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StoryΒ written by Liberia News Agency (LINA)
The European Union-funded Project (Communities for Fisheries) implemented by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), has unveiled plans to further impact the Liberian Fisheries sector through the mapping of fishersβ landing smoking spaces and Territorial Use rights for Fishing (TURF).
The plans are for Collaborative Management Associations (CMAs) to support the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) to manage these areas in ensuring sustainable fisheries, a NaFAA release issued Saturday, July 6, 2024.
The release said the disclosure was made during the EU-funded projectβs Steering Committee meeting, held in Monrovia recently.
At the meeting, the EJF West Africa Regional Manager, Cephas Asare explained that the TURF is an area-based fishing right that allocates secure, exclusive privileges to fish in a specified area to groups.
Additionally, he said that EJF will provide investigative reporting training for 20 journalists in Liberia.
Mr. Asare emphasized that the training aims to empower Liberian journalists to bring attention to fisheries, highlighting its crucial contribution to food security and supporting NaFAA in the fight against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
At the same time, EJF plans to collaborate with NaFAA to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CMAs.
Furthermore, Mr. Asare said that as part of the 2024 plan, three office structures will be built for Sass Town, Grand Cape Mount County region one and two CMAs.
For her part, Ms. Maria Winnubst, a member of the European Union Delegation to Liberia overseeing the Communities for Fisheries project, mentioned that their ongoing interventions in the Liberian Fisheries sector are ending, however, she disclosed that the EU plans to initiate a new program for fisheries.
Focusing on the marine sector, she said that the EU will provide technical assistance to NaFAA in the areas of governance in marine fisheries to support the CMAs, the Aquaculture sector, visibility for fisheries through journalists training, and combating IUU.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director General for Technical Services at NaFAA, William Y. Boeh, hailed the European Union and EJF for the high level of transformational support to the Liberian fisheries sector.
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