Over the weekend, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), in collaboration with the Liberia National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) and with funding from the European Union, conducted a validation exercise of a recently completed mapping of small-scale fishers' Territorial User Rights of Fisheries (TURF), landing and smoking sites across Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Grand Kru counties.
This initiative is part of the European Union-funded "Creating Skilled, Capable, and Effective Community Co-management Associations to Secure Legal and Sustainable Fisheries in Liberia" project, also known as the Communities for Fisheries project.
The project aims to curb illegal fishing activities and promote sustainable fisheries by strengthening and expanding community co-management associations (CMAs). It focuses on enhancing the capacity of communities to monitor and report on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The project also seeks to generate economic, social, and environmental benefits, contributing to food security and improving marine resource management.
The validation event, which was held on Friday, April 4, 2025, at the NaFAA headquarters, brought together key stakeholders from the fisheries sector, local communities, and environmental organizations.
Representatives from several coastal counties, including Grand Bassa, Margibi, Grand Kru, and Grand Cape Mount, expressed their support for the project's objectives and highlighted the challenges they face in managing fisheries resources.
Dr. Emmanuel T. Olatunji, the EJF project consultant and faculty at the University of Liberia, provided an overview of the study. He emphasized the importance of community co-management, describing it as a win-win situation for both the government of Liberia and the CMAs in managing fisheries resources.
"Community co-management empowers the resource users themselves, ensuring they have a sense of ownership and are supported by the government," Dr. Olatunji said. "Moreover, it helps eliminate the use of destructive fishing methods and encourages the reporting of all illegal fishing activities."
He also detailed the various methods used to gather data for the mapping, including Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, GPS, and platforms like Google Earth Pro, which allow for real-time monitoring of the landing sites.
Dr. Olatunji noted that the mapping process also considered environmental threats, such as coastal erosion and habitat degradation, and legal threats like security of land tenure. "For example, we used GIS tools to analyze satellite images dating back to 1975 to assess changes in coastal ecosystems," he explained.
Additionally, the project explored environmental threats, including the degradation of mangrove forests, which play a vital role in providing breeding grounds for fish species. Dr. Olatunji highlighted the critical need to protect these habitats, as their destruction can significantly impact the fish population.
Dr. Olatunji went on to present the findings from the mapping exercise. He outlined that approximately 75% of fish landing sites in the four counties are located in urban, highly populated areas, while 12.7% are in peri-urban areas.
The remaining 6.7% are situated in rural, hard-to-reach locations. "For instance, Grand Cape Mount County has 23 fish landing sites, with 20 located in rural, hard-to-reach areas," he said.
He also discussed the specific features of the mapped areas, including the classification of land into different zones, such as urban areas, peri-urban zones, and rural locations.
"The mapping allows us to understand the geography of fish smoking and landing sites in more detail. For example, in Grand Cape Mount County, three sites are in urban areas, while the others are in rural locations," Dr. Olatunji stated.
The validation session also addressed the environmental challenges facing small-scale fisheries, such as coastal erosion, mangrove loss, and habitat degradation. Dr. Olatunji shared alarming findings, revealing a loss of 800 hectares of mangrove forests between 2000 and 2023 in Grand Cape Mount County.
He explained that mangroves are vital for fisheries as they serve as breeding grounds for fish. "The degradation of mangrove forests affects the entire coastal ecosystem and, ultimately, the fisheries that depend on these habitats," he said.
Further detailing the impact of coastal erosion, Dr. Olatunji pointed out that areas along the coastline are increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise and erosion, exacerbated by climate change and human activities such as sand mining. "Some communities are engaging in sand mining along the coast, which undermines the natural barrier against coastal erosion," he explained.
In Grand Bassa, he highlighted significant land degradation along the coast, particularly around the towns of Sass Town and Picnicess, where mangrove forests have been lost due to both natural and human factors. "While artisanal fishers are not solely responsible for the loss of mangroves, they are part of the broader context of coastal degradation," Dr. Olatunji said.
"The data collected from this study will inform future interventions, whether they involve policy changes, capacity building, or community outreach," he concluded. "Our goal is to create a model of sustainable fisheries management that can be replicated in other coastal countries facing similar challenges."
Cephas Asare, the West African Regional Manager of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), stressed in brief remarks that the validated report from the recently conducted small-scale fishery landing and smoking sites will also be used to secure guidelines for ensuring a sustainable livelihood for small-scale fishers by guaranteeing tenure rights.
"This, according to him, will greatly contribute to reducing illegal fishing and protecting the mangroves."
For his part, the Acting Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture National Fisheries & Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), J. Cyrus Saygbe Sr., who spoke at the validation workshop, emphasized the significance of the partnership between NaFAA and EJF.
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He lauded EJF for the pivotal role played in the fishery sector by ensuring a better reporting of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and strengthening the capacity of CMAs in Liberia.
The Acting NaFAA Director General highlighted the government's commitment to sustainable fisheries management and the protection of marine resources.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with EJF on this innovative project that aims to safeguard our fisheries for future generations," Saygbe said. "Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a major threat to the livelihoods of our people, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the next generation of Liberians can continue to benefit from the ocean's wealth. This mapping activity is a crucial tool in helping us achieve this goal."
He continued, "The government of Liberia is committed to providing the necessary support to our communities and working together to create effective solutions for sustainable fisheries management."
For his part, Chelleh B. Mitchell, National Fisheries Coordinator at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), lauded EJF and NaFAA for the validation of the mapping of small-scale fisher's landing and smoking sites done by the Environmental Justice Foundation.
"So we look forward to this exercise. Small-scale fishers' development in Liberia is key to the fisheries sector. As development partners, we are always available to work with other colleagues and NaFAA as a sectoral lead to ensure we have a well-developed and sustainable fisheries sector," he said.
