A Ghanaian Project Coordinator of Liberia's National Fisheries Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Dr Lawrence Issah Braimah, has been honoured by the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (DoFAS) of the University of Liberia (UL) for his outstanding contribution to the Liberia's fisheries sector.
In addition, the university has instituted the "Dr Braimah's Fishery Scholars Scholarship Programme" to be awarded, each year, to students who gain the highest Grade Point Average not less than 3.5 at the DoFAS.
Dr Braimah was decorated with a traditional smock and a hat to match and presented with a plaque by the Vice President for Administration of the University of Liberia, Professor Beneta J. Tarr, receiving standing ovation from the audience, at UL campus in Monrovia.
Dr Braimah in a WhatApp chat with the Ghanaian Times expressed gratitude to the U.L. for the honour done him, and pledged to work harder.
Present at the ceremony were Dr Julius J.S. Nelso Jr., President of the UL; Emma Metieh Glassco, Director-General, National Fisheries Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Dr Charles Asumama Sr.; Dean of College of Science, UL; Chairman DoFAS, Prof Alvin S. Jueseah, other staff of the DoFAS and NFAA, the Representative of the United Nations Foods and Agriculture Organisation in Liberia, Ms Bintia Stephen Tchicaya, and other dignitaries.
Dr Braimah is the Project Coordinator of Liberia's NaFAA $40m Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project funded by the World Bank.
Before his current position, Dr Braimah served as the Project Coordinator for the West Africa Regional Fisheries Project, a US$ 12 million investment in the Liberian fisheries sector funded by the World Bank, where he initiated and managed the developmental changes in the Liberian fisheries sector.
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Prior to his work in Liberia nearly 30 year ago, Dr Braimah worked as consultant for a number of international organisations including USAID, Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission, Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, UNDP, FAO and the Department of Fisheries (Ghana), where he oversaw multidisciplinary team of professionals in Ghana, United Kingdom, Sierra Leone, Benin, the Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Uganda, India, Senegal., Kenya and Italy.
His research experience is vast and spans over 30 years. Dr Braimah has conducted research in a number of topics in fisheries such as fishing gear technology, operation of community fisheries centers, modern and traditional fisheries management systems, poverty reduction strategy and poverty reduction opportunities for artisanal fisheries, among others and published a number of scientific articles, books and book chapters in peer-review international journals.
Dr Braimah, an old students of then Navrongo Secondary School (NAVASCO) now Navrongo Senior High School in the Upper East Region, holds Ph.D. in Fisheries Studies from the University of Hull, UK
