries infringements and issuance of fixed
penalty notices for minor offences. The authorities are drafting an Inshore Fisheries
Compliance strategy to address grave concern caused by the local fisheries.
Tuvalu reported recent measures to control IUU activities in the shared tuna
fisheries as follows:
expansion of the national fisheries observer programme to 80 persons, all trained to regional standards;
commissioning of a new Fisheries Patrol Boat, funded by Australia, which commences operation in June 2019;
Agreement with the Forum Fisheries Agency on shared aerial surveillance operations for the exclusive economic zone managed by FFA;
9
increased control over Tuvalu flag vessels – south/south cooperation with Fiji to provide observers; and verification of Mobile transmission units for our regional VMS;
100% monitoring of transhipment in port in Tuvalu (196 transhipments in 2018);
After ratifying the International Labour Organisation Work in Fishing
Convention, 2007 (C-188), South Africa designed a system to inspect both
South African and foreign vessels for compliance with the Convention’s
requirements5. Port State inspections may be carried out on foreign vessels visiting
ports, no matter whether the flag State has ratified the Convention or not. The system
enables port State control inspectors to check that fishers enjoy decent working
conditions and helps protect owners who provide such conditions from unfair
competition by those who do not. South Africa is pioneering in addressing Human
Rights abuses on board fishing vessels on the grounds that labour conditions are in
violation of C-188. South Africa demonstrates that not only flag States but also
coastal and port States can take effective action to combat Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated Fishing (IUU) fishing activities as well as Human Rights abuses on
board fishing vessel not flying their flag.
Financial and capacity constraints hamper the efficiency of national MCS activities,
when fisheries are exposed to high risk of IUU fishing. Partnerships, sub- regional and
regional cooperation mechanisms enable to bridge some of the gaps as illustrated by
the following initiatives.
Examples of sub-regional and regional initiatives on MCS activities
In the Pacific Region, national efforts for monitoring, control and surveillance of
Pacific shared tuna fisheries are strengthened by sub-regional and regional
cooperation measures to mitigate against IUU fishing. Together with the Pacific
Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Pacific Community (SPC), the Parties of
the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries
Commission (WCPFC), the Pacific Islands have established an effective MCS
scheme for deterring IUU fishing activities with measures regulating VMS, a
Regional Register of fishing vessels, a FFA Harmonised Minimum Terms and
Conditions for Foreign Fishing Access, a Pacific Patrol Boat Program, the Niue
Treaty on cooperation in fisheries surveillance and law enforcement in the South
Pacific Region, 100% observer coverage on the purse seiner fleet as mandated by
WCPFC resolutions .
Vanuatu developed its Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS) jointly
with the FFA and the Oceanic Fisheries Programme of the Secretariat of the SPC to
comprehensively manage information by integrating national and regional
databases, systems, tools and services to support fisheries management and MCS,
5 https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_634680/lang--en/index.htm
10
nationally, regionally and globally6. The Charter for the establishment of the
Southern Africa Development Community Regional Monitoring, Control, and
Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) was approved by the SADC Ministers
responsible for Agriculture, Food Security, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Mbabane,
Swaziland on the 19th May 2017. Following the approval of the Charter, the
establishment of an Interim Project Management Unit (IPMU) was approved at a
Joint Meeting of Ministers responsible for Environment and Natural Resources,
Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Tourism held in Pretoria, South Africa, in November
2017. The process of establishing the centre has commenced and the setting-up of
the IPMU in Mozambique is progressing well, with the Government already providing
facilities, office space, furniture and office equipment and supplies, including
communication and internet services. Two officials, a Regional Coordinator and an
MCS Officer, have been seconded to the IPMU by the Mozambique Government.
The MCSCC is expected all member states in combatting IUU fishing.
Caribbean 35 fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance officers of 16
countries met in Barbados in 2018 7and reached an expert agreement on the
introduction of harmonized standards for fishing vessel marking and identification,
the establishment of a regional record of authorized fishing vessels and a regional
list of vessels involved in IUU fishing and related activities.
The West Africa Task Force (WATF) brings together the six-member countries of
the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) – Benin, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo – to tackle illegal fishing and fisheries
crime. The Task Force is facilitated by the FCWC Secretariat and supported by a
Technical Team of experts with funding from the Norwegian Agency for
Development Cooperation. By actively cooperating, by sharing information and by
facilitating national interagency working groups the West Africa Task Force is
working together to stop illegal fishing. An interesting component of the WATF is that
it addresses capacity building of prosecutors to ensure follow-up of infringements to
fisheries rules and adequate sanctioning proportional to the severity of the offences.
The PESCAO project8, funded by the EU and establishing a partnership between
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Sub-Regional
Fisheries Commission (SRFC), the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf
of Guinea (FCWC) with support of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)
provides capacity building to national and regional monitoring, control and
surveillance authorities to fight IUU fishing, using for instance the MCS equipment
and fishery intelligence the region and providing the WATF with a regional MCS
platform on Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring System
(VMS).
6 NPOA-IUU Vanuatu, (2015).
7 http://www.fao.org/americas/informations/ver/fr/c/1039097/
11
3.2 KRA 2: ADDRESSING SPECIFIC THREATS TO SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
MANAGEMENT
Assess and adjust fishing capacity Most of the responded countries undertake annual assessment of their national fishing fleets. For instance, the authorities of Botswana have established co-management of fish
resources in Lake Ngami including a zoning of specific fishing zones with allocation of
limited number of fishing licences adapted to the total allowable catches set. The
current Fish Protection Regulations are under review to address the excessive fishing
pressure. However, due to financial and capacity constraints, most of the responding
countries are unable to adjust the fishing capacity except for the fleets involved in a
management plan or subject to quota. Registration of artisanal fishing vessel is an
ongoing process in most African ACP States, but almost completed in Senegal. In
Ghana, over 90 % of canoes have been registered and allocated unique identifiers for
easy identification and control of fishing effort.
IUU fishing At the 5th Meeting of ACP Ministers in Bahamas, the ACP States committed to enhance
actions to discourage and halt fishing activities that undermine the significant efforts
made at national, regional, and international levels to develop and manage sustainable
fisheries. As a first action, the Strategic Plan of Action encourages the States to
develop and implement a National Plan of Action to fight against IUU fishing (NPOA-
IUU) in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the FAO
IPOA-IUU as a guide to addressing IUU fishing at national and regional levels.
Based on the IUU fishing index9, in 2018 only 29 out of the 65 ACP coastal countries
adopted a NPOA-IUU, 13 in Africa, 12 in the Pacific and 4 in the Caribbean.
Most of the 18 coastal ACP responding countries have started to develop a NPOA-IUU
or listed the action as a short-term priority for implementation. ACP countries, such as
Sudan are being assisted in this task by the FAO, the EU is similarly engaged in a
bilateral dialogue in the context of the EU-IUU Regulation, with Trinidad and Tobago
as detailed hereafter. Also, EU Regional Programs, such as PESCAO, provide
technical assistance to country willing to design a NPOA-IUU. The Togolese authorities
submitted a request to that end. Also, the Pacific Island States benefit from a 2005
FAO Model Plan for the elaboration of an NPOA-IUU, conceived in coherence with the
essential features related to their countries.
9 http://iuufishingindex.net
12
Other coastal countries, such as Dominica, report insufficient financial resources to
develop a NPOA-IUU. All African landlocked countries rely on their fisheries legislation
as well as Regional Plan of Action (RPOA-IUU) to tackle IUU Fishing, such as the Lake
Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO) Regional Plan of Action to prevent, deter and
eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing on Lake Victoria and its basin,
which was adopted in 2004. Worthy of note is that Kenya adopted and implements a
NPOA-IUU for inland Lake Victoria fisheries.
At a regional level, other RPOA-IUU were mentioned by countries as a temporary
alternative to bridge the absence of NPOA-IUU, such as the RPOA-IUU from the
Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea. Also, the Western Central
Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAF) presented in June 2019 the RPOA-IUU draft
for amendment and endorsement, identifying 28 measures and actions to combat IUU
fishing in the Caribbean Region and to fulfil the WECAFC Member States’ obligations
in their different capacities as port, flag, coastal and market States through regional
cooperation, consistent with relevant international fisheries instruments.
According to the assessed ACP countries, insufficient funds allocated to the
implementation of NPOA-IUU as well as inadequate capacity by competent authorities
to monitor, control and survey fisheries activities limit the effective implementation of
measures aimed to stem IUU fishing. ACP countries have been addressing the threat
of IUU fishing developing additional tools to the NPOA-IUU.
Examples of initiatives to fight against IUU fishing
The IUU Fishing Committee of Trinidad and Tobago was established in November 2016 to design and implement an Action Plan to address IUU fishing in the Ports and Waters under the Jurisdiction of Trinidad and Tobago. The IUU Fishing Committee comprises representatives from Ministries with responsibility for Fisheries, Customs and Excise, Maritime Services, Trade, National Security, Legal Affairs, Foreign and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Affairs as well as the Tobago House of Assembly. The Final Report and Recommendations of the IUU Fishing Committee was approved by the Cabinet in 2019 and provides the two following major elements:
- the signing of a multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Collaboration in Regulating Fishing, Fishing-Related Activities and Relevant Trade and;
- the engagement of third States whose fishing vessels utilize the waters and ports of Trinidad and Tobago towards negotiation of MoUs for Collaboration in combatting IUU Fishing.
However, the effective implementation of the NPOA-IUU remain difficult due to budget and capacity constraint of the fisheries monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement division
13
Since 2010, the European Union (EU) started the identification process foreseen by
EU’s IUU Regulation10 with 17 ACP coastal countries11. The EU’s IUU Regulation
includes a specific instrument which empowers the European Commission (EC) to act
against non-EU countries which do not comply with their obligation to combat IUU
fishing activities based on their different responsibilities: flag State, coastal State, port
State and market State. Absence of relevant satisfying corrective measures within
reasonable time frame would entail the identification as non-cooperating country and
issuance of economic and trade sanction including a trade ban of fisheries products in
the EU market. As a result, most of the concerned ACP have undertaken significant
efforts to reform and update their legislation to adopt stronger measures to address all
aspects required to tackle IUU Fishing, including the alignment with the relevant
international and regional instruments.
Aside from endorsing NPOA- IUU and updating national legal framework, various
projects and initiatives occurring in the ACP countries at national or regional level strive
to address the threat of IUU fishing and illustrate initiatives to replicate.
Examples of initiatives to fight against IUU fishing (other than the adoption of a NPOA-IUU) In Ghana, the EU Project “Far Dwuma Nkcdo– Securing Sustainable fisheries” aims to promote food security and improved livelihoods of artisanal fishers by reducing IUU fishing activities and promoting participatory co-management of fisheries. The project being implemented by Environment Justice Fund and Hen Mpoano endeavours to assess the impacts of the industrial trawl fleet and to determine why illegal practices such as saiko must be addressed to achieve sustainable fisheries. The project also focuses on capacity building, sensitisation and empowerment of communities to curb fisheries related violation in the artisanal sector. The project demonstrates that supporting communities in co-management and decision-making processes fosters a sense of stewardship of fisheries resources and a culture of compliance with the management and conservation rules12. Micronesian leaders unite to combat IUU fishing by 2023. Following the call from the Marshall Island on Pacific nations to agree to eradicate IUU fishing, Palau, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru signed a communique supporting an IUU Free Pacific by 202313. The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was awarded the top prize in the 2019 Stop IUU Fishing competition (Bangkok February 2019). FFA was established to help its 17 members sustainably manage their fishery resources that fall within their 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones. FFA is an advisory body providing expertise, technical assistance and other support to its 17 members countries on their
10 Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing 11 Belize, Comoros, Curaçao, Fiji, Ghana, Kiribati, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and Grenadines, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/illegal-fishing-overview-of-existing-procedures-third-countries_en.pdf 12 EU (2018). Project “Far Dwuma Nkɔdo - Securing Sustainable Fisheries” Narrative Report Period 01/01/2018 – 31/12/2018, https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ghana/44686/securing-sustainable-fisheries-–-ejf_en 13 http://www.tunapacific.org/2019/03/19/micronesian-leaders-unite-to-combat-iuu-fishing-by-2023/
14
tuna resources and participate in regional decision making on tuna management through agencies such as the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
In 2019, the Regional Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (RWG-IUU) Fishing – RPOA-IUU held its Third Meeting. The RWG-IUU is a joint working group of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, and Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Central America14.
3.3 KRA 3: CONFORMANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND
GUIDELINES
Legislation in line with international and regional legal instruments ACP States committed to align domestic policies and legal frameworks with
international agreements, conventions and guidelines aimed at improving governance
to support sustainability in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The main international
instruments relevant for conservation and management of fisheries resources,
including the fight against IUU fishing:
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) into force
since 1982 which sets the first international rules regulating maritime activities,
including fishing;
the United Nations Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA) into force since 1995 with
specify how UNCLOS principles and objectives shall be applied for long-term
conservation and sustainable use of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory
fish stocks beyond national jurisdiction
The FAO compliance Agreement into force since 1993 aiming to strengthen the
obligation of a State to control vessels flying its flag and operating in the high
sea in order to ensure compliance with international conservation and
management measures
The FAO Port State Measure Agreement (PSMA) into force since 2016 the first
binding international agreement to specifically target IUU fishing through
strengthened port controls of vessels seeking entry into a designated port of a
State which is different to their flag State.
Other international agreements, not necessarily falling directly under the mandate of
competent authorities for fisheries management, support conservation of fisheries
resources such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aiming at ensuring that international trade of certain
species does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild15.
14 http://www.fao.org/iuu-fishing/resources/detail/en/c/1132179/ 15 So far, applicable mostly to certain sharks and rays species, to European eel and sturgeon and to queen conch
15
Whereas all ACP countries have ratified UNCLOS except from a few African countries16, the 1995 UNFSA count only 33 ACP coastal members. 14 ACP countries are parties to the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement indicated by the following table. Vanuatu is the latest ACP country recorded to have deposited its letter of acceptance in 2018.
Table 1 Parties to the 1993 FAO Agreement to promote compliance with international conservation and management measures by fishing vessels on the high seas
Africa Caribbean Pacific
Angola Barbados Cook Islands
Benin Belize Vanuatu
Cabo Verde Saint Kitts and
Nevis
Ghana Saint Lucia
Madagascar
Namibia
Seychelles
Tanzania
Accession / ratification of FAO Port State Measure Agreement (PSMA) Since the 5th Conference in 2017, five additional countries have ratified the 2009 FAO PSMA aiming to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through the implementation of effective port state measures, counting for 32 ACP members in total in 2019 as shown in the table below.
Table 2 ACP countries parties to the PSMA in 2019
16 Burundi, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Rwanda have not signed the Convention, Eritrea and South Sudan are observers to the Convention.
16
Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are
considering the ratification of the PSMA. Moreover, the Fisheries Committee for the
West Central of Gulf of Guinea members (Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin,
and Nigeria) recommended the Economic Community of West African States to ratify
the 2009 FAO PSMA on behalf of all members.
Also, since 2016, FAO provides support to developing States for the implementation
of the PSMA and complementary international and regional legal instruments for the
effective implementation of port State measures and complementary monitoring,
control and surveillance operations, measures and tools to combat IUU fishing. So far,
Africa Caribbean Pacific
Cabo Verde Bahamas Fiji
Djibouti Barbados Palau
Gabon Cuba Tonga
Gambia Dominica Vanuatu
Ghana Grenada
Guinea Guyana
Kenya Saint Kitts and Nevis
Madagascar Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Seychelles
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Togo
17
40 ACP countries17 have benefitted from the FAO’s Global Capacity Development
Programme18.
Shared experience on the implementation of the Port States Measures
Agreement and alignment of domestic legislation
Since Guyana’s ratification of PSMA in 2016, its Fisheries Department has
worked to develop its technical proficiency and capacity in the fight against
IUU fishing. The following achievements were met regarding the reduction of IUU
fishing:
- stakeholder training on the implementation of the PSMA by theFAO in 2017; - Guyana is an active member of the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries
Commission and the Regional Working Group on IUU (RWG-IUU) fishing; - the department is currently working on developing the national Working Group
on PSMA; - surveillance and enforcement activities have increased nationally.
As one of the programme’s participants since 2018, Trinidad and Tobago’s
authorities are engaged in the alignment of its domestic legal and policy
framework with the PSMA as well as other relevant international instruments.
The country detailed in the questionnaire the different steps of the process. The
Fisheries Division is working with the FAO to finalize a National Strategy and Action
Plan for Compliance with the Port State Measures Agreement, and to identify the
key activities under the Project for implementation in Trinidad and Tobago. A review
of fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) systems in Trinidad and
Tobago and training of staff/officials of national entities responsible for
implementation of the PSMA, specifically in the following areas: (a) risk assessment;
(b) port inspections; (c) implementation of key SOPs (scenario-based desktop
exercise) are prioritized. The review of MCS systems is to include (1) identification
of the roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in fisheries MCS; (2)
identification of the training needs of the respective agencies; (3) identification of
relevant ports; (4) assessment of the capacity of each port to effectively implement
the PSMA; (5) recommendations for the designation of ports for which the PSMA
would apply; (6) identification of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
required for effective implementation of the PSMA; (7) prioritization of the SOPs for
development; (8) development of high-priority SOPs.
Sierra Leone has reviewed the 2008 EU-IUU Regulation based on considerations of the national situation to comply with the EU IUU regulation. In 2014, Sierra Leone was issued a Yellow card by the EU for failing to implement the provision of the EU IUU Regulations of 2008. As a response, the country engaged the EU and developed a road map to address the issues underpinning the yellow card. Sierra Leone has so far completed the activities agreed with the EU and
17 Bahamas, Belize, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Tanzania, Vanuatu. 18 http://www.fao.org/port-state-measures/capacity-development/ongoing-capacity-building-efforts/en/
18
the Ministry is now implementing most of the provisions for the EU-IUU regulation. The National Fisheries Act and related regulations have also been aligned with IUU compliance provisions of the EU IUU regulation and other international instruments such as UNFSA, The 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement, The FAO voluntary guidelines on Tenure (2012) and for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries (2015), and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995).
