AUDIT REPORT USAID/BRAZIL FISH PRODUCTION,PROCESSING AND MARKETING PROJECT NO. 512-15-180-247.4NE

EVALUATION BASED ON DOCUMENTS, ON-SITE OBSERVATIONS & INTERVIEWS. AID HAS PROVIDED ADEQUATE SPECIALISTS, CONSULTANTS, LAB & FIELD RESEARCH EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES, AND SPECIALTY TRAINING FOR 14 TECHNICIANS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE PROJECT. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT WAS ALSO MADE IN REORGANIZING THE FISHERIES DEPT WITHIN DNOC (IMPLEMENTING AGENCY). FISH DEMONSTRATIONS ARE BEING INITIATED AT 2 SALTING HOUSES; OVER 20 SPECIES OF FRESHWATER FISH & SHRIMP HAVE BEEN FARMED; FISH CULTURE LEVELS HAVE BEEN EVALUATED; AND REPRODUCTIVE & FEEDING EXPERIMENTS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. ALL FISHERY TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES ARE BEING CONSIDERED UNDER A DIRECTORY OF FISHERIES & FISH CULTURE. THE LARGEST FISH FARMING SITE IN S AMERICA HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED (52 OF THE 100 PLANNED PONDS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED), AS WELL AS OTHER MINOR SITES (POND CULTURE STATIONS, SMALL RESERVOIRS, AND INTENSIVE POND FISHING CULTURE PROGRAMS). FINALLY, A FRESHWATER FISH MARKETING SURVEY IN CEARA WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE HOW POND FISH FARMERS CAN INCREASE FISH PRICES. ALTHOUGH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE, PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE FAR FROM COMPLETED. DNOCS HAS NOT GATHERED SUFFICIENT STATISTICAL INFORMATION TO MEASURE FISH PRODUCTIVITY IN RESERVOIRS. AN ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH A FISHERMEN"S COOP AT ARARAS HAS FAILED. RESERVOIR PRODUCTION OF FISH HAS DECREASED AND POOR FRESHWATER FISH MARKETING HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED SINCE FARMERS ARE RELUCTANT TO ABANDON TRADITIONAL MARKETING SYSTEMS. FURTHER, THERE HAS BEEN A LACK OF COORDINATION BETWEEN THE FISH HATCHERY AND FISH CULTURE UNITS IN DNOCS, FUNDING DELAYS, AND RELUCTANCE OF CANDIDATES TO ACCEPT US TRAINING PROGRAMS DUE TO LOW US PER DIEM RATES. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT PROCEDURES BE DEVELOPED TO INSURE MORE TIMELY FUNDING AND IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION, AND THAT DNOCS SUPPLY AID WITH AN INVENTORY OF ALL AID-FINANCED NON-EXPENDABLE ITEMS.