Policy reform ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN QUARTER ONE

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3. ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN QUARTER ONE

3.1. Policy reform

The highlights on policy reform in the first quarter were a series of events in which the project played an active role: • Pre-validation of the national sardinella fisheries management plan The sardinella management plan is an operational tool used to implement the Sector Policy Letter and achieve its strategic objectives. The plan is aligned with Senegal’s policies for reducing poverty through wealth creation and food security. Owing to the weaknesses in sardinella resource management at the central level, local initiatives for sardinella fisheries management have been on the rise. Such initiatives need to be strengthened and supported along with the ongoing activities for collaborative management which Senegal is conducting to achieve a sustainable fisheries future. USAIDCOMFISH took part in the pre-validation meeting which was organized by the National Committee for Management of Small Pelagics. The participants in this meeting underlined the need to further develop local initiatives for sardinella fisheries management, and to articulate the national plan with the collaborative management initiatives implemented by the USAIDCOMFISH project and the other projects supporting DPM in this area. It is in this respect that the meeting requested USAIDCOMFISH to finalize the sardinella management plans at the local level so as to contribute towards the smooth implementation of Senegal’s National Sardinella Management Plan. • National meeting for validation of the national strategy against IUU fishing In accordance with Senegal’s international commitments on the conservation and surveillance of fisheries resources, DPSP has developed a national Action Plan against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing PAN-INN. The USAIDCOMFISH project’s 2013 study on IUU fishing made an important contribution to the process of developing this Plan. The study findings provided decision and policy makers with an estimated amount of IUU fishing in Senegal, as well as the potential losses that the Senegalese economy suffers as a result. The initial findings of the study were that the IUU catches in 20102011 amounted to about 145,000 billion CFA Francs using a wholesale price of 366 CFA francs per kg, which is equivalent to US292,000,000 or US2.9 billion for a period of ten years. The plan that Senegal approved recently to finance the implementation of the national Action Plan against IUU fishing calls for a budget of 57 billion CFA francs. The USAIDCOMFISH project played an active role during this meeting held on December 11, 2013 in Dakar. • Supporting DPM by contributing to improve the system of outreachextension for the promotion of fisheries in Senegal Senegal’s Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs has always considered outreach and extension work as a key area in its professional program of action for stakeholders in marine fisheries. This is why it established CAMP Support Mechanism for the Motorization of Canoes, CAPAS Support Mechanism for Artisanal Fisheries in Senegal, CAEP Center for Support, Experimentation and Outreach to Artisanal Fisheries, and PCC Center for Development, Experimentation and Outreach to Fisheries. However, these initiatives were not based on the real needs of fisheries stakeholders, and consequently obtained results below expectations That is why the USAIDCOMFISH project decided recently, as a response to requests from the Department of Marine Fisheries, to provide support together with IUPA for a thorough diagnosis of the outreach and extension initiatives conducted for the promotion of Senegal’s fisheries sector. The work done in this area will help facilitate the 7 implementation of a human and institutional capacity development plan for outreach and extension work. • Pursuing consultations on climate change The project continued to hold consultations with decision and policy makers with a view to enhancing the mainstreaming of climate change issues in the formulation of fisheries policies. In this regard, the Steering Committee held two meetings at DPM and DEEC to prepare the final reporting back session on the diagnostic study on consultation frameworks, which the USAIDCOMFISH project and COMNACC conducted on climate change, fisheries and the marine and coastal environment. After this session, the policy mainstreaming platform for fisheriesclimate change will be established formally.

3.2. Developing the capacity of local stakeholders to establish CLPA consultation frameworks