Tuvalu suggested that the PSMA is not suitable for Pacific Islands circumstances. As
a result, the Pacific States have developed their own port controls, and are working
through WCPFC to establish regional port control measures.
3.4 KRA 4: REGIONAL COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS
Enhance regional cooperation through inter alia South-South cooperation, notably in relation to the sharing of experiences and lesson learnt, and create synergies among the various strategic frameworks
Most ACP States are contracting parties to relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) as coastal States and/or as flag States. RFMOs support cooperation between ACP States to build scientific knowledge on concerned exploited stocks, and to define and support adoption of relevant conservation and management measures. In the case of Atlantic tuna stocks managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the recent accession of some African coastal States to ICCAT convention19 evidence increased involvement of ACP States in multilateral cooperation. Despite being spread in the Pacific Ocean and endowed with large Exclusive Economic Zones, the ACP Pacific islands countries succeeded to build synergy in their actions to develop and manage fisheries through formal partnerships such as the Nauru Agreement. In addition, the effectiveness of sub-regional and regional organizations cements the cooperation and coordination between the islands.
In Africa, countries cooperate and coordinate actions in fisheries and aquaculture through interventions of the African Union (AU) and various Regional Economic Commissions (RECs), Sub-regional and regional fisheries management organisations. Until a recent past, the level of cooperation between the different institutions was not assessed to be up to expectations, with most institutions operating in isolation with sometimes, some overlaps between them. Under the EU funded FISH-GOV project, the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) defined a strategy to improve cooperation between the different entities, with a specific objective of establishing formal links between the RECs (i.e. ECOWAS, West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Economic Communities of the Central African States (ECCAS) for Atlantic Africa) and the existing Regional Fisheries Organisations (SRFC, FCWC, Regional Commission of Fisheries of Gulf of Guinea (COREP)). The AU-BIRA initiative materialised in the creation of a dedicated cooperation platform between institutions, the African Platform for Regional Institutions for Fisheries, Aquaculture and
19 i.e. Gambia (2019), Guinea Bissau (2016) and Liberia (2014)
19
Aquatic Systems (APRIFAAS). APRIFASS groups 20 Members representing different RECs, Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs), watercourse authorities, development partners and observers. The joint implementation of the EU PESCAO project by ECOWAS, SRFC and FCWC can be seen as an important milestone towards improved cooperation mechanisms between RECs and RFMOs.
In the Caribbean, consideration is being given to an evolution of the status of the competent FAO RFO (the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission - WECAFC) into a RFMO empowered to adopt binding measures for its parties. For Atlantic Africa, States concerned also consider the creation of a RFMO to curb overexploitation of certain stocks.
For aquaculture, the African countries also mention bilateral cooperation with neighbouring countries on fisheries and aquaculture. For instance, Egypt provides training in Aquaculture to Kenya and Burkina Faso. Also, Kenya signed a number of Memorandum of Understanding as frameworks for cooperation with Indonesia, and Japan. In its questionnaire, Kenya highlights fruitful cooperation in capacity building through exposure tours of good management practices and best fisheries, such as the one-by-one tuna fisheries learnt from Maldives.
ACP landlocked countries with transboundary fisheries resources are establishing
transboundary management plans. Botswana for example, is working closely together
with Angola and Namibia in the Kavango/Cubango/Okavango River basin, whereas
Mali and Burkina Faso manage the Sourou River jointly. Niger underlined the
challenges of managing a shared stock fishery where no transboundary cooperation is
in place.
In the Caribbean Region, countries are represented by the Caribbean Community and
Common Markets established the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism as a
coordinating framework for fisheries and aquaculture policies and management in the
region. The Dominican Republic is also member of the Central America Fisheries and
Aquaculture Organization and takes part of activities with Central American States.
Caribbean countries also expressed interests in the implementation of regional
programme which facilitates cooperation and exchanges between countries such as
the FAO Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Trawl Fisheries of Latin America and
Caribbean where Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are both project beneficiaries.
Examples of initiatives on regional cooperation
The FAO demonstrated that Fisheries Learning Exchanges (FLEs) constitutes a vital tool in sharing of experiences and good practices among small-scale fisheries stakeholders and the duplication of those good practices. Since 2004, the small-scale fishing communities of Andavadoaka in Madagascar have been managing and implementing a set of technical measures for the reef octopus such as periodic fishery closures, prohibition of specific fishing gears and delimitation of marine reserves. The successful management led other fishing communities to replicate the experience. To 2017, an estimated 550 fishing community representatives visited Andavadoaka to learn about octopus’ closures and the locally management of marine area. As a result, the management on Octopus has been generalised to 14,5% of the Malagasy continental shelf, and Tanzania, Mayotte, Mexico and Mauritius introduce the regime to its national small-scale fisheries. FLE
20
was organized and studied by the FAO between two Mozambican delegation and the village of Andavadoaka, resulting in key recommendations for FLE organizers such as “maximizing hands-on and informal activities, fully understanding the cultural norms at play when inviting participants, dedicating adequate time and personnel to make travel arrangements for participants, and providing financial and logistical support for participants to implement what they have learned after the FLE”20. An example of cooperation around the Lake Victoria, but beyond fisheries, is the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation, which is an organisation that brings together local authorities around the lake to promote environmental management and social development. The organisation is active in providing a space for cooperation between local authorities, although limited by funding secured from external sources to an extent21.
Lessons learnt and challenges for the future
Since 2015, the ACP countries have taken laudable efforts by implementing
actions laid down in the Strategic Plan of Action to improve the sustainable
management of fisheries. Most countries have updated their fisheries
legislation or are in the process of revision. The stakeholders participate
broadly in the decision-making processes and the management of fisheries
and aquaculture, at different level of involvement. Co-management of
resources exists through projects mostly. The concept would need to be
legally institutionalize in relevant ACP countries so as to institutionalize the
cooperative management together between authorities and local
communities.
Also, ACP countries need to undertake significant work to establish management plans on their key fisheries and the adjust of their fleet capacity. Whereas most of the responding countries assess their fleets, only a few of them have taken appropriate measures to address overcapacity, except from temporary fishing bans. Management of the capacity of the artisanal fleet in Africa is not a widespread, with open access conditions still prevailing. Numbers of management plans remain limited, due mainly to inadequate capacities and scientific data and information to inform the development of the plans. Worthy of note is that the state of play does not relate on the scientific data component, although it is a crucial element to further develop as to establish management plans for shared migratory stocks. Most of the countries rely on regional management plans to bridge the gap, when dealing with straddling stocks. However, a lack of collaboration between countries may lead to challenging management as illustrated in West Africa with the declining small pelagic stock, targeted by both industrial and artisanal fisheries, and representing a major economic and social interests. This relative lack of effectiveness of cooperation between concerned institutions
20 FAO (2019). Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: sharing good practices from around the world 21 Too Big to Ignore and Worldfish, (2017).Inter-Sectoral Governance of Inland Fisheries Report
21
is being addressed through interventions of the African Union. In addition to the regional management of straddling stocks, regional cooperation can be instrumental in enhancing the benefits of fishing agreements with foreign nations. As an example, the agreements concluded by the FFA Members in the Pacific on tropical tuna fisheries show that, when cooperating together, coastal States are able to adopt a common position of strength in the negotiation with foreign countries.
The responding countries are adopting deterrent measures to strengthen their
MCS scheme and fight against IUU fishing through regional initiatives or
national with the support of partners such as the FAO and the EU. However,
lack of fund and capacity hinder the implementation of such measures,
obstacles partly overcome by regional mechanism in place. The scourge of
IUU fishing remains of high priority for ACP countries and intensified efforts
are being undertaken in that regard. However, only 29 out of the 79 ACP
countries adopted a NPOA-IUU in 2018. Some countries reported to be
currently drafting their NPOA-IUU, which is defined as the one action to
achieve by the Strategic Plan of Action. Other initiatives demonstrate the
importance of cooperating and combining forces to fight against IUU fishing
between countries, at sub-regional and regional level. Also mutualizing
capacities on surveillance at sea and in port with the deployment of joint
operation gathering competent authorities and agencies involved in the
compliance of maritime activities can reveal to be a significant asset.
The 2009 Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is the first-ever binding
international agreement specifically targeting IUU fishing. Since the 5th
Conference, five additional countries have ratified the 2009 FAO PSMA,
counting for 32 ACP members in total in 2019. Other ACP countries having
significant numbers of foreign fishing vessels calling in their ports should be
encouraged to ratify or access the Agreement.
Finally, the 2012 Strategic Plan of action lists a number of international legal
instruments to ratify and to integrate in domestic legislation of ACP countries.
The list would need to be completed because important international
legislation relating to fishing activities are missing. Where all ACP countries
acknowledge the importance of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for responsible
Tenure (2012) and for securing small-scale fishery (2015), little consideration
has been made for instance to international instruments regulating safety of
the crew on board of fishing vessels such as the International Maritime
Organisation 2012 Cape Town Agreement which provides fishing vessel
standards and includes other regulations designed to protect the safety of
crews and observers and the International Labour Organisation Work in
Fishing Convention (“C-188”), which ensures that fishers working on
commercial fishing vessels have decent working conditions on board,
22
including conditions of service, accommodation and food, occupational safety
and health, medical care and social security.
4. STRATEGY PRIORITY 2: PROMOTING OPTIMAL RETURNS FROM
FISHERIES TRADE
More than 60 of the ACP States are engaged in the export of fish and fishery products
to the international markets, representing an important contribution to their local
economies and employment. The 2012 Strategic Plan of Action defines the promotion
of optimal returns from fisheries trade as the strategic priority 2.
Determined to gain the best sustainable returns available from their fisheries and
aquaculture resources, the ACP countries need to improve access to market (KRA 5)
through creating better competitiveness, and strengthening access to regional and/ or
international markets through negotiation / implementation of trade agreements.
Also, the ACP countries identified progress to overcome technical barriers (KRA 6),
mainly through building capacities regarding traceability measures (e.g. EU catch
certification scheme) and Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) trade measures and
develop regional centres of expertise (laboratories). Some countries still have to
address key external causes of value loss (KRA 7) such as combat piracy.
Finally, the Strategic Plan of Action outlines the following activities to improve and add
value to fish and fishery products (KRA 8) of ACP countries: improving the value of
fish and fish product storage and processing methods; promoting efficiency in catching
and processing; supporting private sector initiatives to improve product quality and
value throughout the value chain; providing infrastructure to underpin investment in the
sector, providing access to finance / investment in small and medium sized enterprises,
processing and storage facilities; developing and diversifying fisheries; encouraging
the development of new products and market partnerships; support the role of women
in production, processing, commerce and as well as entrepreneurs, for example
through micro-finance initiatives; generate and interpret data to promote understanding
of market variability, pricing and demand/supply requirements; promote expansion and
diversification of services supporting the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, for example
vessel maintenance, bunkering, stevedoring, provisioning; and the promotion of
ecolabelling schemes consistent with internationally developed standards.
4.1 KRA 5: ACCESS TO MARKET
Enhance the competitiveness of ACP countries and strengthen access to regional and/or international markets through negotiation / implementation of trade agreements
In the Caribbean, intra-regional trade accounts for nearly a third of the exports in 2016,
while in the Pacific it accounts for 11% of the exports and in Africa for 21% of exports.
The responding Caribbean countries negotiate bilateral trade agreements to extend
their fish and fishery products exports to the nearby islands. A few countries participate
23
to regional agreements generating stable access to the market, such as the Dominican
Republic Central America Free trade agreement, which enables the Dominican
Republic as well as a few Central American Countries to build prosper market together
with the United Stated of America (USA), complementing trade with the EU under the
overarching framework of the Economic Partnership Agreement concluded between
the EU and CARIFORUM.
In the Pacific Region, Tonga is currently doing a national consultation to explain the
Free Trade Agreement between Australia, New Zealand and Forum Island Countries,
commonly referred to as the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations
(PACER Plus). Tonga plans to ratify this Trade Agreement in the near Future. Also,
the authorities are currently concluding arrangement with China to open new markets
for fisheries products such as sea cucumber, fish and others. China has approved in
2018 to import seaweeds from Tonga. With the exception of States like Uganda, the
market’s development of fish and fishery products remains at an early stage in most of
the landlocked African countries with a national production, supplied by significant
imports. Despite the ongoing negotiation of multi and bilateral trade agreements, the
national authorities acknowledge the importance of informal trade. As regard to
aquaculture, the recent development of the activity has not entered in a competitive
stage yet. To enhance its fish value chains productivity and competitiveness while
ensuring long-term sustainability and social inclusiveness, Niger as well as other ACP
countries applies to the Intra-ACP blue-growth programme for Sustainable Fisheries
and Aquaculture Value Chains funded by the EU and managed by the FAO. This
upcoming programme will strive to address post-harvest and marketing challenges
faced in ACP selected countries. The coastal African countries reported initiatives to
enhance their access markets towards the conclusion of trade agreements with
regional partners or international ones. For instance, Guinea has established trade
relations on fish and fishery products with Asian countries, USA through the African
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and Turkey. The Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) signed a protocol to facilitate free movements of fish and
fishery products within the region. For its part, Mauritania has established a duty-free
zone in Nouadhibou and is currently studying the most appropriate tax incentives
schemes to support increased national exports to other West African countries in view
of the importance of the demand. Some countries channel their policies framework to
facilitate access to market, such as the Togolese National Development Plan (2018-
2022), which prioritizes the enhancement of value chains for fishery products as an
economic driver for the country.
A few countries correlate the increase of their competitively with the added value of
certifying fishery products and the use of new processing technologies, such as the
FAO-Thiaroye Processing Technique (FTT-Thiaroye) ovens. Also, the EU is a key
market for ACP fish products and many responding countries referred to it as an
objective to reach and sustain, which consequently involves complying with a number
of requirements such as the Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards. As at June
24
2019, ACP countries authorised to export fisheries products to the EU are listed in the
table below.
Table 3 List of third countries and territories from which imports are permitted of fishery products for human consumption22
Africa Region Angola, Benin, Cabo Verde, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Eritrea,
Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar,
Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria,
Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo,
Uganda, Zimbabwe
Caribbean Region Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Grenada,
Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname
Pacific Region Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
4.2 KRA 6: OVERCOMING TECHNICAL BARRIERS
Build capacities to improve compliance to trade measure against IUU fishing (e.g. implementation of EU catch certification schemes) and to Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) trade measures of export markets and develop regional reference laboratories
At the 5th Meeting of Fisheries Ministers in 2017, ACP countries stressed the
importance to continue implementing traceability measures against IUU fishing, to
further improve the effectiveness of market-based measures against IUU fishing, and
committed to establish a simple, efficient, verifiable traceability system to counter the
trade in IUU fishery products.
The coastal African countries contributing to the survey have developed or are
progressively building capacities to enhance the traceability of fish and fishery
products, through the establishment of a catch certification scheme. Since 2010,
exports of fish and fishery products must be accompanied by a catch certificate in many
countries, which have entered into bilateral dialogue with the EU in the context of the
implementation of the EU-IUU regulation. Some countries, such as Togo, adopt the
same rules for all imports of fish and fishery products. Also, the responding countries
highlight efforts to address the implementation of Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)
trade measures and to develop regional centres of expertise, as illustrated by Guinea,
whom authorities cooperate together with Morocco, Japan and other African countries
to improve SPS measures. In the Pacific, coastal States through FFA support initiatives
to create a regional testing laboratory.
Sierra Leone also received training and capacity building under the EU project for
strengthening fisheries health conditions for ACP countries to develop standards for
fisheries hygiene and sanitation, with the objective for Sierra Leone to access the EU
22 European Commission Decision of 6 November 2006 establishing the lists of third countries and territories from which imports of bivalve mollusks, echinoderms, tunicates, marine gastropods and fishery products are permitted (2006/766/EC)
25
market. In addition, the country detailed the training conducted by the Sierra Leone
Bureau of Standards to build the capacity, to improve official controls for
documentation, vessel hygiene and national laboratory standards development, as
well as the ongoing Sanitary and Phytosanitary analysis of food including fishery
products in Sierra Leone. The country informed on the existence of a national
laboratory, which is not fully accredited yet to carry out all the analyse needed for the
Sanitary and Phytosanitary aspects of fishery products. Sierra Leone has also adopted
a Food and Feed Safety Act, 2017 along with various guidelines on fish safety and
hygiene.
The responding African landlocked countries did not report addressing technical
barriers, as fish production has not reached a scale justifying the implementation of
full-fledged SPS measures and the development of regional centres of expertise.
However, Niger and Central African Republic have mentioned the ongoing
rehabilitation of National Laboratories which should address SPS issues.
In the Pacific Region, Fiji indicated the establishment of tools to overcome technical
barriers. This year, Tuvalu has adopted a plan for development of national Competent
Authority to benefit Tuvalu flag vessels. The authorities of Tonga are collaborating
together with the USA on catch certification scheme to help avoid trading of IUU fish.
Tonga reported needing assistance to open access to the EU markets and establish a
EU catch certification scheme.
In the Caribbean Region, most of the responding countries have built capacities to
prevent and detect the trade of fish and fishery products coming from IUU fishing
activities. Suriname as well as Trinidad and Tobago have established a catch
certificate scheme for their main fisheries namely the catches of, shrimp for the prime
one, and the catches of swordfish and big eye tuna for the latter one. Also, countries
benefit from regional initiatives to overcome these technical barriers. With regard to
SPS measures, CARIFORUM members participated to the Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures project funded by the EU23 to improve the safety of fish and fishery products
for consumers in national and export markets. The Project ran over a 42-month period
and completed in April 2017. Finally, the Dominican Republic is reviewing regulations
under its National Codex Committee and its National Committee on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures.
