The Summit of African Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, June 2014, endorsed the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) as a blueprint to facilitate transformation of Africa’s fisheries and aquaculture for food, livelihoods, and wealth. The PFRS identifies the inadequate capacities of some African Union Member States for the analysis of fisheries and aquaculture information and data to develop scientifically informed decisions for the sector. In this regard, AU-IBAR in 2015 commissioned an assessment study, that recommended the establishment of the Policy Research Network for fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PRNFAA) (Satia 2015). The Satia Report reiterated that “evidence-based, timely, and relevant information generated through the conduct of more cohesive and better-focused, high-quality research will greatly enhance the realization of the policy reform objectives of the PFRS as well as address emerging problems and challenges”.
Under the funding of EU supported first Fisheries Governance Project, the Policy Research Network for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PRNFAA) was formally established on 20th April 2018, during the inaugural meeting, that was convened by AU-IBAR and NPCA (now AUDA-NEPAD) in Nairobi, Kenya. The PRNFAA was formally endorsed as a statuary organization of the African Union by the Third Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment in 2019. It is consequently among the Non-State Actor networks of the Africa Fisheries Reform Mechanism. In 2024, PRNFAA was legally incorporated under Malawi law (under The Common Law).
The overarching objective of the PRNFAA (the Network) is to contribute to the effective implementation of the policy reform objectives of the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy for Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa (PFRS) through the conduct of a more cohesive and better focused evidence-based, high-quality research agenda. The Network currently constitutes 133 members, drawn form 27 African and 6 non-African countries.
The objective of the PRNFAA’s side event and dedicated plenary sessions are set and review Africa’s progress towards bridging the PFRS’s science-policy gap as envisaged in the Satia 2015 Report, reassess the science priorities, and set a strategic science agenda that ensures sustainable development of the aquatic food systems and blue economy sectors across Africa.