First Quarterly Report: October 1 – December 31, 2012, USAID/COMFISH Project

The project is implemented through a cooperative agreement between USAID and the University of Rhode Island (URI), with key implementation partners including government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, universities, research institutes, and other NGOs. The project's goal is to strengthen the enabling conditions necessary for improved governance and promote the use of effective management tools and approaches, focusing on aspects of sustainability, social, institutional, and biological. The project's objective is to develop plans for the participatory management of targeted priority stocks by using the CLPA as an entry point at the institutional level. This initiative aims to integrate institutional, administrative, socio-economic, and environmental aspects into the process of establishing a sustainable ecosystem-based collaborative management of fisheries resources in Senegal. The project also seeks to increase the resilience of coastal marine ecosystems and populations to the effects of climate change. Activities conducted during the first quarter of 2013 focused on human resource capacity development, institutional capacity, and natural resources management. The project established new Local Conventions in zones covered by the CLPAs of Yenne/Dialaw, Rufisque/Bargny, and Cayar to complete the UGD on sardinella. Draft agreements were discussed and validated during a meeting of the ICC, and relay workers were selected during three workshops held in Rufisque, Yenne, and Cayar. Capacity-building activities were also conducted during this quarter, including training sessions to improve the processing unit of the Mantoulaye Guène Economic Interest Group (EIG) in Cayar, and activities to help build the capacities of stakeholders and local and national institutions for the establishment of Sustainable Management Units for priority stocks. The project also conducted activities under the climate change component, including the start of the vulnerability assessment and capacity-strengthening of vulnerable coastal communities on adaptation to climate change impacts. Implementation of studies conducted in FY2012 continued during this quarter, and evaluation of their findings is planned during the second quarter. Administrative steps and environmental procedures for the establishment of a modern artisanal fish processing unit of Cayar were also completed during this quarter. The project's activities are expected to contribute to the effective preparation of local conventions with a view to implementing management plans and promoting sustainable management of fisheries resources in Senegal. The project's implementation partners include government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, universities, research institutes, and other NGOs. The project's goal is to support the Government of Senegal's efforts to achieve reform of its fisheries sector by strengthening the enabling conditions necessary for improved governance and promoting the use of effective management tools and approaches. The project's activities are expected to promote biodiversity conservation objectives while taking into consideration cross-cutting issues such as improved governance, a gender-sensitive approach, and adaptation to climate change. The project's focus on sustainable management of fisheries resources in Senegal is expected to contribute to the development and duplication of new sustainable fishing methods. The project's activities are expected to promote the use of effective management tools and approaches, focusing on aspects of sustainability, social, institutional, and biological. The project's implementation is expected to increase the resilience of coastal marine ecosystems and populations to the effects of climate change.