POTENTIALLY COMPETITIVE SUB-REGIONS AND COUNTRIES FOR MARINE FISHERY DEVELOPMENT

Current fish catch by sub-region and country

84. For the fishery sector, the five geographical zones of Africa have been differentiated into coastal and landlocked country groups. The largest percentage of total fish caught within each sub-region originates from coastal countries (Annex 16). Overall, 90 percent of Africa's total fish catch originate from coastal countries, and only 10 percent are from landlocked countries. Given that the world fish catch amounts to 120.6 million metric tonnes, Africa's 5.8 million metric tonnes (an average of the annual catches between 1995-1999) represent only five percent of the world's fish production.

85. The sub-regional distribution of total fish catch displays wide variations among coastal groups (Table 25). Sub-regional shares of African coastal production fluctuate between 7 percent (in Central Africa) and 31 percent (in West Africa). Sub-regional shares of African landlocked production vary from 17 percent (in Central Africa) to 40 percent (in East Africa).

Table 25. Coastal and landlocked fish catch, in '000 metric tonnes, average 1995-1999, by sub-region and relative importance in Africa's total

Estimates based on data extracted from FAOSTAT (2002). Notes: n.a. not applicable; * includes both marine and inland fish catch; ** includes inland fish catch only.

86. Because there is lack of comprehensive statistics particularly for the aquaculture subsector's current economic performance, only the marine fishery sector and its potential for development have been examined. The North African Southern and Western coastal countries contribute almost equally to the total African marine fish catch (29, 30 and 34 percent, respectively). Their production potentials are reflected by their sub-regional Exclusive Economic Marine Zone (EEMZ) shares of total African EEMZ. East Africa's current production does not live up to its potential, contributing only three percent of Africa's total marine catch, despite possessing 2.7 million square miles of EEMZ area, or 20 percent of Africa's total.

Table 26. Marine fish catch and exports in '000 metric tonnes, average 1995-1999, by sub-region and relative importance in Africa's total

Estimates based on data on production and exports extracted from FAOSTAT (2002)

Selection of potentially competitive coastal sub-regions/countries for marine fishery development

87. Sub-regional potential for marine fishery development has been judged using the size and share of EEMZ in Africa's total as the screening indicator. The share of EEMZ varies widely among sub-regions, from 720 thousand square miles in Central Africa (5.5 percent) to 5.8 million square miles in Southern Africa (44 percent of Africa's total). All sub-regions that have more than five percent of the total EEMZ have been designated for further investment under CAADP.

Table 27. Selection of potentially competitive coastal sub-regions for marine fishery based on the sub-regional share of EEEZ total

Note: Shaded cells stand for potentially competitive coastal sub-regions for marine fishery development.

88. The selection of countries was made using the same approach. The results are shown in Table 28. In general countries contribute disproportionately to the sub-region's total marine production with respect to their share of EEMZ in the sub-regional total.

89. The disproportionate productivity of some countries is apparent in all sub-regions. In North Africa, for instance, while Libya's and Mauritania's shares of marine fish catch are only about 3 percent, the countries' EEMZ shares are much higher (22 percent and 10 percent, respectively). On the other hand, Morocco seems to be exploiting its marine fisheries resources more intensively, accounting for 38 percent of sub-regional EEMZ and 63 percent of sub-regional marine fish catch. In East Africa, the largest coastal country contributor to the marine fish catch is Tanzania, representing 47 percent of the sub-regional total fish catch, though its EEMZ represents only nine percent in Africa's total. Moderate contribution to the sub-regional marine catch is made by Somalia (23 percent) and Seychelles (16 percent), which are figures that are roughly proportionate to their EEMZ sizes. In Central Africa, marine fish catch varies widely across countries. Equatorial Guinea currently produces only 1.4 percent of the sub-region's marine catch (or 3.8 thousand metric tonnes), although the country accounts for 43 percent of the sub-region's EEMZ.

90. In West Africa, the most important coastal contributors to the sub-regional marine catch are Ghana (30.2 percent), Senegal (28 percent) and Nigeria (21 percent). Cape Verde and Liberia underperformed with respect to their EEMZ areas. Cape Verde's 0.8 percent and Liberia's 0.5 percent of sub-regional marine catch are far below their potential based on their EEMZ shares of 36 percent and 11 percent, respectively. The main coastal producers of Southern Africa - South Africa, Namibia and Angola - together contribute 89 percent of the sub-region's marine catch (50 percent, 27 percent and 12 percent, respectively). All these countries have smaller EEMZ shares (25.9 percent, 9.7 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively), compared with their fish-catch shares. Details concerning country selection, as well as country statistics on total fish catch, exports and the corresponding size of the EEMZ, are shown in Annex 17.

Table 28. Selection of countries for priority investment in marine fishery development

Results based on the share of sub-regional EEMZ. Note: EEMZ * EEMZ area figures based on data as of 1998 supplied by Veridian Information Solutions, Inc., MRJ Engineering Group; Copyright (1998) Veridian Information Solutions, Inc., MRJ Engineering Group. This information is provided on a best-efforts basis and MRJ does not guarantee its accuracy or warrant its fitness for any particular purpose.