The Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NAFAA), Emma Metieh Glassco, has described the conduct of the ongoing fisheries stock assessment initiative for Liberia as important to getting quality data to make good decisions for the management of the fisheries sector.
She said that data is a key to better fisheries management in Liberia and as such, her institution has attached serious importance to the fisheries stock assessment exercise for the country.
Glassco made the statement recently when she addressed some fisheries ministers and technicians from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Morocco, and other parts of Africa at a commissioning ceremony of the Moroccan Research Vessel aimed to conduct scientific fish stock assessments in Liberian waters.
The occasion was attended by the speaker of the 55th Legislature, Fonati Kofi, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests of Morocco (AMFRDWFM), Mohammed SADIKI, and other high-profile dignitaries from Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Morocco, and among others.
Glassco highlighted the fact that without essential data on the fisheries stock, it will become difficult to determine the best fisheries management approach to apply.
"Data is a key tool for fisheries management," she said. It is significant in determining the best fisheries management approach to apply.".
She said over the years, the government of Liberia, through NaFAA, had applied the precautionary approach to managing the country's fish resources to avoid overfishing.
According to her, the lack of scientific data has undermined the performance of Liberia's fisheries sector over the years but said that the availability of data is a critical factor in informing management decisions and attracting potential investment, especially in the private sector.
She said that the conduct of the stock assessment initiative was timely as Liberia seeks to industrialize its fishing sector to provide socio-economic growth to its populations like other African countries.
Glassco added that the absence of basic scientific data has limited the ability of Liberia as a country to engage in full industrial fishing.
"As we kick off this exercise today, I believe that we are a step away from going into full-scale commercialization, depending on the reports from research," she said.
The NaFAA boss said, 'It is an activity that seeks to collect information on the abundance and distribution of various kinds of fish species within a body of waters in terms of their commercial value and ecological importance.'
"This fish stock assessment exercise is an activity that seeks to collect information on the abundance and distribution of various kinds of fish species within our waters in terms of their commercial value and ecological importance," she added.
Meanwhile, Glassco said the commissioning and subsequent commencement of the fish stock assessment is a major achievement and milestone as Liberia endeavors to collect the requisite data on marine resources and ensure the sustainable management of these valuable resources.
She further said that NAFAA's efforts are to guarantee that everything counts, including the taxonomy of the fish stock, the breeding ground, the biomass, habitat, and distribution of the stocks across Liberia's coastline."
Also speaking on the occasion, the speaker of the 55th Legislature, Fonati Kofa, said the Liberian fisheries sector is a continuing positive path of the economy.
He said that the country transitioning from artisanal fishing to industrialized and commercial fishing will economically benefit the citizens.
Kofi also indicated that taking scientific stock of what is contained in Liberia's territorial waters and producing data to ensure the management of the resources is indeed a step forward for Liberia.
The speaker officially cut the ribbon on the state-of-the-art research vessel owned by the government of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The vessel was officially commissioned to conduct a 14-day stock assessment across the nine coastal counties, beginning with Grand Cape Mount on Friday, January 26, 2024.
Mohammed SADIKI, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, Water, and Forests of Morocco (AMFRDWFM), said in his remark that the King of the Kingdom of Morocco has called for the development of an integrated maritime economy and the extensive prospecting of off-shore natural resources.
SADIKI said this integrated economy must be based on continual investment in the maritime fishing sector, encouragement of the blue economy, and support for renewables.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, January 27, 2024, NAFAA Director General also led the Moroccan research vessel term and other African fisheries ministers on a tour at Popo Beach in the Point Four Community and at the NAFAA technical service center.
The tour was intended to show foreign delegates what the fishing activities and NAFAA technical service center in Liberia look like.
At the same time, Glassco concluded the tour with a media engagement in Monrovia.
Glassco told reporters that she was overwhelmed by the coming of the research vessels.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
She expressed heartfelt gratitude to the three cabinet ministers and parliamentarians from the big economies in Africa--Morocco, Ivory Coast, and Guinea--for coming to Liberia and for launching the Morocco Research Vessel to conduct scientific fish stock assessments.
She informed the media that Liberia is very grateful and excited about the progress thus far by the involvement of the foreign ministers.
"Although Liberia's fisheries sector still has a lot of work to be done, the support of the foreign fisheries ministers is not taken for granted in any way," she told reporters.
"But we still need infrastructure. You have the human resources but when there is no infrastructure, the whole value chain is cut," she said.
"You will only have a lot of knowledge and experience, but it is not that useful because it cannot trickle down to have the kind of socioeconomic impact that is needed for the country," she added.
SADIKI extended his appreciation to NAFAA for the invitation and opportunity to put into practice their corporation.
"And it has been a very nice place to discuss the challenges and also potentials that we have together and to join forces and efforts in other countries to exchange best practices and develop the sectors in all the countries. This time it was focused on the Liberian fisheries sector, seeing the opportunities and challenges and how the country adds value to fisheries resources," he said.
