By Alieu Amara Suwu
Promoting responsible fishing in Sierra Leone through and optimizing revenue generation through rational planning, management, and conservation of all living aquatic resources of the country for the benefit of present and future generations, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has advanced for NLe 159,419.5 million for the 2025 financial year.
The requested amounts for the financial year, as recorded by Sheku Sei, Head of Marine Artisanal Fisheries, are for women’s empowerment in the fishery sector, to increase sustainable marine artisanal fisheries production from 122,000 to 150,000 tons per annum to enhance food and national security, to increase fish production from the aquaculture sector from 40,000 tons to 100,000 tons per annum, to strengthen and enhance the monitoring and surveillance system, to strengthen competent authority for effective fish quality control and export, to construct a fish-bonded industrial pack (fish harbour) and to rehabilitate fisheries infrastructure.
To undertake these public investment programmes, according to him, it will cost NLe 135, 641 million and a recurrent expenditure of NLe 29, 431 million. And said their policy objective for next year is to provide effective and efficient resource management and enhance capacity building of staff of the Ministry for quality service delivery.
He said the Fisheries and Marine Resources Sector is key for the delivery of the Feed Salone Initiative and presents a competitive business environment through fish production of about 200,000 to 250,000 metric tons per annum. He said over 80% of Sierra Leoneans consume fish as their main source of animal protein, with average per capita consumption of around 22.6 kg of fish per year, and Sierra Leone fish consumption is above the average consumption of 11.2 kg for the rest of West Africa and the global average of 20 kg.
He continued to say that the sector provides employment for over 1,000,000 people (about 14% of the total population), and about 45% of their total annual fish production (112,500) is sold in their local markets in Sierra Leone.
Under the socio-economic context, he said the fisheries sector contributes about 12% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Sierra Leone economy, saying that the sector also provides employment for about 1,000,000 people (about 14% of the total population).
Making a case on the challenges, he said the crew manning the Fisheries Patrol Vessel are not on government payroll but on contract; they need more funds to support surveillance patrols; too much illegal fishing nets used by their people in the artisanal fisheries sector; inadequate fish feed formulation materials and technology to promote commercial fish farming; produce over 50,000 tons of fish from the aquaculture sector; and more support is needed for aquaculture extension services.
