Liberia will on November 21, 2019 play host to Africa’s artisanal fishing communities as fishers on the continent join the rest of the world to celebrate the World Fisheries Day.
The confirmation came after the Liberia Artisanal Fishermen Association (LAFA) made series of nominations over the past years to the Confederation of Africa Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organizations (CAOPA), an umbrella body for Africa’s artisanal fishermen.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer, President of LAFA, Jerry Blamo, disclosed that the Republic of Liberia will host twenty-four artisanal fishermen from across the African continent along with dignitaries from international fisheries civil society organizations.
He disclosed that the National Fisheries Aquaculture Authority (NaFFA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the leadership of local artisanal fishermen are collaborating to ensure that the event is successfully held on November 21, 2019.
As for their part, Blamo said that the celebration will expose Liberia’s artisanal fishing sectors to the rest of Africa’s artisanal fishing communities.
On-sea deaths, gender equality, storage infrastructure, fisheries regulations, are issues facing the artisanal fishing communities in Liberia. However, Blamo believes that the involvement of CAOPA and international fisheries civil society organizations, Liberia’s artisanal fishers’ leadership and the national fisheries authority can learn new ways to collectively solve some of the problems facing the artisanal fisheries sector.
Since the establishment of CAOPA in 1999, African artisanal fisheries communities gather once every year on the continent to celebrate the World Fisheries Day Celebration.
African communities, for the past years, have discussed the sustainability of artisanal fisheries with regards to women role in leadership, best fishing practices and revision on the SFG, a document which FAO and fishing communities from across the globe jointly developed.
Source: https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/world-fisheries-day-liberia-confirmed-as-host-nation/