4.3 KRA 7: ADDRESSING KEY EXTERNAL CAUSES OF VALUE LOSS
Combat piracy in ACP countries The fight against piracy is high in the development agenda of African ACP States. The
by-nature transboundary dimension of the issue requires a high-level of international
23 EU-EPA SPS Project The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Project, funded by the EU (10th EDF) and delivered under the technical leadership of IICA and the CRFM, aimed at helping CARIFORUM countries to improve the safety of fish and fishery products for consumers in national and export markets. Eight new manuals were elaborated to help fish inspectors apply the best international practices to the inspection of fishing vessels, processing establishments and aquaculture facilities. The manuals cover subjects such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), traceability, and for the first time, a compendium of food safety hazards encountered in Caribbean fishery products. In addition, the project has prepared two manuals for laboratories, on the testing of fishery products to make sure they are safe and ensuring that laboratory test results are accurate.
26
cooperation. In June 2013, the heads of the Economic Communities of the West
African States (ECOWAS) and of the Economic Communities of the Central African
States (ECCAS), and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) laid the foundations for a
strategy common to both regions. The Yaoundé summit closed with the adoption of a
code of conduct relating to the prevention and suppression of illegal acts perpetrated
in the maritime space of the Gulf of Guinea. Largely inspired by the Djibouti Code of
Conduct relating to fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, the
Yaoundé Code of Conduct forms the legal basis for cooperation between the signatory
States of both regions. It defines the terms of intervention, sharing of responsibilities
and practical organization of the fight against illegal maritime activities in western and
central Africa. Building on the achievements of the Critical Maritime Routes24 in the
Gulf of Guinea Programme (CRIMGO), the Gulf of Guinea Inter-Regional Network
(GoGIN)25 aims, since 2016, to improve safety and maritime security in the area,
notably by supporting the establishment of an effective and technically efficient
regional information sharing network. The project, which involves 19 countries, relies
on the support of two regional Surveillance Centres located in Congo and Côte d’Ivoire
coordinated by a International Coordination Centre based in Cameroon, to improve
regional capacity for dialogue and coordination in the maritime domain. Also
implemented in the Gulf of Guinea until 2023, the project to Support to West Africa
Integrated Maritime Security (SWAIMS) contributes supporting the ECOWAS
Integrated Maritime Strategy and improving maritime security and safety by
strengthening legal, governance and law enforcement frameworks and operational
capacities.
In the Indian Ocean; the MASE Programme “Maritime Security in the Eastern and
Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region” was funded under 10th European
Development Fund with an EU contribution of EUR 37.5 million during the years 2012
to 2018. The project sought to strengthen the capacity in the ESA-IO region for the
implementation of the Regional Strategy and Action Plan against Piracy and for
Maritime Security. In components working with COMESA, the project aimed to break
the financial networks of pirates and their sponsors and to decrease structural and
sustainable economic impact of piracy, an issue which has impacted on the Seychelles
and fishing vessels operating in the region. The EU project “EU Critical Maritime Route
Wider Indian Ocean –(CRIMARI)O26” is funded under the EDF (EUR5.5 million) via the
Regional Indicative programme. It stared in January 2015 and will run until end of 2019.
The project objective is to enhance the maritime security and safety in the wider Indian
Ocean region by supporting the coastal countries in the establishment of improved
maritime situational awareness. The project also seeks to promote cooperation,
coordination and interoperability of different information sharing centres based across
the region (Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania, Seychelles and Yemen), in particular
through the organisation of joint events, trainings and capacity-building exercises. The
24 https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/projects/ 25 https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/projects/gogin/ 26 https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/projects/crimario/
27
European Union Naval Force27 continues to ensure maritime security in the Centre
Horn of Africa under the operation Atlanta, which duration has been extended by the
European Council until December 2020. The operation Atlanta has for objectives to :
protects vessels of the World Food Programme and other vulnerable shipping; deters,
prevents and represses piracy and armed robbery at sea; monitors fishing activities off
the coast of Somalia; supports other EU missions and international organisations
working to strengthen maritime security and capacity in the region.
Finally, the EU overarching project CRIMSON28 (Critical Maritime Routes Monitoring,
Support and Evaluation Mechanism) coordinates and connects all Critical Maritime
Routes (CMR) programmes. Established in 2011, CRIMSON aims to increase
coordination, coherence and complementarities among CMR projects, as well as other
European and international maritime security initiatives.
4.4 KRA 8: ADDING VALUE FOR ACP COUNTRIES
Improve the value of fish and fish product storage and processing methods
A few of the responding countries such as Fiji reported improvements in the value of
fish and fish product storage and processing methods, and hence complying with the
EU market related requirements. The majority of the countries are steadily building
capacity for this purpose, through subsidies to purchase new equipment and regular
training for fishermen and fish processors. Also, the countries have strengthened the
control at processing stages, such as Sierra Leone, which authorities carry out regular
inspections on fish cold rooms and fish processing establishments to monitor and
ensure compliance to standards and make recommendations for improvement as
appropriate. For its part, Mauritania intends to prioritise d the development of high
value-added fish and fishery products as an alternative to fish meal production. The
GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) supports this ambition by
supporting identification and deployment of processing techniques of small pelagics
accessible to artisanal communities or SMEs. A minority of the countries reported little
improvement due to lack of funds or simply because fish is traditionally consumed fresh
or smoked locally. The table below outlines examples of ongoing improvements on
storage and processing methods.
Table 4 Examples of ongoing improvements on storage and processing methods from questionnaires
Benin Flake ice machines, isotherm boxes on board of all pirogues and
new techniques to smoke fish
Botswana Cold storage facilities, Refrigerated trucks
Burkina Faso Introduction of FTT – Thiaroye and Chorkor ovens
27 https://eunavfor.eu 28 https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/projects/crimson/
28
Central African
Republic (Chad
Lake area)
Chorkor ovens, isothermes boxes, ice and cold storage facilities
Côte d’Ivoire FTT – Thiaroye ovens
Ethiopia Cold chain facilities, fishing gears
Ghana Cold stores in landing sites, isolated fish containers, Ahotor and
FTT– Thiaroye ovens
Guinea Introduction of FTT– Thiaroye ovens, isotherm boxes
Kenya Cold chain facilities installed at landing sites
Dominican
Republic
Fishing equipment
Togo Introduction ofFTT – Thiaroye ovens, flake ice machine, isotherm boxes, selling boxes for fried fish
Tonga Ice making machines
Trinidad and
Tobago
Flake Ice machine, Processing facility
Promoting efficiency in catching and processing With regards to promoting efficiency in catching, some countries reported the
introduction of new selective gears. For instance, shrimp trawling vessels operating in
the Caribbean have on board by-catch reduction devices. In Sierra Leone, the
authorities sensitize fishing operators from both artisanal and industrial sectors to
utilise responsible and selective fishing practices, regulated fishing gears being sold in
the artisanal fisheries sector to promote sustainable fishing. The Togolese authorities
distributes for free net with regulated mesh size. To guarantee efficiency in the fish
processing, most of the African countries promote the new technology of modern ovens
to smoke fish, while Tuvalu provides training to communities in small scale processing.
Seychelles is building capacity in regard to fish quality assessment and cold chain
management. In Mauritania, the adoption of new incentive measures facilitate landing
and adding value to the products on its territory by applying the same administrative
and taxes access to all fishing vessels no matter their flag. Finally, the government
institutions and university of Dominican Republic assist associative groups in the
improvement of their production and processing tasks.
Examples of initiatives promoting efficiency in catchin and processing
29
As part of the Cultivate Africa’s Future project29 (late 2014 to early 2017), WorldFish worked with 256 fishers, processors and traders in Zambia to trial fish processing technologies such as salting, ice and solar drying tents. Research finds that the improved technologies can reduce losses and decrease the time burdens of women. The FTT-Thiaroye is a fish smoking and drying technology30, which FAO
designed back in 2008 in order to improve fuel-efficiency by encapsulating heat and
smoke. As a result, small-scale female fish processors across Africa have
significantly increased their income within a responsive market. They have reduced
drudgery, decreased costs of smoking operations, and cut down on post-harvest fish
losses. Furthermore, this new technology has improved quality and safety of finished
products, as well as food security and nutrition. In 2017, not only has the FTT-
Thiaroye come a long way, with about 12 African countries31utilising the new fish
processing technique, but it has also started transforming lives in Asia, more
precisely in Sri Lanka32.
The Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean
Trawl Fisheries (REBYC-II LAC)33 is a partnership between six countries and
regional organizations to better manage bycatch and support the sustainable
development of trawl fisheries and the people who depend on them. Over a five-year
period, the REBYC-II LAC project aims to reduce food loss and encourage
sustainable livelihoods by improving the management of bycatch and minimizing
discards and sea-bed damage, thereby transforming bottom trawl fisheries into
responsible fisheries.
- Making fisheries more productive and sustainable by addressing unsustainable fishing practices through EAF and at the same time promoting equitable distribution of benefits through enhanced understanding of the socioeconomic context of the shrimp/bottom trawl fisheries and bycatch subsectors; (including a feasibility study to assess the value adding possibilities for trawler discards and seafood processing waste)
- Eliminating hunger by supporting policies and political commitments to this end and by improving the knowledge and information on the role of bycatch in food security;
- Promoting inclusive fishery systems by introducing or strengthening co-management arrangements and supporting the implementation of the VGSSF;
- Creating decent rural employment as part of “increasing access by the rural poor to decent farm and non-farm employment";
- Promoting the reduction of discards and utilization of sustainable bycatch the project will contribute to reducing food loss and waste.
29 https://fish.cgiar.org/impact/stories-of-change/local-global-how-research-enables-resilient-and-sustainable-small-scale 30 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4174f.pdf 31 FAO alone has introduced the FTT in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Togo, and Tanzania. Other United Nations institutions and NGOs have followed its example. 32 http://www.fao.org/srilanka/news/detail-events/en/c/1042565/ 33 http://www.fao.org/in-action/rebyc-2/en/
30
Supporting private sector initiatives to improve product quality and value throughout the value chain
Supporting or initiating partnership with the private sector to improve product quality and value throughout the value chain is generalised in most of the responding countries, through delivering capacity building such as training for all stakeholders on the processing techniques and to comply with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards.. Entrepreneurs also benefit from technical support in the construction of accredited facilities and modern ovens to improve the quality of smoked fish. As examples, the Seychelles Fishing Authorities promotes the use of its Development Kitchen by small-scale operators in the sector to improve products quality, whereas four new fish landing facilities including jetties have been rent to the private sector in Sierra Leone. The Kenyan Fish Levy Trust Fund generates great support to the private sector as described below, as well as the FFA initiative to provide practical guidelines on how to assist fishing business community. Examples of initiatives supporting private sector initiatives to improve product quality and value throughout the value chain In Kenya, the fisheries management and development act No. 35 of 2016 establishes the Fish Levy Trust Fund, which shall provide supplementary funding of activities geared towards management, development and capacity building, awards and urgent mitigation to ensure sustainability of the fisheries resource. In 2006, the FFA published a business report, which provides practical
guidelines to assist existing entrepreneurs in the Pacific Island fishing
business community with the setting up of sustainable and profitable seafood
value-added businesses making value-added products from target species
and the by-products of tuna fisheries.
In Ethiopia, the UNIDO Fishery Project “Technical and Institutional Capacity
Building for Increase in Production and Development of the Aquaculture and
Fisheries Value Chains” at Lake Tana area focuses specifically on small business
development by improving the capacities of Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises
(MSEs) operating along the value chains of capture fisheries and aqua-production
and fish processing and marketing entrepreneurs. The project considers i) capacity
building, ii) selection of pilot sites to support aquaculture and fishing entrepreneurs,
and iii) plans for training of trainers and extension services.
Providing infrastructure to underpin investment in the sector The responding ACP countries are providing new infrastructure to underpin investment in the sector as shown in the table below.Table 5 Examples of new infrastructure in the responding ACP countries
Benin, Côte d’Ivoire,
Democratic Republic
of Congo, Ghana,
Guinea, Niger,
Equipped landing sites
31
Senegal, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago
Dominican Republic Marketing facilities
Ethiopia Simply jetties and processing shade
Sierra Leone Fish harbour complex, fish landing sites close to the
International Airport to enhance fish trade, fish landing
platforms, and fish smoking house
Mauritania Ports for artisanal fisheries, Port for industrial fleet,
Development centre for small pelagic fisheries, landing
sites, and renovation of the existing infrastructures
Seychelles New processing infrastructure for local markets;
improved landing jetty for industrial tuna vessels
Togo Modern port for artisanal fisheries, with 300 pirogues mooring basin capacity, landing and shelter docks, slipways, ice and cold storage equipment, fishmongers and a laboratory.
Tonga New facilities for fish markets and renovation of the national fish market
Trinidad and Tobago Fish Processing Plant
Providing access to finance / investment in small and medium sized enterprises, processing and storage facilities
With regard to providing access to finance / investment in small and medium sized
enterprises, the Fisheries Development Fund of Seychelles provides free evaluation of
business plan designed to finance and investment access. Some countries, such as
Ghana and Togo set incentive mechanism with loans and investment risks share.
Sierra Leone elaborated a micro-credit scheme for fish processors and fishermen
through the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Iceland to enhance
access for finance and fisheries investment in the artisanal fisheries sector.
Developing and diversifying fisheries To meet fish demand and compensate fish stocks declining, the African responding
countries but also Guyana have started to diversify fisheries and to develop the
aquaculture sector. For instance, the authorities of Sierra Leone consider the
diversification of fish culture practices for catfish, tilapia, freshwater shrimp culture and
oyster culture. In Guyana, the tuna fishery starts to develop aside the existing shrimp
fishery. ACP countries, such as Seychelles, keep developing fisheries by introducing
new incremental innovative ideas for the sector, involving research from Scientific
32
Institutes. Due to the decline of deepwater snapper catches, Tonga Ministry of
Fisheries is promoting the development of aquaculture, squid fishing and mini-
longliners to target tunas.
In the Caribbean Region, the Caribbean Fisheries Co-Management (CARIFCO)
project aims to diversify the fisheries introducing new fishing techniques. A common
concern for all Small-Islands Developing States is to decrease fishing pressure on
inshore stocks through relocation of fishing activities on offshore large pelagic stocks.
Such diversification entails the development of networks of anchored Fishing
Aggregated Devices (FADs) around islands often in conjunction with promotion of
more secured and fuel-efficient fishing vessels to access offshore zones.
Examples of intiatives to develop and diversify fisheries
Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and
St. Vincent and the Grenadines benefitted from 2013-2018 Caribbean Fisheries
Co-Management Project (CARIFCO)34 to develop and implement “fisheries co-
management approaches on FADs as well as to Improve quality for local market and
overseas. Experiences and knowledge acquired were disseminated and shared to
the other CARICOM States.
In Timor-Leste, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
(ACIAR) -funded Fisheries, Livelihoods and Resource Management in Timor-
Leste project35 worked with local fishers to adapt and test the design of
nearshore fish aggregating devices. This has enabled fishers to catch more
oceanic fish with less effort, helping to reduce reliance on vulnerable reef resources
and enhance livelihoods.
WorldFish develops aquaculture in Mali36. In the 30 000 km2 area of the inner
Niger River delta in Mali, the critical resources making livelihood diversification
possible are the residual waters retained in mares (floodplain depressions) which
enable agriculture, provide pasture and create fish habitat during the dry season.
Fish culture has a very limited history in Mali but the extensive flood plains that
traverse this country provide excellent, untapped opportunities for both extensive
and intensive aquaculture in these mares.
Encouraging the development of new products and market partnerships New products and markets demand also influenced the diversification of fisheries, such
as the growing interest for sea cucumber in Benin, Sierra Leone and Tonga. Moreover,
the questionnaire from Sierra Leone reveals new interests of locally-based fishing
enterprises for new types of products, and European ones for the possibility of
establishing a tuna canning factory. Ghana provides training to fishers and fish
processors to introduce new products like fish sausage and kebab. Finally, Seychelles
34 http://www.crfm.int/~uwohxjxf/images/Report_of_the_CRFM-CARIFICO_Seminar_on_Strengthening_Fisheries_Co-management_in_the_Region_FINAL_dated_20-03-18.pdf 35 https://www.worldfishcenter.org/content/fisheries-livelihoods-and-resource-management-timor-leste 36 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5616e.pdf
33
has launched national fisheries value addition promotional campaign in all schools and
promotes the introduction of new value addition recipes for the industries.
Support role of women in production, processing, commerce and as entrepreneurs, for example through micro-finance initiatives
All of the responding countries acknowledge the key role played by women in the
fisheries and aquaculture sector, where gender is an issue. Country level support take
various forms, such as providing new equipment to smoke fish, adopting incentives
measures to support women business ventures women in fisheries value chains,
conducting training to women enterprises on hygienic handling and processing of fish,
facilitating the access of micro-credit and loans as well as to invest along the whole
value chain and improve their entrepreneurial skills. However, no all concerned
countries have been able to address issues related to access to credit or insurance.
In the Caribbean region, women are present in the post-harvest activities of processing
and marketing and their participation is encouraged at a national level mainly through
training.
In Africa, the women’s empowerment, which role is major in the post-harvest subsector
and exclusive in some fisheries such as the wild oyster fishery in Gambia, is developing
at different pace around the continent through capacity building, training, technology
application, technical assistance to entrepreneurial development, financing of
equipment. Women are becoming better organised, represented and involved in co-
management processes. Access to credit still remains a key constraint for most
countries for lack of assets as security. In Ethiopia, the fisheries development planning
integrates the perspective that small scale fish trading provides a low capital and
subsistence level of employment for youths, who help them in the business, as to
increase saving and continue their education.
In the Pacific region, women are the actual recipients and managers of the subsidies
from the government as they constitute the backbone of the Aquaculture in Fiji, owning
for 80% of the farms. In Tuvalu, training for women in post-harvest is a continuing
programme, although women and men have equal access to loans and finance for
projects. As for Tonga, a women group has been established in 2015 under the Tonga
National Fisheries Council to promote responsibilities of women in the fisheries.
