Evaluation of fishery and aquaculture programs of the Agency for International Development

fisheries assistance programs have potential benefits, both immediate and long-term, far outweighing their costs. Thus concludes this report, which reviews A.I.D.'s fisheries and aquaculture assistance program in order to identify promising mechanisms for future projects. Four project mechanisms used by A.I.D. to support fisheries and aquaculture are reviewed. Detailed analysis is made of the Korean Fisheries Revitalization Program (1956-64), which was directly funded and supervised by A.I.D. in-country, and of 211(d) fisheries and aquaculture programs at the University of Rhode Island and Auburn University (1969-79). Less detailed analysis is presented of projects in which A.I.D. played a minor role in assisting fisheries development projects implemented by an international or regional entity, e.g., the Guinean Trawler Survey (1962-66), the East African Freshwater Fisheries Organization Project (1967-72), or by a foreign government, e.g., in the Philippines and India (1952-62). Successful programs, it is noted, have featured, on the side of host countries, good resource bases, a traditional importance of fish in the local diet and economy, and strong governmental commitment. Key U.S. ingredients have been major financial backing and long-term commitments, stress on programs encompassing all aspects of a fishery, provision of expert and experienced advisors, cooperation with local institutions, and flexible administration. It is recommended that the United States provide fisheries assistance to developing countries on both humanitarian and politically strategic grounds and because of the United States's perhaps unique technical and institutional capability. It is also recommended that A.I.D., which should remain the primary sponsor and coordinator of U.S. assistance programs: remove fisheries programs from the agricultural office; develop a fisheries headquarters and field staff and a coherent fisheries strategy; use universities for expertise not readily available in-house; and focus assistance on fisheries management, capture fisheries, and aquacultural activities.