Fisheries development phase II

The project, to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture"s Fisheries Department (SEP) and the Cooperative Association of Marine Fishermen (ACPM) with the help of an AID-funded contractor, focuses on increasing fish production, improving fish processing and marketing, and upgrading fisheries administration. To double fish catch to 800 tons, a fisheries biologist will head a research program to provide baseline estimates of standing stocks for those species that now form the basis of the Djibouti fishing industry, along with their seasonality, locale, and habits, and to prevent allowable yields. Training of counterpart personnel will be integrated into this effort. In addition, a master fisherman/extension trainer will demonstrate to 40 experienced fishermen effective techniques adaptable to existing craft (troll, trap, longline, and hand-operated reel fishing) and provide more formal training to 60 new participants and crew members in such areas as boat handling, safety, navigation, equipment repair and maintenance, fish handling, and conservation. To reduce storage losses from 7% to 2% and to improve seafood product quality, a short-term consultant will redesign ACPM"s processing workflow and facilities, e.g., by increasing work space and chilled and frozen storage and ice-making capacities and by introducing more efficient equipment to handle new catch levels. On-the-job training will promote more effective on-vessel and in-plant procedures. To market the new production levels, a marketing manager will design a 6-point marketing plan (supply, demand, product analysis, pricing policy, physical distribution, and production promotion). Key objectives will be to increase sales to institutional customers and to establish neighborhood shops with trained managers to attract new retail customers. Sales of fish byproducts and of dried fish will be considered. Finally, a marine economist/management expert, a management/finance advisor, and short-term consultants will help SEP to mount and maintain a national fisheries program and will provide TA and training to upgrade ACPM management systems.