Examples of initiatives to support women’s involvement in the sector
The Togolese authorities are conducting a significant campaign to support
women as fish processors with the construction of 73 ovens, 10 more being under
construction, as well as fish farmers with the establishment of aquaculture tanks for
tilapia.
The African Network of Women in Fisheries (RAFEP) is a network supported by
the 22 Member States of the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation
Among African States Bordering the Atlantic (COMHAFAT-ATLAFCO). RAFEP (1)
34
contributes to the strengthening the organizational, professional and entrepreneurial
capacities of women in fisheries in the COMHAFAT countries; (2) promote
cooperation between women in fisheries in the region; (3) contribute to maximizing
the participation of women in the sustainable development of fisheries and socio-
economic development of COMHAFAT countries; (4) promote women’s access to
adequate funding for their activities37.
The African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network (AWFishNET)38
operates as a non-profit network that brings together women fish processors and
traders from all over Africa. AWFISHNET's goal is to contribute to improving the
welfare, working conditions and income of women in the fisheries sector (and
especially women in the post-harvest sector) within the member states of the African
Union.
The Business Coalition for Women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and in
Solomon Islands provides examples of good practices. The Coalition is a
membership-based network that gathers representatives from the private sector to
promote women’s empowerment. The Coalition’s priorities are to ensure that all
workplaces are free from violence and that businesses support staff who experience
family and sexual violence; promote gender-smart workplace policies and practices;
promote career development of women to enable them to take leadership positions;
and expand opportunities for women-owned businesses in supply and distribution
networks39.The FFA published annually the Moana Voices which features the
profiles of eight women involved in fisheries at national, institutional and regional
level. The publication aims to increase women participation in the field40. Also, the
Pacific Community publishes annually the Women in Fisheries Information
(WIF) Bulletin41, which provides a sharing and learning platform for practitioners
and scientists working in the inclusion of gender in fisheries and aquaculture.
Gambia’s approach in Fisheries development include gender participation and
women empowerment. Women are organised into trade group associations which
they themselves manage. They are involved and consulted in fisheries planning and
decision-making processes and are well represented in community organisations
including in local landing site management committees. Mainstreaming gender and
climate change into fisheries is a policy direction pursued in fisheries development
in The Gambia. A national Gender Policy was developed for 2010-2020 and seeks
to empower women and advocate for gender equality. Following on the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and
the African Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, The Gambia took the step of
37 AU-IBAR, (2017). Workshop- report on women fish traders association
38https://www.awfish.net 39 https://www.spc.int/sites/default/files/wordpresscontent/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Overview-Pacific-Womens-Economic-Empowerment-SPC2.pdf 40 https://www.ffa.int/moanavoices 41 http://coastfish.spc.int/en/publications/bulletins/women-in-fisheries
35
enacting a Women's Act in 2010. However, access to finance by women is still a
challenge but planned actions will seek to address this and other challenges.
Photovoice: A high-impact research method that empowers women42. The use
of photos and comments by research participants to tell their own stories is a fast,
cost-effective and high-impact research method, making it a valuable tool for gender
and social scientists in fisheries and aquaculture.
A FAO pilot project in Côte d’Ivoire has created a childcare alongside a fish
processing site to support women’s work and ensure children are educated43.
The 2017 Dar Es Salaam Declaration44 gathers women fish processers and traders
from the African Union Member States to affirm their commitment to strengthening
the position and contribution of African women fish processors and traders to the
continental agenda given the key role as stakeholders of the sector and of African
society.
In Kenya, the Government conducted training to women producing seaweed
in the mariculture of Kibuyuni and provided the processing machine for production
of soap, shampoos and lotion which is branded. Such support has increased their
incomes and transformed their lives.
The Pacific Communities published a Pacific handbook on gender equity and
social inclusion45 designed to give practical guidance on improving gender and
social inclusion in coastal fisheries and aquaculture for staff working in fisheries
agencies in Pacific Island countries and territories. It focuses on the responsibilities
of Pacific Island governments to help promote sustainable development outcomes
for all people relying on coastal fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods.
The Women in Fisheries Network – Fiji (WiFN-Fiji) mission is to facilitate
networks and partnerships to enable opportunities for women to be informed about
all aspects of sustainable fisheries in Fiji and to increase the meaningful participation
of women in decision-making and management at all levels of sustainable fisheries
in Fiji.
Efforts to support Timorese women fishers to participate in decisions about
small-scale fisheries, including through the landmark Women Fishers’ Forum, are
showing promising results46.
Generate and interpret data to promote understanding of market variability, pricing and demand/supply requirements
Half of the responding countries have established structures to generate and interpret
data to promote understanding of market variability, pricing and demand/supply
42 https://fish.cgiar.org/impact/stories-of-change/photovoice-high-impact-research-method-empowers-women
43 http://www.fao.org/3/ca4536en/CA4536EN.pdf 44 AU-IBAR, (2017). Workshop- report on women fish traders association
45 https://coastfish.spc.int/en/component/content/article/494 46 https://fish.cgiar.org/impact/stories-of-change/gaining-voice-first-women-fishers’-forum-held-timor-leste
36
requirements. Dominican Republic and Kenya have installed National Fish Market
Information System, whereas the Mauritanian Commission in charge of marketing
products plays a role in following trends of international trade and in fixing prices of
reference. The Trinidad and Tobago Agriculture Marketing and Development Company
collects data on volumes and prices of wholesale landings of fish. Other national
initiatives such as conducting survey and study aim to generate data to determine the
economic priorities in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Indeed, the recent
aquaculture value chains analyses carried out in Zambia under the EU funded Value
Chain Analysis for Development (VCA4D) programme has indeed provided useful
information to identify priority actions in view of improving economic performance,
inclusiveness and environment sustainability of the aquaculture sector. The remained
responding countries deplore the lack of finance to undertake such studies. The new
FAO-EU Intra-ACP blue-growth programme for Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
Value Chains shall fill this gap for at least 10 ACP countries.
Examples of initiatives to generate and interpret data as to promote understanding of market variability, pricing and demand/supply requirements The EU is supporting the Government of Mali on fisheries through the PAFHa – ‘Projet d’Appui à la Filière Halieutique’, implemented by the Belgian cooperation agency – ENABEL. Running until 2021, the project aims to develop around three axes:
1. improvement of conservation, commercialisation and valorisation of fish products;
2. improvement of the productivity of the fisheries value chain via sustainable practices; and
3. and reinforcement of the government’s technical services and producers’ organisations capacities.
4. Support to fisheries is expected to continue in the next programming phase of the EU (2021-2027) and the VCA4D study will serve as a baseline analysis for better defining, together with the Government of Mali, the priorities for the fisheries value chain.47.
The Kenyan experience an Electronic Fish Market Information Services (EFMIS- Ke)48, which is a tool for information exchange to enhance fish trade and incomes of the fisher community by improving their access to market information through a convenient, fast, cheap and in real time. The EFMIS- Ke work as follows:
1. Collect key fish market information from Data Hubs (fish landing sites, markets, input suppliers, factories, fish farms);
2. Transmit information to a Data Centre based at KMFRI, where it is synthesised and appropriately packaged and stored in a data base;
3. Users (mainly fishermen, fish farmers, traders, processors, cooperatives, consumers and other groups) access the information by sending queries through messages via a short code e.g. 22565;
4. Information received on phone throughmessages.
47 ENABEL, (2019). Projet de rapport final, Revue à mi-parcours du Projet d’Appui à la Filière Halieutique 48 AU-IBAR, (2017). Workshop- report on women fish traders association
37
Funded by the European Commission, the FishTrade49 for a Better Future
project50 focuses on four fish trade corridors in sub-Saharan Africa, covering 21
countries project to deepen understanding of the challenges that traders face in
cross-border trade, identifying potential opportunities and making recommendations
that inform national and regional food trade policies. Through these activities, the
FishTrade project aims to generate information that facilitates policy reforms,
influences implementation of appropriate policies and supports institutional
strengthening to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in sub-
Saharan Africa.
FishTrade works to strengthen the trade capacities of private sector associations, in
particular women fish processors and traders and small- and medium-scale
entrepreneurs, to enable them to make better use of expanding intra-regional fish
trade opportunities.Supporting the concept of one-stop border posts (OSBPs), which
have been developed by regional economic communities to simplify the process of
exiting one country and entering another for fish traders, will remove a major
obstacle. The OSBPs were developed to facilitate cross-border trade but have thus
far not focused on the trade in fish.
Promote expansion and diversification of services supporting the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, for example vessel maintenance, bunkering, stevedoring, provisioning
A few ACP countries indicated the current efforts to promote expansion and
diversification of services supporting the fisheries and aquaculture sector. For
instance, two private fishing and maritime companies in Sierra Leone designed
facilities for fishing vessel maintenance. In addition, the fish harbour complex, which
will be constructed with Chinese support, aims to provide facilities for vessel
maintenance, bunkering and other ancillary facilities. Recently, Mauritania built a
shipyard and extended the industrial fishing harbour with new services facilities.
Finally, the new port of Lomé in Togo, is equipped with modern infrastructures for
artisanal fisheries with a mooring basin of a 300 pirogues capacity, landing site, a dock
shelter, marine slipways for vessel repairs. In Ghana, vessel maintenance and
bunkering have been divested to Private-Public Partnership. Tuvalu is developing
services to meet the growth of transhipment in Funafuti port, and plans to increase
placement of local crew on fishing vessels. Finally, the remaining countries regret
lacking funds and the capacity to engage in such infrastructure.
Promotion of ecolabelling schemes consistent with internationally developed standards (e.g. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Friends of the Sea)
Half of the answers received from ACP countries mentioned initiatives from ACP
companies to assess or certify their fisheries or aquaculture by ecolabelling
organizations and reported an enhancement of competitivity on the market for the
49 https://www.worldfishcenter.org/fishtrade 50 https://fish.cgiar.org/impact/stories-of-change/opening-avenues-cross-border-fish-trade-africa
38
related certified fishery products or products subject to Fisheries Improvement Plans
(FIPs). The following table lists a number of ongoing certification and certified fisheries
and aquaculture in ACP countries.
Table 6 List of ongoing certification and certified fisheries and aquaculture from ACP countries
Region Countries Fishery/Aquaculture Process
Africa South Africa African Abalon (Aq.) Expired in 2018 (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Seychelles Tropical tunas (Purse seine) Certified (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Nigeria Black tiger prawn (Bottom trawl)
Certified (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Mauritius Tropical tunas (Purse seine)
European seabass and Red drum(Aq.)
Certified (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Madagascar Indian White Prawn, black tiger prawn, green tiger prawn, speckled shrimp
Recertification in progress (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Ghana Tropical tuna (pole and line and purse seine)
Certified (Friends of the Sea)
Oceania PNG Tropical tunas (Purse seine) Certified (Friends of the Sea)
Africa Kenya Rock Lobster Ongoing certification (MSC)
Pacific PNG Fishing Industry Association’s purse seine Skipjack & Yellowfin Tuna Fishery
Under assessment (MSC)
Africa Ghana Tropical Tuna Under Assessment
Caribbean Guyana Seabob (shrimp) fishery Under assessment (MSC)
Africa South Africa South Africa hake Trawl, Tristan da Cunha rock lobster
Certified (MSC)
39
Pacific Kiribati albacore, bigeye and yellowfin tuna longline fishery
Certified (MSC)
Caribbean The Bahamas The Bahamas Spiny Lobster Fishery
Certified (MSC)
Pacific PNA Western and Central Pacific skipjack and yellowfin, unassociated / non FAD set, tuna purse seine
Certified (MSC)
Caribbean Suriname Atlantic Seabob shrimp Certified (MSC)
Pacific Fiji Albacore and Yellowfin Tuna longline
Africa Madagascar Giant tiger prawn Certified (ASC)
Africa Nigeria Giant tiger prawn In assessment (ASC)
Africa South Africa Perlemoen Abalone Certified (ASC)
The other half of the responding countries do not consider the promotion of ecolabelling
schemes as a national priority. The authorities of Togo report the lack of knowledge on
the added value to develop such labels, while Sierra Leone reported discussions within
sub-regional fisheries management bodies for the development of a harmonized
framework for eco-labelling for fish and fishery products.
Lessons learnt and challenges for the future
The ACP countries, which contributed to the survey, demonstrate ongoing
efforts to promote optimal returns from fisheries trade. Most of the countries
strive to maintain access to the EU market, which consequently involves
compliance with a number of requirements such as the Sanitary and
phytosanitary and the establishment of catch certification scheme. Some
countries, such as the African landlocked countries, lag behind in accessing
to regional and international markets due to a small production of fish and
fishery products. Still, studies such as the EU Value Chain Analysis for
Development (VCA4D) constitute a great tool supporting countries in
developing efficient and coherent strategies contributing to economic growth,
job creation, food and nutrition security.
A few ACP countries indicated the current efforts to promote expansion and
diversification of services supporting the fisheries and aquaculture sector. For
40
instance, two private fishing and maritime companies in Sierra Leone
designed facilities for fishing vessel maintenance. In addition, the fish harbour
complex, which will be constructed with Chinese support, aims to provide
facilities for vessel maintenance, bunkering and other ancillary facilities.
Recently, Mauritania built a shipyard and extended the industrial fishing
harbour with new services facilities. Finally, the new port of Lomé in Togo, is
equipped with modern infrastructures for artisanal fisheries with a mooring
basin of a 300 pirogues capacity, landing site, a dock shelter, marine slipways
for vessel repairs. In Ghana, vessel maintenance and bunkering have been
divested to Private-Public Partnership. Finally, the remaining countries regret
lacking funds and the capacity to engage in such infrastructure.
5. STRATEGY PRIORITY 3: SUPPORTING FOOD SECURITY IN ACP
COUNTRIES
The 2012 Strategic Plan of Action states that ACP countries should plan for future food
security (KRA 9), in terms of quantity, quality, continuity of supply, availability and price
both for wild fisheries and aquaculture with a particular focus on artisanal fisheries
(KRA10) and local business development (KRA 11).
The 2017 edition of the state of play assessed a general trend among ACP countries
to increasing consideration given to fish and aquaculture production in supporting food
security. Indeed, most of the ACP countries acknowledges the need to both promote
and manage small-scale fisheries and initiated steps to reduce the perceived
marginalisation of the small scale fisheries. The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing
Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty
Eradication (VGSSF s), which were endorsed in 2014, represent a global consensus
on principles and guidance for small-scale fisheries governance and development
towards enhanced food security and nutrition. These guidelines represent an objective
to achieve in itself by integrating measures in the domestic management framework of
ACP countries.
5.1 KRA 9: PLANNING FOR FOOD SECURITY
Formulate food and nutrition security policies that considers the future needs of populations and the contribution of the fisheries sector to the national economy
A majority of the responding countries formulated food and nutrition policies. For
instance, the policy of Sierra Leone aims at reducing hunger and malnutrition with a
special priority on women and children under 5 years old. A few of these policies do
not specifically consider the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture sector as to
supply the need of population, such as the ones of Burkina Faso and Burundi.
However, most of the national plans on food security and nutrition take fisheries
41
resources and aquaculture into account, with a growing interest to diversify fisheries
towards the development aquaculture. As an example, in Kenya, the food and nutrition
security strategy constitute the first pillar of the Big Four presidential agenda for 2018-
2020, with the fisheries being targeted as a main contributor to the agenda. Moreover,
some fisheries and aquaculture policies integrate food and nutrition objectives. For
instance, the implementation of the Ghanaian fisheries management plan (2015 –
2019) ensures both the recovery of the fish stocks and food security for posterity, while
Gambia is reviewing its fisheries policy to incorporate food and nutrition security
elements in its fisheries and aquaculture legal framework. With one of the highest fish
per capita consumption in the world, Tuvalu’s fisheries policies and plans stress the
importance of fish for food security. With the support of the FAO, the Democratic
Republic of Congo is integrating the VGSSF in the revision of its legislation regulating
fisheries and aquaculture. Togo reported to have benefited from a study analysis to
strengthen the fisheries and aquaculture policies for better food security and nutrition
results through the FAO Food and nutrition security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability
and Transformation (FIRST)51 programme.
In the context of the Sustainable Development Goal 2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”, the FIRST programme represents a strategic partnership between FAO and the European Union that provides governments supports by the creation of an enabling policy and institutional environment to food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry. In 2016, the FAO published a Policy Guidance Note52 of fisheries and Aquaculture identifying a range of issues to consider when attempting to harmonize fisheries and aquaculture policies with food security and nutrition concerns. National and regional initiatives described below illustrate actions where the fisheries
and aquaculture sector contribute to food security and reduce malnutrition of the
population.
Examples of initiatives that formulate food and nutrition security policies taking the contribution of the fisheries sector to the national economy into account Mauritania supports a national company in charge of promoting the
consumption of fish in the country. As part of access conditions to the EEZ,
foreign trawlers have to land 2% of their catches free of charge. A National company
distributes these catches to the poorest population at subsidised price. The initiative
shows encouraging results with an increase of the fish consumption in Mauritania.
According to the estimates of the Mauritanian Institute of Fisheries and
Oceanographic Research, per capita fish consumption has grown from 4,7 kg in
2000 to 14 kg in 2018.
51 http://www.fao.org/europeanunion/eu-projects/first/fr/ 52 http://www.fao.org/3/i6227e/I6227E.pdf
42
Under the EU funded Indian Ocean Commission SmartFish Programme, the
Government of Kenya, has launched the "Eat fish for a better life" campaign53
aiming to promote the consumption of local fish and to inform the public about the
importance of fish consumption for our health and growth.
The 2017 Global Action Programme (GAP) on food security and nutrition in
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)54 aims to implement the SIDS
Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway (SAMOA Pathway), an outcome
document articulating a joint vision from 42 States to accelerate actions on food
security and nutrition on issues affecting the sustainable development of SIDS,
including their aspirations for fisheries and aquaculture.
