What will the Partnership for African fisheries do?
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It will ensure that fisheries policy reform is based on sound and well thought through advice that will lead to meaningful actions and positive changes. It will do this by stimulating an open debate – a ‘think-tank’ process for knowledge exchange between African and international partners that will improve awareness both ways across the table.
The input to the think-tank will be drawn from ‘grass roots’ experiences, regional and international evidence of positive results and from new lines of research that address the constraints to effective fisheries development in Africa.
Working groups will be established in three key policy areas:
- Good governance
- Illegal fishing
- Trade and access to markets
The working groups will draw from fishing communities, industry, government, educational institutions and technical experts. This will encourage dynamic exchange of new ideas alongside proven solutions. Case studies of best practice, pilot activities to validate new ideas on say fishing rights, market access, intelligence on illegal activity, capacity building and awareness campaigns, are all expected to add content and encourage wider participation in the Partnership.
In the first year, the Partnership will work to get a clear and agreed set of messages on the potential value that fisheries could make to African economies, and to explore innovative ways of achieving this. This message will be shared with a diverse audience – from fishers to Ministers and policy makers – through a range of methods, including film, broadcast media, educational campaigns, publications and presentations. The aim will be to create awareness of both the potential, as well as the constraints to realising that potential, and a collective enthusiasm to change the way Africa manages its fisheries.
We will not be starting from a blank sheet. We will build on earlier fisheries reform instruments such as the Abuja Declaration and the NEPAD Action Plan (2005) and harness political and operational capital already gained during the Stop Illegal Fishing Programme (www.stopillegalfishing.com) to formulate a regional strategy for fishery reform that will be the cornerstone for turning these commitments into reality.
The Partnership for African Fisheries will engage with the newly emerging international debate on how to move fisheries away from boom and bust and onto a more rational footing, enabling fisheries to start to make a better contribution to the global economy. Africa has an important role to play in this debate.
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