African leaders, development organizations and fisheries experts are meeting in Nigeria this week to discuss the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for Africa’s development and explore ways of improving fish supplies.
The Fish for All Summit, being held in Abuja, Nigeria 22-25 August has been organized by the Secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD, a strategic framework of the African Union) in cooperation with the WorldFish Center and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Attended by political leaders and experts from 26 African countries, as well as NGOs and key stakeholders, the summit is intended to draw attention to the current status and likely trends of African fisheries and aquaculture, and agree priorities for fisheries and aquaculture research and development.
“African fisheries and aquaculture are at a turning point,” said WorldFish Director-General Stephen Hall in a press statement. “There is a pressing need for strategic investments to better natural fish stocks management, develop aquaculture and enhance Africa’s fish trade at every level. Regional and national research, technology transfer and policy development also need improvement.”
Fish provides a much-needed source of protein for 200 million Africans and income for 10 million. It also represents one of the continent’s leading export commodities, worth US$2.7 billion per year. In sub-Saharan Africa, where about one third of the population is undernourished, production from capture fisheries is failing to keep up with a rapidly growing population. At 6.6 kg per person per year, this region has the lowest per capita fish consumption in the world (the world average is 16 kg per year) and is the only region where fish consumption is falling. The WorldFish Center, a global development and science organization, estimates that sub-Saharan Africa needs a 32 per cent increase in fish supply by 2020 just to maintain current fish consumption levels.
With little potential for increase in capture fisheries, most of the increased supply will have to come from aquaculture, which has “massive untapped potential” in Africa, according to the WorldFish Center. In addition to developing small-scale aquaculture operations, investment is needed to support improved fisheries and environmental management practices to get the most out of African capture fisheries, say the summit’s organizers. Other points that will be discussed at the summit include the need to improve fish market chains, including reducing spoilage, improving market infrastructure in rural areas and providing financial assistance for small-scale businesses to process and market fish.
Hall said that “an immediate investment of around $60 million” – a relatively small sum – could kick-start a five-pronged strategy that would rapidly increase African fish supplies.