Fiji has adopted the Aquaculture Food Security Program (FSP) is in line with the
20 year National Development Plan (2017 – 2036) and, which traduces Fiji’s
commitment towards SDG’s.
The Ministry of Fisheries of Tonga has started a new program at the end of
2017 to lower down prices of fish for local markets. This program is implemented
on tuna fisheries to allow more fish at affordable prices for the local people as to
promote healthy eating in Tonga.
5.2 KRA 10: ARTISANAL FISHERIES
In the Caribbean Region, the small-scale fisheries are a prominent feature of many
islands. Existing legal frameworks protect artisanal fishing and the sector is mainly
organised through cooperatives. The responding countries progressively incorporate
The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) and
Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (VGSSF)
measures in their legal frameworks. Moreover, the authorities launched national
campaigns to promote the consumption of fish caught locally so as to limit fish imports.
In Guyana, a national fisherfolk organisation is in place.
In Africa, most of the responding countries have secured access rights for small scale
fisheries in their legal frameworks and acknowledgement of the customary law. The
multiple ban of industrial fishing vessels in the inshore fishing zones guarantee safe
access to the fishing communities to what is often the most productive zone, subject
to restrictive management measures. The true implementation of access rights to the
artisanal fisheries remains progressive. Number of co-management plans and
participatory projects increase, resulting in a better production for the fishing
communities. Côte d’Ivoire assesses the availability of fisheries resources through
stock assessment of targeted species and social-economic analysis of the artisanal
fishing sector.
53 http://www.fao.org/blogs/blue-growth-blog/notes-from-kenya-eat-fish-for-a-better-life/en/
54 http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
43
In the Pacific region, the government of Fiji supports a Food Security Program (FSP),
which guarantees one-year financial assistance to the farmers and newcomers willing
to engage in Freshwater Aquaculture farming, for tilapia and freshwater prawns. The
FSP supports also farmers facing difficulties in their business with the following
matters: capital for development, seed supply, technical assistance, harvesting phase
and market access. Training is provided to the freshwater farmers in aquaculture
development and management. All Tuvaluans have free and equal access to fisheries
resources in their country, except for marine protected areas and other local
regulations which are agreed by the communities. The authorities of Tonga have
established 41 Special Management Areas (SMA) for the management of community
fisheries, some more being currently processed. The SMA program gives rights to local
communities to decide who can fish and the rules for fishing.
The actions listed below contributes to secure the small-scale fisheries as well as to
empower women in the sector.
The adoption of the first model law on small-scale fisheries through the Latin
American Parliament55 provides concrete guidance to the Caribbean States on
improving regulatory frameworks in support of small-scale fisheries.
In 2018, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism adopted the Protocol of
the 2014 Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy, which incorporate
measures from the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale
Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. The high
participatory process and capacity development to formulate the Protocol was led by
a partnership of Caribbean fisheries stakeholders, which represent the regional
fisherfolk network. This Protocol aims to enhance food security, improve the socio-
economic situation of fish-workers, and achieve sustainable use of fisheries
resources through the promotion of a human rights-based approach56.
The authorities of Sierra Leone are establishing Territorial Use Rights in
Fisheries in the artisanal fisheries sector to improve on stewardship
responsibilities for local communities to effectively manage the artisanal fisheries.
Co-managed marine protected areas have been established and communities have
been organized into community management associations to control illegal fishing
in their communities. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Act guarantees the exclusive
right of exploiting the fisheries in the Inshore Exclusion Zone to the small-scale
fishermen only. In addition, small scale fishermen can fish anywhere in the exclusive
economic zone of the country except in the Marine Protected Areas where only
certain types of fishing practices are allowed.
In Kenya, piloted dropline, pole and line and ring net fishery showed better
results with increased production and incomes. Fishermen have formed a
revolving fund to ensure that other members get the fishing rods to displace the
55 http://parlatino.org/pdf/leyes_marcos/leyes/ley-modelo-pesca-artesanal-ing.pdf 56 FAO, (2019). Securing sustainable small-scale fisheries: sharing good practices from around the world
44
destructive nets and have gone ahead to establish a fish processing and
marketing sub group which has involved women.
Tanzania is embarking on the process of developing a National Plan of Action
to implement the SSF Guidelines.
ABALOBI is an information-management system and mobile application suite
co-developed by academics, the government and fisher communities in South Africa
to empower small-scale fishers by providing them with access to and control over
information and resource networks in areas from fishery monitoring and maritime
safety to local development and market opportunities57.
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and
the Southern Africa Development Community EPA group58, comprising the
Southern African Customs Union, which came into effect in 2016 has contributed to
create jobs and secure sustainable livelihoods in South Africa through implementing
the Small-Scale Fishery Policy in twenty small-scale fishing communities.
The government of Nigeria concluded Governance and social-institutional
arrangement to improve relationship between small-scale communities and non-
fishery users59.
The government of Botswana is funding fishing projects for marginalized
individuals in fishing communities to purchase fishing and processing
equipment. This is a government initiative that is geared towards empowering
communities and ensuring that benefits accrued through funded community
projects contribute towards poverty eradication, food and nutrition security.
The Zoning of the Okavango delta ecological system into specific fishing zones
was completed in 2015 by Angola, Botswana and Namibia. Each zone is allocated
a specific quota of the total number of licenses. Fishers are then issued with fishing
licenses for a specific zone. Communities that have formed conservation trusts have
rights over the use of fish resources in their area of jurisdiction. Efforts are still being
made to establish sustainable fish markets for artisanal fisher’s.
In Eswatini, small scale farmers have access to fishery resources and the
Ministry of Agriculture regularly issues out fishing permits that allow them
access to the countries water bodies. This has a positive contribution towards
food security and poverty alleviation. Sustainable fishing is also encouraged in order
to maintain the resources. Fish farming is encouraged too in order to reduce the
dependence on wild fish stocks.
FAO launched the “West and Central Africa Regional Consultation for
developing a regional small- scale fisheries action plan to implement the
Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the
Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (VGSSF) (within the African
57 http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf 58 https://sadc-epa-outreach.com/images/files/sadc-eu-epa-fisheries-july-2017.pdf 59 https://digitalarchive.worldfishcenter.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12348/415/4183_2017_Song_Inter-sectoral.pdf
45
Union policy framework”, which was held in Dakar, Senegal on 23–25 July 2018.
The objectives of the consultation were to raise awareness of the important role of
the small-scale fisheries sector and how this is addressed in regional fisheries and
aquaculture policy and the SSF Guidelines. It also provided an opportunity to share
experiences and identify actions needed to support and promote small-scale
fisheries60.
In Tuvalu, the Funafuti Reef Fisheries Stewardship Plan has been a major
initiative for sustainable small-scale fisheries, covering the island which is home
to more than half of Tuvalu’s population. The plan proposes:
1. More effective enforcement of a major marine protected area in the lagoon to
conserve breeding stocks of coastal fish populations;
2. Progressive introduction of the concept of size limits for major species of reef
fish;
3. Development of offshore fishing – provision of Fish Aggregation Devices, sea
safety equipment, and trial/development of a larger class of onshore fishing
vessel for local fishermen; and
4. A strong programme of data collection, analysis and feedback on coastal
fisheries resources.
5.3 KRA 11: LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Develop a favourable business environment to attract national and international investment
In the Caribbean Region, countries reported not having developed any major reform of
their business environment yet, on the ground that there is no obstacle to invest. For
instance, the Guyanese agency Go-invest promote investment in the country, and
most of the Caribbean development banks offer loan to the potential clients.
In the Pacific Region, the Fiji provides standards for processing enabling international
investment whereas local investors can approach the public authorities with their
business plan directly. As a small community with a tradition of sharing resources,
Tuvalu reported receiving. many proposals in the past to enrich the country, which
have turned out to be scams. International investment is regarded with caution now,
and subject to careful scrutiny by Government agencies.
The Coastal African countries reported having legal frameworks and legal entities in
place, which promote investments in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. For
instance, the 2018-2020 Development National Plan of Togo defines means and
concrete actions to optimise sustainable and inclusive growth as well as to develop
competitively. Ghana and Kenya offer tax incentives for fisheries and aquaculture
inputs. Some of the responding countries are currently revising their legislation to
upgrade environment for business investment. Countries, such as Ghana and
60 http://www.fao.org/3/ca4536en/CA4536EN.pdf
46
Tanzania, have started to ban fish imports to boost the local production. In Mauritania
and in Senegal, there are plans to develop free-zones to attract foreign investments in
fisheries.
For the majority of the responding African landlocked countries, development to create
a favourable business environment is in progress, the revision of the legislation
comprising provisions to offer better environment for investment purposes especially
for Aquaculture development. Botswana still needs to run detailed consultations of
various stakeholders at government policy level to ensure flourishing business,
whereas the government of Central African Republic encourages private investment
both national and foreigner in the fisheries and aquaculture sector with attractive tax
reduction. Ethiopia has developed regulation for exempting all importing inputs from
any tax to create a favourable business environment to attract national and
international investment. Further examples are developed below.
Examples of initiatives to develop a favorable business environment to attract
national and international investment
The Renaissance Niger Act, which establishes a strategy for sustainable
development and inclusive growth for 2035 set as principal objective that Niger feeds
its own population, creating opportunities to invest locally in the sector rather than
depend of fish imports.
Tonga is implementing a fuel concession scheme for vessel owners (both tuna
and snapper fisherman), with consumption tax exempt from all fishing gears and
fishing inputs purchased by fishermen. This program is also an incentive .to
encourage participation of local fisherman in the fisheries sector
Kenya has established special economic zones and exports processing zones
to facilitate international trade.
In Sierra Leone, a business plan was developed to establish a public private
partnership investment for a Fisheries Transport Company. The investment was
negotiated and concluded. Unfortunately, activities were stalled due to the Ebola
Crises and restrictions on Government and private sector investment. Also, small
scale marine artisanal fisheries management plans have been developed which
provides for enhanced framework for fisheries access and marketing in the artisanal
fishery sector through the development of microcredit schemes and fish processing
technology and infrastructure development.
The authority of Ghana adopted a ban on tilapia importation in order to boost
local production. As in many other African countries, imports of tilapia at low cost
from China is a severe impediment for the development of the aquaculture sector.
Lessons learnt and challenges for the future
47
According to the responses received, there is a general trend among ACP
countries on the increased consideration given to fish and aquaculture
production in the definition of food security strategies. Ongoing efforts are
also reported with regards to securing access rights to the small-scale
communities and empowering the most discriminated peoples such youth and
women.
However, the frameworks managing fisheries and aquaculture activities
should follow a more holistic approach to reflect food security policies but
also a human right based approach as introduced in the SSF Guidelines, with
the PANTHER principles (Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination,
Transparency, Human Dignity, empowerment and Rule of Law).
Finally, most of the countries reported ongoing efforts to support local
businesses. However, some fisheries agreement or ongoing business
partnership conclude either by governments or the private sector undermine
actions to ensure food security, protect artisanal fisheries and facilitate local
business development. Such agreements have negative impacts on the
livelihood of small-scale communities and can bring about, among other
issues, fleet overcapacity, high competition and conflicts between artisanal
and industrial fishing sectors, corruption, destructive fishing practices,
human right abuses, and loss of economic benefits. Also, foreign investments
in the fishery and aquaculture sector of ACP countries might be linked to loans
and aid projects, which fosters the relevant countries’ economic dependency
from the foreign country and hinders ACP countries efforts in promoting
small-scale fisheries as other objectives. As an example, the Chinese
aquaculture imports are a threat the livelihoods of Kenyan local fishers, and
the authorities are not in strong position to declare a ban of the heavily
subsidized Chinese imports to protect local producers. Also, the development
of a fish-meal industry could represent a threat for food security, if not well
regulated. In this context, it worth mentioning the decision of Mauritania to
limit such activities and to encourage the quality of the fishery products.
6. STRATEGY PRIORITY 4: DEVELOPING AQUACULTURE
The 2012 Strategic Plan of Action identifies support for aquaculture development in
several fields such as: planning the activity (KRA12), through the adoption of national
development plans and updated regulatory framework; providing infrastructure and
technical support (KRA 13) through research, establishment of fish breeding centres,
improvement of business climate; and improving market development (KRA 14) by
promoting product quality.
From 2012 to 2017, significant progress had been made in several countries but with
varying levels of development. The previous state of play report underlined the
48
remarkable South-South cooperation to develop the sector and highlight the need to
strengthen capacity building and better support research institution to conduct training
and dissemination of information mostly to fish farmers.
6.1 KRA 12: PLANNING FOR AQUACULTURE
National Aquaculture development plans and regulatory frameworks With regard to the elaboration and implementation of aquaculture plans and policies
to support aquaculture development, half of the responding Caribbean countries
reported designing national aquaculture development plans and strategies, where the
other half are currently drafting such plans and strategies. The Dominican Republic
underscores lack of funding to execute its existing Strategic Plan 2014-2020. Most of
these countries will revise their fisheries and aquaculture legislation, once strategies
and plans are implemented. In the Pacific, the authorities of Fiji are currently
developing an aquaculture strategy together with the related bill regulating the
activities. The country is also enhancing the management of the activities by
concluding memorandum of understandings with national agencies. The Tonga
National Aquaculture Management and Development Plan that was approved in 2014
has been reviewed and approved in 2018 as Tonga National Aquaculture Management
and Development Plan 2018-2022.
All the responding African landlocked countries acknowledge the potential of
developing aquaculture and are elaborating new policies and strategies to define the
right approach to grow the sector. As an example, in Botswana, the Aquaculture
development strategy was developed in 2011 and is currently being reviewed in line
with the 2017 SADC regional aquaculture strategy and action plan. The authorities of
Niger together with the stakeholders elaborated the 2020-2035 national strategy on
the development of sustainable aquaculture, which are currently waiting for adoption.
In Ethiopia, the aquaculture development is best suited and integrated with the
continued effort for water harvesting programs and livestock-crop production system.
Burkina Faso, Burundi and Niger plan to revise their legal frameworks accordingly.
In the last decade, most of the coastal African countries, which answered to the survey,
adopted strategies and plans to develop the aquaculture sector, except for Kenya,
Seychelles and Sudan, which are currently going through the adoption process. Kenya
is also developing cage-culture guidelines. Also, some existing national plans as well
as the legislation regulating aquaculture activities are under review. Most of the
domestic legislations combine both fisheries and aquaculture in a same legal
instrument, whereas Gambia, Guinea and Mauritania adopted or are about to adopt a
law dedicated to the aquaculture activities only. Some relevant information from the
received questionnaires are underlined below.
Examples of initiatives on National Aquaculture development plans and regulatory frameworks
49
The Government of Botswana through the Office of the President is currently
implementing a national aquaculture development project entitled Poverty
Eradication Programme. The project is geared towards empowering six
communities in producing their own farmed fish under the auspices of Economic
Stimulus Programme and Economic Diversification Drive.
In the questionnaire, the authorities of Seychelles indicated undertaking a
comparative analysis of mistakes and shortcomings of domestic regulations
from countries in Europe, North America, Africa, as well as Australia and New Zealand
prior to drafting its own regulations for Aquaculture. As a result, the Ministry in charge
of aquaculture decided to make the Aquaculture Master Planning process as
participatory and transparent as possible. The benefits of this approach have been
substantial and the public as well as the private sector and civil society have made
significant contributions to developing the Regulations. The authorities realised that
operating any commercial venture in common public space without clearly defined
rules usually lead to discord, as confirmed by the case of the pearl farm on Praslin
which was allowed to develop in a space where planning was inadequate with no
regulatory framework, resulting in the rapid decline of the activity.
6.2 KRA13: INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Promote research into aquaculture (e.g. rearing techniques, fish health and welfare, seed selection and production, feed efficiency)
In a majority of responding countries, national scientific stations, universities and
laboratories conduct research on aquaculture. The table below gathers concrete
examples of ongoing research on aquaculture in the ACP regions.
Table 7 Examples of ongoing research in the aquaculture sector
Ethiopia Water management system
Fiji Tilapia feed trails and digestibility/research
Production of floating pellets using new extruder machine
Growth trials comparison with sinking pellets
Incubator system method to produce male-only tilapia
fingerlings
Tilapia seed selection through three production system- tank
method, Hapa based method and incubator system method
Sierra Leone Interventions to improve fish feed efficiency, rearing
techniques and fish health.
Gambia Studies to map aquaculture potential sites
Assessment of the viability of aquaculture, including
identification of potential species and feed to facilitate the
50
provision of information and advice to inform the private sector
for their possible investments in aquaculture and spawning
grounds
Burkina Faso,
Ghana
Research on seed production, fish feed, fish health
Kenya Applied research on fish rearing systems and technologies and
innovations, fish health and development of fast maturing fish
strains and new culture species and gene-bank
Research to support commercialisation of marine aquaculture
which currently depend on wild seeds hence seasonal
Seychelles Research in broodstock acclimation and growth trials on
echinoderms and crustaceans
Guinea Research on semi intensive aquaculture in tank and cage
Dominican
Republic
Research on improving shrimp farming
Guyana Trials on testing local feeds and spawning fingerlings of a
certain species
Gambia, Sierra Leone and Sudan indicated having received assistance from EU or
FAO to support such kind of research. The followed examples illustrate initiatives to
develop aquaculture with external partners in the ACP regions.
Examples of initiatives to promote research into aquaculture
The 2019-2022 Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT)61
program is funded by the African Development Bank and other agencies. The
WorldFish Centre leads the aquaculture compact component, which takes place in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia as focal
countries, and the Republic of Benin, Burundi, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire and
Tanzania as satellite countries. The program aims to reach out to 1.15 million
aquaculture value chain actors in these 10 countries within three years, including
disseminating and upscaling aquaculture technologies across Africa to increase the
productivity and income of fish farmers, increase fish protein consumption and
enhance sustainability across the aquaculture value chain.
