Liberia has been selected to host the World Fisheries Day 2019. Liberia Artisanal Fishermen Association (LAFA) president Blamo said that the World Fisheries Day celebration will expose Liberia’s artisanal fishing sectors to the rest of Africa’s artisanal fishing communities.
The event, which will take place on November 21, 2019, will bring together Africa’s artisanal fishing communities. This confirmation comes after LAFA made series of nominations over the past years to the Confederation of Africa Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organizations (CAOPA), an umbrella body for Africa’s artisanal fishermen.
In an exclusive interview with the local media, President of LAFA, Jerry Blamo, disclosed that the Republic of Liberia will host twenty-four artisanal fishermen from across the African continent along with dignitaries from international fisheries civil society organizations.
He further added that the National Fisheries Aquaculture Authority (NaFFA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the leadership of local artisanal fishermen are collaborating to ensure that the event is successfully held.
On-sea deaths, gender equality, storage infrastructure, fisheries regulations, are issues facing the artisanal fishing communities in Liberia. However, Blamo believes that the involvement of CAOPA and international fisheries civil society organizations, Liberia’s artisanal fishers’ leadership and the national fisheries authority can learn new ways to collectively solve some of the problems facing the artisanal fisheries sector.
Since the establishment of CAOPA in 1999, African artisanal fisheries communities gather once every year on the continent to celebrate the World Fisheries Day Celebration. African communities, for the past years, have discussed the sustainability of artisanal fisheries with regards to women role in leadership, best fishing practices and revision on the SFG, a document which FAO and fishing communities from across the globe jointly developed.