Northwest Africa is considered one of the world’s most productive marine regions. Small pelagic fish (sardine, sardinella, anchovy, horse mackerel, mackerel and bonga) are abundant in Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia, representing nearly 70 percent of the catches in the area. Sardinella is in particularly high demand for the fact that the species contributes significantly to the economy, employment opportunities and food security of both coastal and inland populations in northwest Africa.

However, the state of the sardinella stocks has been worrying in recent times. The latest assessments by the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) showcased sharp declines in the stock of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita), considering it overexploited. Limited information is known for flat sardinella (S. maderensis). These shared resources are sensitive to climate change variations and face additional fishing pressure to support advancing fishmeal industry in the region, for which sardinella is the main target species.

Support is also being provided to the countries involved in the project to update and implement national management plans for managing shared sardinella stocks with the aim of promoting regional coherence.

The shared sardinella: Supporting the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries for the management of shared sardinella stocks in northwest Africa project also promote gender equality in the project activities, in accordance with the EAF-Nansen Gender Strategy.

Expected outcomes

The project contributes to responsible fishing of the sardinella stocks in line with the EAF principles, based on the adoption of regionally coherent management plans and harmonised management measures.

The project is also intended to contribute to the achievement of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG1 (“no poverty”), SDG2 (“zero hunger”), SDG5 (“gender equality”), SDG13 (“climate action”) and SDG14 (“life below water”).