61 https://fish.cgiar.org/publications/technologies-african-agricultural-transformation-taat-aquaculture-compact
51
Sudan benefited from the support of the FAO TCP in 2014 under the Project
Formulation for the improvement of Aquaculture Sector62. The main objectives
were to:
1. Assess and implement the possibility to improve aquaculture production in
Sudan, in part through the selection of a new Nile tilapia (Oreochromis
niloticus) line to provide broodstock for Sudan.
2. Strengthen technical capacities of existing fish farmers in developing
sustainable and economically viable aquaculture activities.
3. Reduce fish production costs and increase farmers income through
increasing production of marketable aquaculture products and expansion of
local fish markets.
4. Provide technical assistance, facilitate exchange of expertise, information
sharing and dissemination, develop and implement selected pilot productive
field activities.
5. Improve capacities of national aquaculture staff of the MoA to supervise
ongoing aquaculture activities, undertake research and planning.
6. Introduce appropriate aquaculture techniques suitable to local conditions.
The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization is working with the East African Community
Secretariat and the EU Delegation Regional Office to formulate a project to support
the promotion of Aquaculture in the EAC: True Fish Farming Story in Lake Victoria
Basin (TRUE- FISH)63. The main objective is to contribute to the development of
competitive, gender equitable and sustainable commercial aquaculture in order to
support economic development and sustainable management of natural resources
in the Lake Victoria basin. Three result areas are proposed: Improved access to
finance and to commercial networks for competitive aquaculture-related businesses;
Increased availability and quality of local skilled workers in aquaculture-related
businesses; and Sustainable and bio-secure regional aquaculture production
systems.
Zambia benefited from an EU fund Value Chain Analysis for Development
(VCA4D)64 implemented in partnership with Agrinatura. The VCA4D methodological
framework focuses on 4 analyses related to: Functional, Economic, Social and
Environment issues, and facilitate the understanding on the extent to which the value
chain allows for inclusive growth and whether it is both socially and environmentally
sustainable. The EU is planning using blending to support aquaculture development
in Zambia. AFdB is also supporting the development of aquaculture in Zambia.
62 http://www.fao.org/sudan/programmes-and-projects/project-list/en/ 63 https://www.lvfo.org/content/ongoing-projects 64 https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/value-chain-analysis-for-development-vca4d-/documents/vca4d-brief-7-zambia-aquaculture-1
52
States to seek ways and means to establish fish breeding centres in areas of high aquaculture potential to facilitate a reliable supply of seed stock to farmers
According to the questionnaire answers, the countries support mainly the
establishment of hatchery and fish breeding centres in areas of high aquaculture
potential to facilitate a reliable supply of seed stock to farmers. However, Burundi,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone reported the difficulty to establish
reliable supplies of fingerlings and fish feed, as well as seed stock to farmers. Some
Caribbean countries and Guinea have not prioritized the establishment of fish breeding
centres so far.
The table below presents a state of play of the ongoing infrastructure construction in
the responding countries, which is followed by additional examples from the literature
of ongoing projects supporting such infrastructures.
Table 8 Examples of infrastructures built in areas of high aquaculture potential
Benin Two modern hatcheries supplying fingerlings for 150 producers
Botswana Rehabilitation of a Fish Hatchery whose main objectives are to
produce fingerlings for supply to prospective fish farmers, and
acts as a fish farming demonstration centre and fish farming
research centre
Burundi Construction of fish farming villages
Eswatini One hatchery in construction
Fiji Establishment of two Government hatcheries and two private
hatcheries (one Incubator system method producing male-only
tilapia and one hapa based method)
Guyana One aquaculture Station within the Fisheries Department. Tilapia
fingerlings are produced and made available to the farmers and
efforts are being made to build capacity to reproduce other
species.
Gambia A fish breeding centre was established in 2013 for the natural
spawning ponds for tilapia and artificial hatching clarias feed
mill/plant is being established in the inland areas for production of
fish feed
Ghana On-going activities to establish hatcheries in all the regions. There
is also a 3-year Tilapia Seed Project currently underway to
facilitate reliable supply of quality seed stock to farmers.
Kenya Establishment of 2 breeding stations one for warm water fish and
another for cold water (trout) fish
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Establishment of Fish seed bulking centres in the Counties
Training of Private Hatchery Managers
National Nile Perch Research and resource Centre allocated 200
ha of land but has no funding
Process of establishing a marine fish breeding station on going
Seychelles One public broodstock facility under construction
Sierra Leone Rehabilitation of fishponds and construction of 34 additional
fishponds Establishment of two fish breeding centres
Development of hatchery and simplified experimental fish
hatchery
Togo Rehabilitation of a centre of research on seeding, establishment
of 5 hatcheries (marine and inland)
Examples of initiatives to establish fish breeding centres in areas of high
aquaculture potential
In an effort to contribute to food security and national economic growth, FAO
joined forces with the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the
Government of Zanzibar, UR of Tanzania, for the development of the
mariculture sector. On April 20, 2018 Zanzibar inaugurated one Multi-Species
Mariculture Project that includes one commercial hatchery for the production of
juveniles of milkfish (Chanos chanos), sea cucumber (Holothuria spp.) and mud
crabs (Scylla serrata), among other species. It is expected that the hatchery will
produce about 10 million milkfish fingerlings, 1 million sea cucumber juveniles and 1
million crablets per year, from 202065.
Since 2006, the APDRA (Association Pisciculture et Développement Rural en
Afrique tropicale humide) NGO has been working and advocating on the
rehabilitation of smallholders’ hatcheries in Madagascar. The NGO works on
the dissemination of carp spawning techniques at smallholders’ level with the aim of
diversifying and increasing the availability of carp fry supply. Several actions led to
the emergence of about 1100 rice-field hatcheries in Madagascar, providing locally
bred carp fry to rice-fish farmers. In areas where rice-carp farming was introduced,
recent observations have shown that the most vulnerable farmers are not able to
engage in carp production. The major reasons for this exclusion are: (i) the lack of
suitable land which is caused by precarious land arrangement and poor water supply
and (ii) farmers’ cash flow not allowing them to purchase fry especially since fish
stocking takes place during the hunger gap months. A strong social heterogeneity is
noticed among farmers in Madagascar leading to strong interdependence between
65 http://www.fao.org/3/ca2325EN/ca2325en.pdf
54
well-off and poor farmers. Nevertheless, local dynamics show that some poor or
middle-income farmers have been able to set up new paths to overcome these
barriers to engage in rice-fish farming. They use various techniques and fish species
and are involved in socio-economic arrangements that are, in fact, similar to
traditional practices66. The NGO runs similar projects in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire,
Guinea and Republic of Congo.
Improve business climate through: Providing finance/capital for aquaculture development, including incentives, Providing for training and development of skills and knowledge relevant to the aquaculture sector
Most of the responding countries indicated providing financial support to aquaculture
research and development through subsidies, guarantee funds, incentive funding
mechanism, loans and blue grants.
Examples include the funding of 103 aquaculture prospectors with direct supports and
19 others with competitive funding in Togo under the PASA project (Projet d’Appui au
Secteur Agricole). In Kenya, 21 counties out of the 47 counties will receive some
support to commercialise the small holder fish farmers in the frame of Aquaculture
Business Development Project.
As additional incentive measures to facilitate the development of aquaculture, the
authorities of Sierra Leone provide input supports to private fish farmers to enhance
aquaculture practices, whereas in the Bahamas, Ethiopia, Ghana and Guyana,
aquaculture inputs are exempted from tax and the extension services are free for all
farmers. Also, the authority of Ghana has established a ban on tilapia importation in
order to boost the local production.
In the Pacific Region, Fiji has developed three programs to support the fish farmer
producers with: the Aquaculture Food Security Program to assist fish farmers through
the provision of financial, technical, advisory and monitoring services, the Aquaculture
Commercial Shrimp Development Program to increase adoption of and enhance
business acumen among shrimp farming operations, and increase uptake and
adoption of improved aquaculture practices and the package from local development
banks and financial literacy training to farmers and communities in aquaculture.
Examples of initiatives improving business climate
In the questionnaire, the authorities of Seychelles shared its positive experience with the development of a Mariculture Master Plan (MMP) prior to the development of small, medium and large-scale commercial aquaculture. As a result, it provided the responsible authority with the prospect to think carefully how the sector should look like in future, how to get there, and how to attract sustainable investments. This process, as opposed to previous sector development planning, also allows the responsible authority to reflect on the mistakes made by other countries and to conceive mitigating strategies to avoid similar mistakes happening
66 http://www.apdra.org/IMG/file/1812_abstract_Shanghai.pdf
55
in its own back yard. Moreover, the ability to plan prior to large-scale investment means that there is no pressure from an existing sector. SIDS are, by the very nature of their size and the need to provide for growing populations, fragile ecosystems. Seychelles is no different and this, juxtaposed with the economic importance of the tourism industry, means that any new industrial sector must be planned and ultimately developed in an environmentally-responsible manner that it is harmonised with other economic sectors. This can only be achieved if planning precedes development.
Finally, the authority of Seychelles learnt from the prawn farm experience. Seychelles was one of the pioneering countries to produce top quality tiger prawns in full strength seawater ponds. This happened at a time when the price of prawns was favourable. Change occurred in about 2004 when India was able to outcompete any other prawn producing country on price and this had a major impact on the Coetivy prawn farm. There are other contributing reasons why the farm was closed but the low price of Indian prawns took its toll on tiger prawn farms globally and Seychelles was no exception. The principle lesson to be learnt here is the need for management to plan and adapt to predictable realities and to undertake rigorous sensitivity analyses in the development of business plans.
Eswatini is currently drafting an investor guide on Aquaculture to promote investment in the sector.
Zambia has experienced market-led capital investments that have facilitated
significant growth in production. The emerging commercial sector is
characterized by investments in intensive care and pond-based aquaculture of
mostly non- native tilapia species, which today makes up the bulk of annual
production67.
Strengthen South-South synergies among countries and highlight sustainable successes
Only a few countries responded providing access to specialised equipment. Niger is
developing a production equipment of floating feed capacity, when the authorities of
Ghana distributes water quality test kits to all regional offices to help monitor water
quality issues. The government of Fiji provide nets, hapa net cages, weighing scales
and scoop nets and facilitate farmers indent from overseas companies on specialized
aquaculture equipment. However, most of the participant countries strive to conduct
trainings on a regular basis to improve skills and knowledge of fish framers, as well as
administrative managers. Worthy of note is the new Togolese institute of alternate
vocational training on Aquaculture, which received its first students in May 2019. Due
to lack of funds, countries, such as Eswatini, are unable to generalize the access of
trainings, currently limited to a specific number of participants. Examples of courses
conducted by the responding countries are listed in the table below.
67 Kaminski A., Genschick S., Kefi A.,Kruijssen F., (2017). Commercialization and upgrading in the aquaculture value chain in
Zambia
56
Table 9 Examples of trainings conducted in the responding countries
Fiji Freshwater farm management and development, seaweed
planting
The Bahamas Aquaponics
Republic Dominican Evaluation of land and development of aquaculture project
initiatives
Central African
Republic
Fish farming, shrimp farming, spirulina, construction of fish
ponds, hatchery and stocking, fish food
Gambia Pond construction, stocking, harvesting, marketing and
entrepreneurial business
Guinee Master in aquaculture for administrators
Ghana Fingerling productions, pond and water quality
management
Sierra Leone Aquaculture production
Togo Fish food production, water quality management,
fingerlings production, pond construction, stocking,
harvesting, entrepreneurial business
Tuvalu Milkfish farming for small community
In addition, the countries can rely on a progressive South-South synergy to develop
their aquaculture sector based on bilateral or multilateral agreements, cooperation
occurring between neighbour countries or worldwide and within regional and
continental contexts. As an example of bilateral support, responding countries received
training from Belgium, Egypt, Chile, China, Japan, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South
Africa and Peru. Indeed, Egypt has played an important role in the development of the
aquaculture sector in both Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa by providing training
programmes in the WorldFish-run Africa Aquaculture Research and Training Center
(AARTC) based in Sharkia (Egypt).
Some ACP countries also participate to programs to develop the aquaculture sector
as illustrated hereunder.
Examples of initiatives to develop the aquaculture sector
In Sierra Leone, where commercial small-scale aquaculture is in its infancy,
FISH programme is developing and testing participatory extension
approaches to encourage interested farmers to begin fish farming as part of
57
profit-oriented businesses68. As part of its efforts to support the development of
the national aquaculture sector, the USAID-funded Feed the Future Scaling Up
Aquaculture Production project is developing and testing participatory extension
approaches designed to give farmers the skills and knowledge they need to operate
profitable aquaculture businesses. The focus of the project, which runs until 2019, is
the inland Tonkolili District, one of the poorest and most nutritionally insecure regions
in the country. Before the SAP project, fish farmers in Sierra Leone, particularly in
inland areas, had no access to extension services. Of the extension approaches
tested to date, research suggests that the most successful learning occurs at the
pond site. Through exchange visits facilitated by the project, new and interested
farmers are able to observe the construction of fishponds, receive assistance in farm
management, ask questions and hear about challenges and successes from their
peers. By September 2017, 92 out of 147 farmers from 10 cluster groups had
stocked their ponds with tilapia fingerlings. Over the next three years, the project
aims to increase the number of clusters from 10 to 45, and the number of fish farmers
in clusters from 147 to 1125, each farmer with at least one pond. Sustained attention
to creating an enabling environment for farmer-to-farmer learning and equipping
farmers with the skills and knowledge to run businesses will ensure that long-term
benefits are maintained and scaled up beyond the duration of the project.
This African Solidarity Trust Fund Youth Employment in Aquaculture Project has been working with FAO to train young Nigerian farmers in catfish rearing techniques. This project develops catfish culture in fibreglass tanks and the lessons learnt through these activities may be applied for interventions in the three target states in Northeast Nigeria69.
The Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries of Mozambique ramps up to
support the sustainable development of aquaculture including all the small-scale
producers in the Province of Inhambane, through a training program and other forms
of intervention. The meeting held defined terms of reference for an innovative
aquaculture sector platform tool - to encourage discussion and improve advocacy in
the development of aquaculture in the province and country70.
In Zambia, the Aquaculture Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship
Training for Improved Private Sector and Smallholder Skills project aims
to increase the human resources in the private sector and the number of smallholder
commercial fish farmers with enhanced aquaculture knowledge and up-to-date
practical skills71.
In Madagascar, the NGO APDRA publish a quarterly newspaper entitled “the
rice-fish farmers voice” to share Malagasy experiences on aquacultures as well
as informing on the updated news of the sector72.
68 https://fish.cgiar.org/impact/stories-of-change/farmer-farmer-learning-boosting-aquaculture-sierra-leone 69http://www.fao.org/blogs/blue-growth-blog/training-northern-nigeria-youth-and-young-farmers-in-catfish-rearing/en/
70 http://www.fao.org/3/ca2325EN/ca2325en.pdf 71 https://fish.cgiar.org/news-and-updates/news/new-project-will-develop-aquaculture-knowledge-and-practical-skills-students
72 http://www.apdra.org/spip.php?rubrique89
58
EU funds project to promote commercial aquaculture in Uganda with the
objective to contribute to a competitive, job-intensive, environmentally
sustainable, equitable and climate-resilient agricultural sector in Uganda, in
order to reduce poverty and improve food and nutrition security in the context of the
changing climate. Its specific objective is to support a competitive, job-intensive,
inclusive, environmentally-sustainable and climate resilient aquaculture value chain.
The expected outputs are as follow: Improve and implement the policy and
regulatory frameworks affecting the operations of the commercial aquaculture
industry, production and productivity of aquaculture fish and fish products enhanced;
giving priority to locally-developed practices and focusing on smallholder and rural
livelihoods; and formation of producers’ groups, post-harvest handling and
marketing of aquaculture fish and fish products improves.
Research groups across the region of Kiribati, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga
and Samoa joined forces to come up with the solution of an aquaculture
system that linked giant clam breeding at national hatcheries with community
farming of juvenile clams on the reefs, and ultimately with commercial markets that
would provide economic sustainability and incentive73.
One of the purposes of the SADC Regional Aquaculture Strategy and Action Plan is to mobilise the private sector investing for the market and developing innovative approaches such as importation of technologies and managerial capacities74, as to accelerate the development of scale commercial aquaculture The Nigerian commercial catfish model is a very good example of the importance of this approach. Other examples include the tilapia sector in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the trout sector in Lesotho and abalone farming in South Africa.
6.3 KRA 14: DEVELOPING MARKETS
Develop by promoting product quality (especially pollution-free) The development of regional and international markets is at an early stage in view of
the limited scale of the aquaculture production in the responding ACP countries, most
of them focusing on local and regional markets. Fiji, Ghana and Kenya start reflecting
upon biosecurity related to the aquaculture production and as to provide better
opportunity for pollution- free farmed products to venture into international and regional
markets.
According to feedback received, few aquaculture operators in ACP States engaged in
certification of aquaculture, not least because it is difficult for ACP operators to identify
a relevant solution among the 100 existing (or under development) certification scheme
available worldwide (environmental / social – organic / non organic - BtoB / BtoC etc.).
The main exception so far is the Madagascar shrimp aquaculture sector which
obtained several certificates (Label rouge, organic, Aquaculture Stewardship Council
- ASC) to strengthen its market position in the EU vis a vis shrimps produced in Asia
or in Latin America). Shrimp aquaculture operators from Tanzania and Nigeria (in
73 https://reachout.aciar.gov.au/giant-clams-and-unexpected-impacts 74 https://extranet.sadc.int/files/9514/6522/0178/SADC_FTC_1_2016_5a_Aquaculture_Strategy_English.pdf
59
assessment) also sought to obtain ASC certification to have improved access to the
EU market. For tilapia or other freshwater species, there is no information on potentially
certified production units in ACP States. However, as most of these products are sold
on national and sub-regional markets, investing in certification schemes may not
appear as a priority from a cost-benefit perspective.
Lessons learnt and challenges for the future
The aquaculture sector is steadily increasing in most of the ACP countries,
which count on the growing production to ensure food security and nutrition,
in particular in the rural areas and in the perspective of declining fisheries
landing. As a result, most of the ACP countries reported not to prioritize the
export of fishery products coming from aquaculture.
