Ahead of World Fisheries Day on November 21, Cameroon has singled out a day to promote the Cameroonian shrimp.
Organized within the context of the FISH4ACP project of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OEACP), the double celebration is billed to take place in Kribi’s for Mayi village—the historic Batanga community site of the Lobé river on the Atlantic Ocean.
The event will provide an avenue for the general public and experts within the platform to discuss, share information, and learn about other parts of various value chains.
Shrimp fishing in Cameroon is one of the 12 value chains benefiting from the FISH4ACP program started in 2021. Implementing the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OEACP) initiative, financed by the European Union and the German BMZ Cooperation, the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries, and Animal Industries is collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The program outlines a ten-year plan for the shrimp business, an upgrade strategy developed and approved in October 2022 after a phase of data collection and analysis.
Fishery workers from 33 nations established the World Forum of Fishermen and Fishery Workers and World Fishermen’s Day in New Delhi on November 21, 1997, emphasizing the value of uniting fishermen, a socio-professional group known for their independence.
This is a unique chance to emphasize the value of the fishing sector, encourage sustainable marine resource management, and acknowledge the vital role that the seas play in supporting life on Earth. It is equally an opportunity to educate the public about the problems associated with fishing and the importance of protecting our priceless marine environments. Given the issues of overfishing, pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss, this festival honors the efforts of fishermen and governments and their dedication to responsible fishing. In addition to being the nation’s primary export of fishery products (a source of foreign exchange), shrimp from the Wouri River—named Rio dos Camarones after Portuguese explorers discovered it—are also vital to the local economy. Conflicts of use jeopardizing the sustainability (social, economic, and environmental) of Cameroon’s shrimp value chain are associated with industrial and artisanal fishing and several stakeholders.
Against this backdrop, the FISH4ACP project, which encompasses the South (Ocean Department), Littoral (Wouri and Sanaga Maritime), and South-West (Ndian and Fako) regions, is organizing tangible activities like creating a fisheries management plan, surveying small-scale maritime fishing, onboarding observers for industrial fishing, creating digital tools for tracking fishing effort, and several activities about access to lucrative markets…
FISH4ACP is at a turning point in 2024 after achieving important outcomes like updating the industrial and artisanal shrimp fisheries management plan, identifying shrimp producers in small-scale maritime fishing and creating digital tools to track them, putting observers on board trawlers, and supporting the Multipartite Platform. It was asked to continue implementing this approach, crucial for the sector’s sustainability and development and involves actors and stakeholders, before the project’s completion in 2025.
In keeping with FISH4ACP’s goals, activities will raise awareness and support the economic growth and sustainability of fishing in general and the Cameroon shrimp value chain in particular.