FAO.org

8 June 2023, Maputo – Recognizing years of fruitful collaboration in the fisheries sector, the EAF-Nansen Programme joined Mozambique’s Ministry of Fisheries and the Royal Norwegian Embassy to celebrate World Oceans Day in Maputo. Representatives from the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC) Member States, and public and private sectors in Mozambique were invited to take a guided tour of the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen to mark the occasion.

"This event today is testimony to the interest that African countries have in supporting the sustainable management of our natural resources, our oceans and the Nansen Programme," said Lídia de Fátima da Graça Cardoso, Mozambique’s Minister of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries.

"The fisheries sector makes a valuable social and economic contribution to the lives of our populations, and the challenge we face is to use marine resources responsibly while protecting biodiversity for future generations," Cardoso added.

The Dr Fridtjof Nansen is at the centre of the EAF-Nansen Programme, a partnership between FAO and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR), and 32 partner countries in Africa and the Bay of Bengal.

Named after the late Norwegian scientist, explorer and humanitarian who pioneered ocean research, the vessel sails under the UN flag and is a platform for international cooperation between partner countries, researchers and partner organizations of the EAF-Nansen Programme.

"The state of the world’s ocean represents an existential matter for mankind, and sharing ocean research across sectors and nations are key," said Haakon Gram-Johannessen, Ambassador of Norway to Mozambique, noting that the cooperation between Mozambique and Norway is well established.

"For more than 40 years our two countries have had joint programmes within fisheries and maritime affairs. Although far apart geographically, theocean unites us."

In Mozambique, the EAF-Nansen Programme has conducted 12 research surveys over the years, providing vital information for the management of the oceans and marine life.

The programme is committed to strengthening the capacities of fisheries institutions, sustainable fisheries management and scientific knowledge and research on marine resources and ecosystems.

"For Mozambique and many other countries in Africa, the research vessel is an important tool for improving fisheries research and providing training and experience to local scientists" said Vasco Schmidt, FAO fisheries and aquaculture officer for Southern Africa and acting Secretary of SWIOFC, one of the regional partners of the EAF-Nansen Programme.

Schmidt also stressed the critical role of the EAF-Nansen Programme in driving Blue Transformation and supporting the sustainable management of aquatic food systems to eradicate hunger and poverty and economic growth.

FAO supports countries with the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries and a better understanding of the impacts of climate change and other external factors such as pollution on aquatic ecosystems.

Following the event in Maputo, researchers aboard the vessel will collect samples from waters off the coast of southern and central Mozambique to improve knowledge and understanding about the diversity of local fishery resources and the environment.

"I have witnessed the evolution of technology and knowledge over the past four decades and throughout this time, the Dr Fridtjof Nansen has stood out for its advanced research facilities compared to other research ships that have passed through our waters," said Professor Antonio Hoguane, Director General of the Mozambique Oceanographic Institute and former Director of the Center of Marine Research and Technology at the Eduardo Mondlane University. "The information and data generated by the vessel is of high scientific value but is yet to be fully explored and may serve to assess the impacts of climate change."

"The future of our ocean depends on all of us, and the EAF-Nansen Programme is committed to its role as a catalyst for achieving sustainably managed oceans in the face of changing tides," Merete Tandstad, EAF-Nansen Programme Coordinator, concluded.

About the EAF-Nansen Programme