(Thursday September 01, 2016 Issue)
The
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) country representative has said an
estimated 200,000 people are directly and indirectly dependent on artisanal
fisheries and its related activities for their livelihoods.
She
added that estimated catches from the artisanal sub-sector in 2015 was 53,000
tonnes.
Perpetua
Katepa-Kalala made this statement recently during the signing ceremony of the
Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) Project, on support to enhancing the
capacity of youth and women for employment in aquaculture, with the Ministry of
Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources.
The
project seeks to establish a solid base for the provision of and access to good
quality fingerlings and feed, technical and technological know-how, and
managerial and other skills to farmers and officers in order to turn
aquaculture into an economically viable activity.
It
would also be financially self-sustaining and be an employment-generating
sustainable enterprise, a pre-requisite for the sector to develop in a sustainable
manner and make a difference in people’s lives.
The
project would also contribute to FAO Blue Growth Initiative, the main goal of
which is to improve fish supply for food and nutrition through more efficient
and sustainable use of aquaculture resources.
According
to her, FAO recognises the fast-growing contribution aquaculture is making to
food security, hence providing technical assistance through the implementation
of the code of conduct for responsible fisheries, which promotes sustainable aquaculture
development, especially in developing countries, through better environmental
performance of the sector, through health management and biosecurity.
She
also asserted that aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing
sector, now accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the world’s food fish.
The
FAO country representative further stated that the overall growth in
aquaculture production remains relatively strong owing to the increasing demand
for food fish among most producing countries.
FAO
estimates that the world’s food fish aquaculture production rose by 5.8 per
cent to 70.5 million tonnes in 2013, and it employs some 23 million workers, 16 million directly and about 6.5 million indirectly,
she said.
On
the potential of aquaculture in The Gambia, the FAO official said there is a
huge potential to develop commercial and small-scale aquaculture in The Gambia.
She
added that The Gambia enjoys comparative advantages in that the country is
characterised by marine, brackish and fresh water regimes.
Though
The Gambia’s aquaculture is underdeveloped, there are opportunities for
accelerated and sustained growth through the availability and level of
technology, availability of production inputs, support facilities and services,
among others, she stated.
She
noted that almost all the fish farms in The Gambia are earthen or
cement/concrete ponds. There are still
potentials for other technologies, including ice-cum-fish culture, cage, pen,
raceway, tank aquaculture and commercial shrimp production technologies.
