Fisheries

RAFI is the Fisheries Unit of the FAO Regional Office for Africa.

FAO/14939/R. Cannarsa

Regional Role
Information and Statistics
Resources Management
Aquaculture Development
Resources Exploitation and Utilisation
Policy

Regional Role

The Fisheries Department Group for the Africa region is composed of five technical officers. Three assigned to the Regional Office for Africa (RAF) in Accra (Senior Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Planning Officer and Aquaculture Officer) and two to the Sub-regional Office for Southern and East Africa (SAFR) in Harare (Senior Fisheries Officer and Fishery Liaison Officer). This team works with FAO Member countries to optimise production from Africa's aquatic resources in an environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable way to improve the livelihoods of the fisherfolk through better income, nutrition and resource use.

The team's activities involve normative and field programme development and support. They assist Member countries through their respective fisheries administrations to address the critical issues of food security and poverty reduction within the context of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries . The emphasis of the various interventions is on promoting partnership between administrations and the stakeholders in developing fisheries and aquaculture in a participatory way, training, empowerment of local fishing communities, and assistance in transferring responsible management of the essential water resources to the stakeholders.

The team's activities are based on the priorities of the Africa region in fisheries and aquaculture, which are inserted in the overall medium-term plan of the Regional Office for Africa. These priorities are developed from the biennial African Regional Conference (ARC), annual and biennial statutory meetings of Regional Fisheries Bodies (RFBs) in the region, ad hoc meetings and workshops and requests from Member countries. The relevant bodies are Fishery Committee fort he Estern Central Atlantic (CECAF) and Committee for Inland Fisheries of Africa (CIFA) respectively. Many relevant documents and reports of past meetings may be found by the following links at CIFA Reports and CECAF Reports respectively. The medium-term programme that dictates activities of the Fisheries Department Group in the region has been divided into sub-programmes with priority activities and planned outputs. The sub-programmes are fisheries information; fisheries resources management; aquaculture development; fisheries resources exploitation and utilisation; and fisheries policy. The various activities are spread in 35 countries in the Region.

Information and Statistics

• Collection, processing and analysis of reliable statistical data is initiated and strengthened through capacity building in thematic workshops and direct technical assistance to administrations
• A database on essential sector information has been developed for reference

Resources Management

• Countries are assisted in assessing their fisheries resources to provide baseline information that can be used for monitoring production and fishing capacity. The information can also be used for planning sustainable development of fisheries for food security.
• Meetings of regional fisheries bodies in RAF and SAFR are a forum for countries sharing resources to identify resource management constraints and formulate management measures that will ensure conservation and management,
• Appropriate management techniques are developed to create and maintain partnership between the administrations and the stakeholders in applying fisheries governance and available global instruments to manage fisheries resources

Aquaculture Development

• Aquaculture has assumed an increasingly important place in regional improvement of food security and in reducing poverty in rural communities. This prominence is in part due to the expanding fish supply gap as many marine and inland fisheries reach or exceed optimum sustainable yield
• Appropriate fish farming and farmer organisation techniques are developed and promoted in the region to address escalating populations and the increase in the demand for fishery products.
• Other approaches to increasing fish farm productivity are explored in improved water management schemes in rice irrigation

Resources Exploitation and Utilisation

• Countries are encouraged to rationally exploit and utilise the resources, especially non-traditional/non-commercial species
• Techniques on assessing losses on processed fish and fishery products have been developed and are being tried in the region
• Technical advice is given on reducing post-harvest losses through improvements in fish handling and processing techniques
• Assistance is given to countries to improve local processing fish and fishery products for export

Policy

• Adaptation and implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the insertion of its relevant sections in national fisheries policies and plans is given emphasis in the activities.

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