The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources, Amdaou Saine expressed deep appreciation for the immense contribution of the European Commission (EC) to the fisheries department.
He noted that the EC's contribution is in no small measure, in strengthening of the fisheries department.
Mr Saine made these remarks at the official handing-over of some material assistance to the fisheries department that included two vehicles, two motorbikes, four computers, two laptops, printers, fax machines, consumables, inspection equipment and other materials.
He added that as part of the EC Funded Programme for strengthening of fishery products, health condition in ACP and OCT countries (SFP), the fisheries department received material assistance from the EC under the framework of the SFP Programme in support of the Competent Authority Inspection, approval and certification activities on the official sanitary control of health products.
In receiving the materials on behalf of the Gambia Government, the permanent secretary, Amadou Saine, stated that the donated materials would go a long way to enhancing the state of competitiveness and market access of fishery products in international trade and improving the health standards of locally consumed products.
In his handing-over speech, the director of fisheries, Nfamara Dampha, said the fisheries department was happy to receive the equipment and assured the donors that the material will be used for the benefit of ensuring that fish and fishery products meet the required standards.
"The objective of providing the equipment was to support the Competent Authority (CA) in the
He added that the equipment and materials will enable the CA to improve the control system in the fish processing chain.
He added that improving the National Control of fishery product will not be achieved overnight and will involve not only the authorities, but also the industry to continuously improve their standards and facilities, operation and documentation.
There is therefore a need for further assistance from other EU-funded Programme to provide the continued support for the development of the National Control System and the analytical capacity of testing laboratories.