ACP countries, which reported aquaculture activities, adopted strategies and
plans or have entered in such adoption process to develop the aquaculture
sector. All enacted appropriate legislation which, in general, regulates both
fisheries and aquaculture management. However, such legal document covers
generally the aquaculture management under one chapter, despite the
complexity of the activities which are more akin to the agriculture than the
fisheries sector.
Ongoing research on aquaculture and growing support for developing
appropriate infrastructures and fish breeding centres exist, although
challenges remain in some countries to establish reliable supplies of fingerlings
and fish feed, as well as seed stock to farmers. Most of the countries encourage
the involvement of fish farmers in the development of their activities and
conduct many trainings to that purpose, although most of the countries remains
unable to ensure them access to specialised equipment. The ACP countries rely
significantly on a progressive South-South synergy to develop their
aquaculture sector based on bilateral or multilateral agreements, cooperation
occurring between neighboured countries or worldwide and within regional and
continental organizations.
The production of the aquaculture is still at an early stage for a majority of the
ACP responding countries with little production and no short-term perspective
of market development. Nevertheless, a few countries are striving to enhance
adding value of fishery products by promoting the product quality through
biosecurity development or through quality and sustainability certification, as
illustrate by the shrimp of Madagascar which reach a strong market position
worldwide.
60
7. STRATEGY PRIORITY 5: MAINTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT
Fishing and aquaculture activities should be considered in the context of the wider
environment in which they take place. The 5th strategy priority of the Strategic Plan of
Action aims to maintain the environment to support fisheries and other key ecosystem
services, such as incorporating an ecosystem approach to fisheries management
(KRA 15), ensuring the coastal zone management (KRA 16), and managing
environmental effects of aquaculture through Environmental Impact Assessment (KRA
17). Also, actions should be achieved to address the growing concerned of global
environmental change (KRA 18).
In 2017, countries were facing outstanding challenges to achieve such actions due to
lack of capacity and funding to apply an ecosystem approach and to manage effectively
marine protected areas. There was no uniform progress among responding countries
on how fisheries and aquaculture issues should be taken into consideration in national
strategies/plans of actions to adapt to climate change.
7.1 KRA 15: ECOSYSTEMS APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
Build capacities and implement pilot projects A majority of responding African countries strive to develop an integrated fisheries and
aquaculture management using different tools. For instance, in Botswana, fish farmers
and fishers receive training on the related issue. Moreover, 32 African countries have
benefitted from the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Program (EAF) – NANSEN
which enable countries to develop scientific tools to improve and facilitate a holistic
approach to manage fisheries and aquaculture.
In the Pacific Region, Tuvalu integrates ecosystem considerations feature in both
national management plans and community plans, while Fiji is progressing toward the
implementation of an ecosystem approach to design fisheries management plans and
conservation projects such as establishing marine protected areas, delimiting
catchment areas and setting up community based marine management areas. Tonga
defines the Ecosystems approach as a priority in the development and management
of fisheries, which component is integrated in all legislation and management plans for
fisheries. For instance, the special management areas program involving fishing
communities considers the importance of the environment through activities for
rehabilitation and protection of ecosystems. In addition, the authorities of Tonga
recruited Safeguard and Environment officers to monitor activities for the protection of
the Environment.
Responses from the Caribbean States suggest a progressive introduction of the
ecosystem approach to management of fisheries and aquaculture. As an example,
Guyana and Suriname Management Plans regulating the shrimp fisheries integrate an
ecosystems approach and both plans designed with the participation of stakeholders.
According to most of the responding countries, lack of funds often limits activities to
implement an ecosystem approach. In Africa trawl fisheries, by-catches and discard
61
issues are hardly addressed except in a few cases (e.g. Gabon). In addition, use of
destructive and unselective monofilament netting remains widespread in most Africa
artisanal fisheries. In some cases, Government prohibited use of monofilament nets,
but without helping fishermen to find alternative at reasonable prices, and without
regulating imports of such nets from Asia. This example shows that effectiveness of
management measures aiming at protecting impacts of fishing on the broader
environment must be comprehensively assessed beforehand, and that simple bans
are not effective if accompanying measures have not been defined and implemented.
Examples below illustrate initiatives to develop an ecosystem approach to fisheries
management.
Examples of initiatives on implementing the ecosystem approach in the
management of fisheries and aquaculture
The EAF-Nansen Programme75 aims to support the application of the
ecosystem approach to fisheries management, considering climate and pollution
impacts. The programme was signed by the Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation, the Institute of Marine Research of Bergen, Norway and FAO as the
executing agency.
In the first phase of the EAF-Nansen project, the partners worked with national and
regional fisheries research institutions and management agencies in 32 African
countries to improve scientific knowledge and to refocus fisheries management
through the adoption and implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries.
Since 2017, a second phase has started to consolidate the results of the previous
phase and to address the multiple impacts of human activities on fish stocks in
particular, and the marine environment in general, in order to preserve the
productivity of the oceans for the benefit of future generations. In this new phase,
the programme includes the significant added responsibility to assess the impacts
of climate change and marine pollution.
EAF-Nansen surveys76 covered the following maritime zones with specific focus:
Pelagic stocks and ecosystem (Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone); Transboundary pelagic - South-Eastern
Central Atlantic (Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon,
Namibia and South Africa); Ecosystem Surveys East Africa (Mozambique,
Seychelles, South Africa and United Republic of Tanzania); and Mascarene Bank
(Mauritius and Seychelles).
In its questionnaire, Guyana describes the development of the Marine Fisheries
Management Plan and the seabob shrimp management plan, using the
ecosystem management approach, with by-catch excluder devices installed in
75 http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
76http://www.fao.org/in-action/eaf-
nansen/surveys/en/?page=1&ipp=4&no_cache=1&tx_dynalist_pi1[par]=YToxOntzOjE6IkwiO3M6MToiMCI7fQ
62
trawler vessels and the delivery of a manual for identification and safe-releasing of
endangered species. Captains of the seabob fishery are trained annually on the best
practices as it relates to all management documents. To reduce marine pollution,
emphasis is also placed on the proper disposal of garbage out at sea. All seabob
vessels have garbage bins.
7.2 KRA 16: COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
The Strategic Plan of Action encourages ACP countries to develop integrated coastal
management and to handle land-based sources of marine pollution. This KRA is often
assimilated to the creation and management of marine protected areas although the
scope is much broader including among other maritime spatial planning and the new
concept of Blue Economy.
While the Caribbean Islands States indicated to have commenced in the process of
developing coastal zone management plans with transitional actions building inter-
institutional collaboration.
Fiji, in the Pacific Region, designated several Marines Protected Areas (MPAs)
representing 0.93% of the 30% national marine water targets. Fiji is benefiting from the
Pacific GEF Ridge to reef project which aims to preserve biodiversity, ecosystem
services, sequester carbon, improve climate resilience and sustain livelihoods through
a ridge to reef management of priority water catchments on the two main islands of
Fiji. The approach strives to address key environmental issues in an integrated
manner, and to bolster Fiji's national system of marine protected areas through an
enhanced, representative and sustainable system of Locally Managed Marine Areas
including greater protection of threatened marine species. Negative impacts of land-
based activities on these Marine Protected Areas will be reduced through the
development and implementation of integrated catchment management plans,
including mangrove protection, adoption of appropriate sustainable land use practices,
riparian restoration in adjoining upstream watersheds, as well as terrestrial protected
areas, restored and rehabilitated forests. Although Tuvalu and Tonga do not have
rivers or catchments, a version of the ‘ridge to reef’ approach has been developed,
taking land-based impacts on coastal resources into account. The ridge to reef in the
Pacific is a Global Environmental Facility initiative which aims to maintain and enhance
Pacific Island countries’ ecosystem goods and services through integrated approaches
to land, water, forest, biodiversity and coastal resource management that contribute to
poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience77.
Some of the African responding countries address coastal zone management through
the participation of stakeholders to projects designed partly to that purpose, such as
the world Bank West Africa Regional Fisheries program and the Monitoring for
Environment and Security in Africa (MESA) program. The landlocked countries, such
as Burundi and Niger, endeavour to manage buffer zones around basins and rivers
77 https://www.pacific-r2r.org/
63
where fisheries occur, in their actions against erosion. Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya regulate
integrated coastal management through the adoption of plans and strategies. Sierra
Leone has developed integrated coastal zone management plan for the protection of
coastal communities from coastal erosion and flooding. The limitation of funding has
impeded the implementation of the action plan. Indeed, parts of the answers highlight
the lack of expertise and inadequate resources to undertake efficient coastal zone
management although the concerned countries expect to address the issue in the near
future.
The examples described below illustrate National and regional initiatives on coastal
zone management.
Examples of initiatives on coastal zone management The EU funded BIOPAMA programme78, which phase I ran from 2011 to 2017, established regional observatories across the ACP countries and developed tools through the establishment of Reference Information Systems to disclose information relating to biodiversity, natural resource use and protected area management as to improve decision making process on protected area management marine protected areas among them. As a follow up, the phase II (2017-2023) aims to improve the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in the Pacific ACP region in protected areas and surrounding communities through better use and monitoring of information and capacity development on management and governance. Among key actions, the project seeks to maintain Reference Information Systems for monitoring and reporting on the status of biodiversity and protected areas level as well as to facilitate the stakeholders in using such tools and services through capacity building, improvement of data collection of data and strengthening cooperation and sharing of information. The on-going EU funded SIDS project supports ACP Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the management and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources. Among the main activities, the project aims to build technical capacities of relevant stakeholders to sustainably manage coastal and marine protected areas more effectively, to support the sustainable development and management of small-scale fisheries by local communities as well as to enhance intra and inter-regional cooperation to sensitise relevant stakeholders about development challenges and vulnerabilities faced by ACP SIDS and coastal countries. Some 23 Pacific island nations and territories have come together to create the Pacific Oceanscape, a framework to conserve and sustainably manage this vast, shared region of islands and ocean for generations to come. The Framework for a Pacific Oceanscape catalyses regional action and initiatives covering an area of approximately 40 million square kilometres of ocean and island ecosystems. It strengthens the Pacific Islands Regional Ocean Policy, particularly through stronger provisions in the areas of coordination, resourcing and implementation. It also aspires to protect, manage and sustain the cultural and natural integrity of the ocean for present and future generations of the broader global community. At its heart is a
78 https://www.biopama.org/
64
desire to build pride, leadership, learning and cooperation across the ocean environment79. More recently, Forum Leaders issued the Palau Declaration on “The Ocean: Life and Future” (2014) and the Pohnpei Ocean Statement: A Course to Sustainability (2016). Both statements undercore the interconnections between the ocean and the lives of Pacific people, as well as our ongoing commitment to care for the ocean for our well-being80. In 2016, Kiribati government took steps to establish the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA)81, and since then, has managed the 408,250-square-kilometer area, right in the midst of the world’s largest remaining tuna fishery. Five Micronesian governments — Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam — developed the Micronesia Challenge, a visionary pledge to conserve their natural resources for the well-being of their 500,000 people. By 2020, at least 30% of near-shore marine resources and 20% of land across Micronesia will be conserved — including over 5% of the Pacific Ocean. Building upon locally managed protected areas, the Micronesia Challenge forms a series of protected area networks — spanning 6.7 million square kilometres (2.6 million square miles) of the Pacific Ocean — backed by a large-scale partnership between governments, non-profit and community leaders, international agencies and donors. This regional agreement has placed these five nations at the forefront of global, innovative conservation82. Seychelles are engaged in a marine spatial process involving the creation of two large MPAs, with an innovative funding mechanism through Blue Bond83s. The issue of the Blue Bond has generated US$15 million for disbursement on biodiversity projects, therefore using capital markets to finance Seychelles' blue economy objectives World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program84 has mobilized technical assistance and finance in support of existing coastal management initiatives in the West Africa region, and to helps countries integrate infrastructure and natural resources management in order to enhance their resilience in the face of climate change, and coastal erosion and flooding in particular. In 2015, the Government of Cabo Verde adopted a Blue Growth Charter85 to
coordinate all blue growth policies and investments and to ensure that efforts
cut across all ministries and sectors. Through this formal commitment to achieving
blue growth, the country is working to create the necessary enabling conditions to
79 https://www.conservation.org/where/Pages/pacific-oceanscape.aspx 80 Https://www.forumsec.org/ocean-management-conservation/ 81 http://phoenixislands.org/ 82 https://www.conservation.org/projects/Pages/Innovative-Conservation-in-Micronesia-pacific.aspx 83 http://www.fao.org/blogs/blue-growth-blog/innovative-ocean-financing-seychelles-blue-bonds/en/ 84 https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/west-africa-coastal-areas-management-program 85 http://www.fao.org/fishery/nems/40937/en
65
begin targeted interventions and investments aimed at harnessing the potential of
the ocean to promote economic growth and create employment for its population.
7.3 KRA 17 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA)
The Strategic Plan of action recognizes the need for ACP members to ensure
assessment and implementation of appropriate means in order to manage
environmental effects of aquaculture and mariculture development.
Only a few Caribbean countries responded to implementing Environmental Impact
Assessments (EIA) when developing aquaculture projects. In the Pacific Region, Fiji
has reported the integration of an EIA within the Fisheries impact assessment process,
which looks at assessing marine ecosystem. Tuvalu reported having limited internal
capacity for environmental impact assessments, but they are routine for major donor
funded projects.
Part of the African countries have made the EIA compulsory prior to develop marine
and inland fisheries as well as aquaculture projects.
7.4 KRA 18: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
Create a frame of reference to ensure that climate change is considered in management strategies for the fishing and aquaculture sector
Responses to the survey indicate that a number of African countries have endorsed
sensible actions to incorporate climate change aspects in all policies, fisheries and
aquaculture among them. Most of the countries are in the process of preparing a
National Plan of Actions on Climate Change taking fisheries, fishing communities and
enterprises into account, these components being listed as a priority for adaptation and
resilience to climate change. For instance, Kenya is planning to integrate climate
change adaptation and mitigation in its Kenya Marine Fisheries Socioeconomic
Development project, whereas the National Environment Agency of Gambia
implemented climate change projects related to coastal areas. Sierra Leone Fisheries
Policy Framework provides practices to mainstream climate change in the
management of fisheries and aquaculture. Also, stakeholders collaborate in the
implementation of climate adaptation action plans to reduce the effect of coastal
erosion on coastal communities. Other countries such as Ghana underscore the lack
of capacity and funding to consider climate change when managing the sector.
According to the FAO86, fisheries sector in Caribbean is among the most vulnerable in
the world to climate change. The responding Caribbean States are slowly taking steps
in the process of creating a frame to integrate climate change challenges and other
environment aspects as new parameters to manage fisheries and aquaculture. Antigua
and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago participate to the Climate Change Adaptation of
86 http://www.fao.org/americas/informations/ver/fr/c/1190879/
66
the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector Project (CC4FISH), which aims to increase
resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts in the Eastern Caribbean
fisheries sector, through introduction of adaptation measures in fisheries management
and capacity building of fisherfolk and aquaculturists.
In the Pacific Region, the Tonga Fisheries Sector Plan includes framework for climate change impact on fisheries. Fiji is promoting an ocean ecosystems-based strategy in global platform to recognize formally the link between ocean and climate change. Countries such as Samoa and Salomon Islands have National Disaster Management plans, which take the potential impacts of environmental disaster on the fisheries and aquaculture sector into account. While climate change is identified as an existential issue for Tuvalu, projected impacts on fisheries are relatively long-term and fishing is currently considered to have more impact on resources. Tuvalu reported being at the forefront of global advocacy for climate change mitigation. In terms of climate change adaptations for fisheries, the country has been guided by the Vulnerability of Tropical Pacific Fisheries and Aquaculture to Climate Change assessment prepared by SPC in 201287. As a result, Tuvalu endeavours to implement win-win solutions but express great concerns for the future of inshore fisheries which depend on coral reefs.
The list below underlines positives examples considering climate change in the
management of fisheries and aquaculture.
Examples of initiatives on the integration of climate change aspect in the
management of the sector
During the COP23, Fiji launched the Ocean Pathway with a two-track strategy
supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement that includes: increasing the role of the
ocean considerations in in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) process by 2020, and; significantly increasing action in priority areas
impacting or impacted by ocean and climate change. The Parties to the Ocean
Pathway initiative88 call for more science-based action.
The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the Caribbean Catastrophe
Risk Insurance Facility have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
develop climate-resilient fisheries and aquaculture industries in the region. The
purpose of the MOU is to formalize collaboration around the Caribbean Oceans and
Aquaculture Sustainability Facility (COAST)89 initiative, which will help to reduce the
risk that climate change poses to food security and nutrition and to mitigate climate
change impacts on sustainable food production as it relates to the fisheries sector.
Tonga and Samoa are concluding bilateral agreement to open their maritime
boarders allowing local tuna fishing vessels to have free access on a larger fishery
zone as to address impacts of climate change on the distribution of tunas in both
countries.
87 https://www.spc.int/cces/climate-book/spc-publications-on-climate-change 88 Fiji, Sweden, Norway, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Chile, New Zealand, Kiribati, Mexico (Canada, Palau, Kenya have expressed interest) Territories: French Polynesia (Canary Islands expressed interest) 89 https://www.unisdr.org/files/globalplatform/593090e0e34e1IGNITE_2017_Global_Platform_COAST-3.pdf
67
Actions to support adaptation of fisheries and fishing communities to climate change and natural disasters in order to protect livelihoods and alleviate poverty
Reporting countries as well as the literature evidence a significant number of actions
to support adaptation and mitigation of fisheries and fishing communities to climate
change and natural disasters in order to protect livelihoods and alleviate poverty in
ACP countries. A couple of examples issued from the questionnaires and other
sources are listed below.
