The African Union’s interventions in the fisheries and aquaculture sector are guided by the priorities outlined in Africa’s overarching development plan , the AU Agenda 2063 supported by strategic frameworks and the decisions of Africa’s Heads of State and Government. In this regard, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) , Malabo Declaration (2014) and the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for fisheries and aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) serve as the pillars guiding sustainable aquaculture development in Africa. The African Fisheries Reform Mechanism is the pathway through which the continental policies and strategies within the sector are implemented coherence and harmonization approaches towards achieving one common goal by all African Union Member States (AU-MS) . All AU Member States are accordingly committed to developing their fisheries and aquaculture sectors to achieve (i) productivity, (ii) profitability, (iii) sustainability, (iv) wealth generation, (v) social welfare, nutrition and food security, (vi) regional management of shared resources , (vi) strengthening south-south (bilateral and regional) cooperation and (vii) equity.
To establish the enabling environment for achieving the goals outlined in the PFRS, two Fisheries Governance Projects have been implemented. The first Fisheries Governance Project 2014-18 (FishGov 1) on ‘Strengthening institutional capacity to enhance governance of the fisheries sector in Africa, commonly called Fisheries Governance Project (FishGov 1) ’ initiated the development of synergies and coherence in fisheries management and aquaculture practices by aligning national and regional polices to the PFRS. It also enhanced the profile of the sector and strengthened coordination in the governance of the sector. As a follow-up FishGov 2 that is currently on-going aims to “Enhance sustainable fisheries management and aquaculture development in Africa: A programme for accelerated reform of the sector (FISHGOV2) ’ by furthering the lessons learnt and recommendations of FishGov 1 for implementation at regional and national level. Therefore , the specific objectives of FishGov 1 are (i) African Union decisions on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture policies are evidence- based; (ii) Fisheries and aquaculture policies in Africa are coherent with the PFRS and other AU priorities and coordinated at continental, regional and national levels and (iii) Africa is adequately represented and effectively participates in international fisheries and aquaculture fora and ably domesticates relevant global instruments.
Aquaculture Network for Africa