‘Ba-Nafaa’ Convenes Training on Sole Fisheries Co-Management

The Daily Observer (Banjul)

Amadou Jallow

18 May 2011

The ‘Ba-Nafaa’ fisheries project Tuesday convened a one-day training for fish dealers on the co-management plans of sole fisheries in The Gambia. The training was held at the Laico Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.

‘Ba-Nafaa’ meaning (marine benefits) fisheries project is a five-year regional initiative supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/West Africa Regional Mission at a tune of US$2.5 million. It is implemented through the University of Rhode Island (URI)-USAID Cooperative Agreement on Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems.

The World Wide Fund West Africa Marine Eco-Regional (WAMER) Programme is the regional implementing partner of the project. The activities of the project are carried out in partnership with the Department of Fisheries and stakeholders in the fisheries sector in The Gambia.

Speaking at the occasion, Nfamara Dampha, the director of Fisheries, said the training is expected to outline the process that led to the development of a draft co-management plan for the sole fishery, review and validate the plan. Dampha described the training as an important gathering and called on participants to present a thorough review of the co-management plan and make valuable comments and suggestions that will be incorporated in the final draft of the plan.

Dr. Katie Castro from the University of Rhode Islands in The United States, said the co-management of sole fisheries is an important aspect in the sustainability of The Gambia’s fisheries sector.

For his part, Ousman Drammeh, the coordinator of the ‘Ba-Nafaa’ project, disclosed that the USAID funding of the programme is part of the US Congressional earmark for biodiversity conservation within USAID.

As the biodiversity assets and threats assessment of marine fishery related resources of The Gambia and Senegal are based on a desktop review of many reports and documents, Drammeh used the opportunity to urge participants to be proactive during the training so that the ultimate target of the project can be achieved.

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