Activity 3.13

Analyzing Sustainable fishing practice. Case study of Sierra Leone fishing in West Africa

I am reflecting on the work done by some organizations trying to “recast the net” in the waters of Sierra Leone to manage their resources sustainably. I looked at the West Africa Regional Fisheries program and the European Union intervention in the Sierra Leone fishing sector. Both organizations have the same goals of supporting the country to sustainably manage their fisheries resources.

From both organizational perspectives, sustainability could be looked at the as a process in which the country continues to exploit their fisheries resource without depletion from one generation to another and to increase the economic benefit derived from the marine resources to locally benefit the people.

National pressure on the Fisheries sector in Sierra Leone

Many studies indicate that the fishing sector provides more than 500 000 jobs directly and indirectly for the people of Sierra Leone, and more than 80% of the coastal population depend upon fisheries activities for employment and livelihoods boosting the local economy.  Other feminist researchers revealed that more than 80% of the coastal women rely on fishing activities for income generation that enhance them to support their families and especially household income. The fact that the country depends on fish and its product for more than 80% protein intake cannot be overstated; and the sector contributes up to 10% of the country’s National GDP.  This emphasizes the important of the fisheries resources in Sierra Leone that need sustainability practice. But can this enormous pressure allow sustainable exploitation?

What about external pressure from the IUU fishing practice: the country’s  fishing sector is largely under pressure from the  destructive  IUU fishing  method from foreign trawlers damaging the marine ecosystem.  The popular IUU fishing practice in West Africa account for the unstainable use of the fisheries resources. It negatively impacts marine ecosystem, fish bio mass, ocean carbon sink, marine biodiversity etc... This impact will result to many social hazards in the country and specifically to the coastal population whose major livelihood activity is fishing and fishing related activities.

On the other hand, the artisanal or traditional fisher folks are practicing illegal fishing practices that destroys the fish breeding sites, and decrease the value of fish in the local market. Many baby fishes are catch by local fisher men, after spending more effort to catch very little amount and quality fish. The fishing industry in Sierra is falling apart. The impact of climate change on the marine resources also threaten sustainability

Efforts of some organizations:

The West Africa Regional Fisheries Program (WARFP) is a world bank funded program that aims to capacitate and empower countries in the West Africa coast to manage their fisheries sustainably and reduce illegal fishing and increase local value added to fish products.

The organizations are doing this through promotion of good governance and sustainable management of the fisheries, reducing illegal fishing, increasing the contribution of the marine fish resources to the local economies and coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the projects.

Sierra Leone is one of the beneficiary countries of WARFP. The country’ marine water is highly rich with fisheries bio mass of highly commercial fish species compared to other countries. In the mist of this comparative advantage of the country’s rich resources, the WARFP is facing challenges to achieve its goal of supporting the country to manage the resources sustainably,

The most disturbing part is that Sierra Leone with it richness in highly commercial fish species can not directly export fish to the EU market because of lack of the capacity to meet with the EU market regulations and standards. This is indirectly encouraging the IUU fishing.

However, the European Union on the other side is providing huge support to the fisheries sector in Sierra Leone by ensuring that the country benefits from it marine resource through gaining capacity to access the EU market. Sierra Leone has many a time tried to abstain the EU export certificate but to no avail because they lack the capacity to meet the EU standard and regulations for preservation of fish and it product making the value chain short.  Foreign vessels trawled the country’s valuable marine product including shrimps, tuna to nearby countries where they are exported to EU market. This brings more frustration to the Sierra Leone’s fisheries sector.

Some remedial actions by NGOs, charity organizations and local partners.

Partner organizations including the World Bank, UN, EU, GEF, etc, are constantly supporting sierra Leone to manage their fisheries resources sustainably and to adapt to the impact of climate change.

These supports are given in areas of capacity building in fisheries management and governance, fighting IUU fishing, promoting local fisher folk’s legal practices such as providing correct fishing gears as subsidies, supporting the government to establish marine Protected Areas etc. the EU and UNDP support fisherwomen in post-harvest activities etc.

 Looking at supports needed by the organization to achieve sustainable fishing.

For countries like Sierra Leone, developing country, would largely rely on international collaboration and cooperation to fight the IUU fishing practice. The national government is expected to genuinely support the international organizations to pursue any case of IUU practice in its water.

My interpersonal conversation with professor Showers, the head of the institute of Marine Biology and Oceanography at the university of Sierra Leone, he said that the sierra Leone is losing huge species rashness, volume and value of fish by IUU and continued that the resources would be depleted if the situation continues like way it is.

Government to support organizations to impose Closed season for industrial vessels

Government to comply with the EU standard to meet their fish market will reduce and prevent IUU fishing in Sierra Leone waters.