Examples of initiatives bringing information on climate change
The on-going PEUMP – Pacific EU Marine Partnership programme90 strives to
improve economic, social and environmental benefits for 15 Pacific ACP States
arising from stronger regional economic integration and the sustainable
management of natural resources and the environment. The programme covers
significantly the link between fisheries and climate change with a component on
science and scientific advice.
From 2008 to 2011, the Scientific Support for Oceanic Fisheries Management
in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean Project (SCIFISH) aimed at providing
a scientific basis for offshore fisheries policy and management decision making at
both the national and regional level.
The EU funded the 2009-2014 Scientific support for the Management of coastal
and Oceanic fisheries in the Pacific islands region project (SciCOFish)91, which
aims to conserve and sustainably use the coastal and oceanic fisheries resources in
the Pacific region to provide a reliable and improved scientific basis for management
and decision making in oceanic and coastal fisheries. One of the key aspects
targeted the development of cost-effective solutions for the sustainable management
of marine and land-based resources.
The CC4FISH project taking place in Eastern Caribbean Fisheries92 focus
mainly on increasing awareness and understanding of climate change impacts and
vulnerability for effective climate change adaptation in the fisheries and aquaculture
sector, improving resilience of fisherfolk and coastal communities and aquaculturists
and climate change adaptation mainstreamed in multilevel fisheries governance.
Examples of initiatives supporting implementation of mitigation and
adaptation measures:
In Gambia, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has implemented climate
change related projects in coastal areas. With the support of United Nations
Development Programme (UNIDO), a three years GEF6 project “Strengthening
Adaptative Capacities to Climate Change Through Capacity Building for Small
scale Enterprises and Communities Dependent on Coastal Fisheries in The
90 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/projects/pacific-european-union-marine-partnership-programme-peump_en 91https://fame1.spc.int/en/projects/scicofish/about-scicofish 92 https://www.thegef.org/project/climate-change-adaptation-eastern-caribbean-fisheries-sector
68
Gambia”93, has been prepared and is expected to be implemented at pilot scale
from 2019, when it is finally approved.
Under support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNDP), Sierra Leone carries out sensitization and stakeholder’s awareness campaigns in coastal communities for the reduction of the effect of coastal erosion94. Engineering adaptation actions including the rehabilitation of degraded mangrove habitats and the construction of breakwater systems and jetties are also implemented in coastal communities to promote good practices for the protection of coastal communities against the effect of global climate change.
In May 2019, the world’s first land-based commercial coral farm opened for
more resilient reefs in the Bahamas95. By accelerating coral growth by 50 times
normal rates, the reef restoration company, Coral Vita will contribute to speeding up
reef restoration and strengthening coral resilience to deal with the effect of global
warming.
To reverse trends in mangrove deforestation in Kenya’s coastal areas, FAO
helped to form community and youth groups involving 162 men and 120 women to
raise awareness on the value of the ecosystem services provided by mangrove
forests96. Between 2015 and the end of the project in December 2017, target
communities and youth groups planted over 335 000 seedlings in about 45 ha of
degraded mangrove forests.
FAO has supported a number of countries and regions in mobilizing resources
for project development and capacity building on the impacts of climate
change in fisheries and aquaculture97. National and regional climate change
adaptation projects – in the Benguela Current region (Angola, Namibia, South
Africa), the Eastern Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and
Tobago), Malawi ( 2016 – 2020). These projects have the overall goal of increasing
the adaptive capacity of the fisheries and aquaculture sector and enhancing its
resilience. However, as fuller understanding of climate change implications is still
needed at the national and local levels, strengthening knowledge and awareness –
on climate change in riparian and coastal communities and on the need to adapt the
management and exploitation practices of fisheries and aquaculture – is an
important part of the projects. This awareness is expected to assist in the
development of strong adaptation actions, their integration in national policies and
their smooth implementation. Projects examples are listed below:
93 https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/project_documents/08-09-17_PIF_Requestt_Document_final_signed_0.pdf 94 https://www.adaptation-undp.org/projects/adapting-climate-change-induced-coastal-risks-management-sierra-leone 95 https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/worlds-first-land-based-commercial-coral-farm-opened-more-resilient-
reefs
96 http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
97 http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf
69
- Eastern Caribbean 2016-2019: Forecasting Sargassum outbreaks, Safety at
sea, Fish aggregating devices
- Benguela current 2017-2020: Recognizing climate change, Strategic and
tactical governance, Early warning systems
- Malawi 2017-2020: Environmental monitoring systems, improved fisheries
management, Multisectoral/stakeholder think tanks, Climate-resilient
aquaculture
A project jointly funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Global Environment Facility on “Responding to Climate Change Using an Adaptation Pathways and Decision-Making Approach” was implemented in 2015 to help coastal communities in Timor-Leste in identifying ways to adapt to a changing climate98.
In addition, the 2018 FAO synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options discloses information on the disaggregated impacts of climate change for marine and inland fisheries, and aquaculture, in the context of poverty alleviation and the differential dependency of countries on fish and fishery resources. Also, this report provides information on the tools available to inform decision-makers of particular adaptation investments and of the process to develop and implement adaptation strategies. The report lists examples of pro-poor social policies related to climate change and the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Examples of pro-poor social policies related to climate change Promoting and
reviving income-generating activities linked to inland and coastal ecosystems,
diversification of means of livelihoods, and improved access to fisheries resources
(Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Malawi
and Guinea)
- Capacity building in aquaculture and promotion of fish farming (Malawi)
- Protecting and enhancing resilience of coastal and estuarine/riverine economies and livelihoods, and supporting alternative livelihoods, if needed (the Gambia)
- Supporting and strengthening insurance schemes for fishers to cope with losses resulting from climate variability through minimum monthly income, and to recover the losses and damages induced by climate change on livelihood, properties, infrastructure and fisheries (Seychelles, Dominica)
- Micro-insurance for private sector and vulnerable segments of society (farmers, fishers and fish-workers, women, and indigenous and vulnerable communities) (Antigua and Barbuda)
- Strengthening early warning systems and capacity building in coastal areas (Seychelles)
- Promoting food security and nutrition through feasibility studies as well as diversification and promotion of climate smart agriculture for fisheries
98 https://www.worldfishcenter.org/story/timor-leste-coastal-communities-adapt-climate-change
70
production through the development of agro-ecological fish farming harvest and post-harvest techniques (Seychelles, Zambia, Guinea)
- Formulating and implementing measures to enhance sustainable food systems that are climate resilient and build robust communities by strengthening their capacity to address risks to food security associated with changing precipitation patterns (the Bahamas, Dominica, Belize)
- Promoting reef ecosystem recovery integrated with community building and development (the Bahamas, Dominica, Belize)
- Facilitating capacity building through education, awareness and training programmes on climate change risks and resiliency measures in order to strengthen capacity at the community and sectoral level, within municipalities and local authorities, and the private sector (Dominica)
- The National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) process is an opportunity for West Africa to promote a mainstreaming of resilience and efficiency in the development policy. The cost of anticipatory adaptation could likely be important for Least Developing Countries economies but would actually result in lower long-term costs than reactive adaptation
Lessons learnt and challenges for the future
Many ACP Countries reported participating to projects aiming to develop an
ecosystem approach. However, only a few countries have sufficient capacities
to apply an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture management.
As in 2017, management of coastal zone has been very often implemented
through designation of marine protected areas, although capacity limitations
have reduced their effectiveness. Most of the landlocked countries endeavour
to manage buffer zones around basins and rivers where fisheries occur, in
their actions against erosion. Although the lack of expertise and inadequate
resources hamper countries to undertake efficient coastal zone management,
they expect to address the issue in the near future. One way to reach this
objective might to channel the coastal zone management together with the
sustainable development of Blue Economy, which the Strategic Plan of Action
does not clearly address.
In most responding countries, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is
required before the development of any activity in the coastal area. Some
countries specifically request an EIA before authorising
aquaculture/mariculture projects. Some countries point out the lack of
qualified human resources to implement this action.
With regards to the increasing concern on climate change, most of the ACP
countries, which are experiencing in full force the effect, are in the process of
preparing National Plan of Actions on Climate Change taking fisheries, fishing
71
communities and enterprises into account. However, only a few countries are
taking steps in the process of creating a frame to integrate climate change
challenges and other environment aspects as new parameters to manage
fisheries and aquaculture.
A significant number of actions support adaptation and mitigation of fisheries
and fishing communities to climate change and natural disasters in order to
protect livelihoods and alleviate poverty in ACP countries. However,
cooperation and networking on climate change issues, particularly at the intra-
and inter- regional scales should be accentuated. As foreseen by the Paris
Agreement, the international community should redouble its efforts in view of
the great vulnerability of ACP countries to the growing effects of global
warming and the trend of more frequent natural disasters. As a start, the 2018
FAO synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options
constitute a great tool available to inform ACP decision-makers of particular
adaptation investments and of the process to develop and implement
adaptation strategies.
72
8. ANNEX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FROM SENT TO THE ACP COUNTRIES
Questionnaire 2019: Assessment of State of play of the implementation of the
ACP Strategic Plan of Actions for Fisheries and Aquaculture by ACP Member
States
Instructions to Respondents
Introduction
The purpose of the questionnaire survey is to assess the state of play of
implementation of the ACP Strategic Plan of Action for Fisheries and Aquaculture
2012-2016 (extended until 2020)99 and its implementing roadmap as adopted at the
4th meeting of ACP Ministers responsible for Fisheries and aquaculture in 2015.
Findings of the survey shall inform deliberations of the 6th meeting ACP ministers
responsible for fisheries, planned to be held in September 10 – 13, 2019 in Samoa.
Instruction to filling the questionnaire
This questionnaire is structured in 5 sections, each addressing priority areas of the
ACP Strategic plan and associated Key Result Areas (KRA). ACP member states are
invited to fill each section of the questionnaire.
Answer all questions in the order presented in the questionnaire indicating actions
undertaken to implement strategic plan or otherwise, the reasons for not having carried
out the action. It is important to provide detailed answers. Also, illustration and
references (website, contact of project manager etc…) to good practices, successful
stories and lessons learnt to implement the Plan of Action, are highly encouraged to
demonstrate progress in advancing the sustainable management/development of the
sector and to share experiences as to empower other countries with the confidence to
act.
If there is insufficient space in any section on the questionnaire to provide the details
asked for, you may attach annexes indicating clearly to which Section they relate to.
For any clarifications you may need with regard to the questions, please do not hesitate
to contact the ACP Secretariat via the email contacts provided on this questionnaire
Forward the filled questionnaire by email to the ACP Secretariat via the following email
contacts:
ACP MEMBER
STATE
Contact person
99 The ACP strategic Plan of Action for Fisheries and Aquaculture is available at http://www.acp.int/sites/acpsec.waw.be/files/Fisheries%20Strategic%20Plan%202012.pdf
73
Position
Organisation
Phone
1
Strategic Priority 1: Effective management for sustainable fisheries
Key Result Areas
(KRA) Priority actions
Has this action been
implemented?
Details:
if not implemented: why?
if implemented state the actions taken and
when?
Refer to any relevant good practices,
successful stories and lessons learnt
KRA 1: National
management
frameworks
Update of the management frameworks Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
To involve fishing communities,
fishermen and processors in
sustainable fisheries management (
education, sensitization, meetings, etc.)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Develop and design long-term
management plans for the main
fisheries resources
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 2:
Addressing key
threats to
sustainable
fisheries
management
Develop and implement national
monitoring, control and surveillance
plans (e.g. NPOA-IUU)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Assess and adjust fishing capacity of
your country
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
2
☐
KRA 3: Complying
with international
instruments
Accession / ratification of FAO Port
State Measure Agreement (PSMA) Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Alignment of the legal and policy
frameworks of your country with
international standards
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 4: Regional
cooperation and
partnerships
Enhance regional cooperation through
inter alia South-South cooperation,
notably in relation to the success
achieved, and create synergies among
the various strategic frameworks
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
3
Please indicate here the main recent developments on Strategic Priority 1 particularly with regard to actions 1.1 to 4.8 of the
Strategic Plan of Action adopted in 2012, with regard to the ratification of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measure and with the
accomplishment of SDG14.4 to eradicate IUU fishing activities by 2020. Please illustrate (if any) good practices, successful
experiences and lessons learnt related to these actions:
4
Strategic Priority 2: Promoting optimal return on trade in fishery products
Key Result Areas
(KRA) Priority actions
Has this action been
implemented?
Details:
if not implemented: why?
if implemented, state the actions
taken and when?
Refer to any relevant good practices,
successful stories and lessons learnt
Yes No In
progress
KRA 5: Market
Access Enhance the competitiveness of ACP
countries. Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Strengthen access to regional and/or global
markets through negotiation /
implementation of trade agreements
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 6:
Overcoming
technical barriers
Build capacities regarding anti-IUU trade
measures (e.g. EU catch certification
scheme)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Build capacities regarding Sanitary and
phytosanitary (SPS) trade measures and
develop regional centres of expertise
(laboratories)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 7:
Addressing key Combat piracy in ACP countries
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
5
external causes of
value loss
☐
KRA 8: Adding
value for ACP
countries
Improve the value of fish and fish product
storage and processing methods. Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Implement appropriate industry support
measures including:
Promoting efficiency in catching and
processing Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Supporting private sector initiatives to
improve product quality and value
throughout the value chain
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Providing infrastructure to underpin
investment in the sector
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Providing access to finance / investment in
small and medium sized enterprises,
processing and storage facilities
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Developing and diversifying fisheries Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
6
Encouraging the development of new
products and market partnerships Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Support role of women in production,
processing, commerce and as
entrepreneurs, for example through micro-
finance initiatives
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Generate and interpret data to promote
understanding of market variability, pricing
and demand/supply requirements
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Promote expansion and diversification of
services supporting the fisheries and
aquaculture sectors, for example vessel
maintenance, bunkering, stevedoring,
provisioning
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Promotion of ecolabelling schemes
consistent with internationally developed
standards (e.g. MSC, Friends of the Sea)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
7
Please indicate here the main recent developments on Strategic Priority 2 particularly with regard to actions 5.1 to 8.6 of the
Strategic Plan of Action adopted in 2012. Please illustrate with (if any) good practices, successful experiences and lessons learnt
related to these actions:
8
Strategic Priority 3: Supporting food security
Key Result Areas
(KRA) Priority actions
Has this action been
implemented?
Details:
if not implemented: why?
if implemented, state the actions taken and
when?
Refer to any relevant good practices, successful
stories and lessons learnt
KRA 9: Planning
for food security
Formulate food and nutrition security
policies that considers the future
needs of populations and the
contribution of the fisheries sector to
the national economy
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 10: Artisanal
fisheries
Guarantee sustainable access rights
for small-scale fishermen to
resources and markets and better
organise the sector to rationalize the
use of resources
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
Empower women in the post-harvest
subsector of fisheries and
aquaculture through improved
technologies and loans for value-
addition, with a view to generating
employment and income
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
9
KRA 11: Local
business
development
Develop a favourable business
environment to attract national and
international investment
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
10
Please indicate here the main recent developments on Strategic Priority 3 particularly with regard to actions 9.1 to 11.4 of the
Strategic Plan of Action adopted in 2012 and with regard to SDG 14.B and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable
Small-Scale Fisheries in the context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, 2015. Please illustrate with (if any) good practices,
successful experiences and lessons learnt related to these actions:
Strategic Priority 4: Developing aquaculture
11
Key Result Areas
(KRA) Priority actions
Has this action has been
implemented?
Details:
if not implemented: why?
if implemented, state the actions taken and
when?
Refer to any relevant good practices, successful
stories and lessons learnt
KRA 12: Planning
for aquaculture
National Aquaculture
development plans created
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
Aquaculture regulatory
framework revised /
updated
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
promote research into
aquaculture (e.g. rearing
techniques, fish health and
welfare, seed selection and
production, feed efficiency)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
States to seek ways and
means to establish fish
breeding centres in areas of
high aquaculture potential
to facilitate a reliable supply
of seed stock to farmers
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
12
Improve business climate
through:
Providing finance/capital for
aquaculture development,
including incentives
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
Providing for training and
development of skills and
knowledge relevant to the
aquaculture sector
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
Providing for access to
specialised equipment
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
KRA13:
Infrastructure and
technical support
Strengthen South-South
synergies among countries
and highlight sustainable
successes
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
Build regional capacities in
training and research
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
K 14: Developing
markets
Develop regional and
international markets by
promoting product quality
(especially pollution-free)
Yes
☐
No
☐
In progress
☐
13
Please indicate here the main recent developments on Strategic Priority 4 particularly with regard to actions 12.1 to 14.3 of the
Strategic Plan of Action adopted 2012 and SDG 14.7. Please illustrate with (if any) good practices, successful experiences and
lessons learnt related to these actions:
Strategic Priority 5: Safeguarding the environment
14
Key Result Areas
(KRA) Priority actions
Has this action has
been implemented?
Details:
if not implemented: why?
if implemented, state the actions taken and
when?
Refer to any relevant good practices, successful
stories and lessons learnt
KRA 15:
Ecosystems
approach to
fisheries
management
Build capacities and implement
pilot projects Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 16: Coastal
zone management
Develop the management of
coastal areas using a catchment
area as a frame of reference
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 17
Environmental
impact assessment
Develop holistic approaches to
assess ecosystem services
provided by coastal and marine
ecosystems
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
KRA 18: Global
environmental
change
Create a frame of reference to
ensure that climate change is
taken into account in
management strategies for the
fishing and aquaculture sector
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
15
Actions to support adaptation of
fisheries and fishing communities
to climate change and natural
disasters in order to protect
livelihoods and alleviate poverty
Yes
☐
No
☐
In
progress
☐
16
Please indicate here the main recent developments on Strategic Priority 5 particularly with regard to actions 15.1 to 18.3 of the
Strategic Plan of Action adopted in 2012 and with regard to the outcome of Conference on Climate Change COP 21 (Paris
Agreement) to COP 24 and the Sustainable Development Goal 14 with the specific target 14.2. Please illustrate with (if any) good
practices, successful experiences and lessons learnt related to these actions:
17
