The Government of Liberia, through the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), has stated that it is committed to ensuring that the established Collaborative Management Associations (CMAs) are financially empowered and technically equipped to carry out their responsibilities in various fishing communities.
Speaking over the weekend when NaFAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with seven different CMAs at its Corporate Headquarters on Bushrod Island, Deputy Director General for Technical Services Hon. William Y. Boeh disclosed that the CMAs are pivotal to the fisheries sector.
The Environmental Justice Foundation established the seven CMAs in 2022 and 2023 under the EU-funded Communities for Fisheries Project in four coastal counties, including Grand Cape Mount, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Grand Kru.
Commenting on some of the responsibilities of the CMAs, Hon. Boeh stated that the CMAs are there to assist the government through NaFAA in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and also to help NaFAA’s Compliance and Enforcement teams in collecting fishing license fees. He disclosed that the Management of NaFAA is prepared to allocate 30% of the revenue collected during compliance and enforcement exercises to the CMAs for their operations.
However, Hon. Boeh called on the European Union (EU) to finance the establishment of CMAs in Rivercess and Maryland Counties, as there is a need for local fishing organizations in those two remaining counties to help reduce illegal fishing activities.
Also making remarks on behalf of the EU during the CMA MOU signing ceremony, Green Economy Team Leader Madam Montse Pantaleoni disclosed that the EU is shortly launching a new fisheries and agriculture project aimed at strengthening the value chain. Madam Pantaleoni mentioned that the European Union is very confident that the new fisheries and agriculture project will lead to transformation throughout Liberia.
She further stated that the EU is prepared to work collectively with both NaFAA and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to enhance transformation in the two sectors.
At the same time, EJF’s Program Officer, Mr. Augustine Fayiah, emphasized that the signing ceremony indicates that the Liberian Fisheries Authority is committed to ensuring significant improvements in the fisheries sector.
“By this gathering today, it shows that NaFAA is prepared to go beyond just the signing ceremony, but to live up to their commitment to ensure that CMAs are active in their responsibilities.”
He challenged the established CMA leadership to ensure that they continue their efforts to make certain that all fishing communities are secure and that illegal fishing activities are drastically reduced.
Moreover, co-management, or collaborative management authority, is a global initiative that brings fishers and fishing communities into partnership with the government to manage fisheries resources to ensure sustainability and improve livelihoods for fishing communities, accounting for resources. This form of management shifts resource management from centralized approaches to decentralized and participatory methods that incorporate multi-level institutions and empower communities to contribute to fishery management.
In Liberia, a co-management approach was adopted and named Collaborative Management Association (CMA) to collaboratively and sustainably manage the country’s small-scale fishery, whose viability is threatened by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, overfishing, and changing climate conditions.
It can be recalled that the CMA was established in 2012 in Grand Cape Mount County under the World Bank-funded West African Regional Fisheries Program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Bureau of National Fisheries (now known as NaFAA) and local fishers.
Currently, there are eight active CMAs in Liberia: the Grand Cape Mount County Regions I, II, and III CMAs, the Montserrado and Bomi CMA, the Margibi County CMA, the Grand Bassa County CMA, and the Grand Kru County Grand Cess & Sass Town CMAs. The Margibi County CMA, the Grand Bassa County CMA, the Grand Kru County CMA, and the Grand Cape Mount County Regions I, II, and III are the most recent CMAs established in 2022 and 2023 through the Communities for Fisheries project.
The support for the CMAs has led to the formation of gender-sensitive, democratically elected leadership, the development of the CMA constitution and Policy and Strategy Document, and the construction of CMA offices in three counties: Grand Bassa, Margibi, and Grand Kru.
NaFAA’s vision for the CMAs is to guide, develop, empower, and promote fisheries co-management by delegating responsibilities for the sustainability of Liberia’s fisheries resources.
NaFAA aims to develop and strengthen the capacities of co-management associations so that they are empowered to manage fisheries resources and associated ecosystems sustainably through technical and financial support.
NaFAA will also support the operations of co-management associations and committees, monitor, coordinate, and evaluate all CMA implementation plans, and develop linkages among local and international stakeholders for enhanced co-management and learning at all levels.
