A 10 Year Action Plan for Small Scale Fisheries Development in Africa

The African Small Scale Fisheries account for more than 60 % of Africa’s fisheries production and almost all the catches from the sector are destined for human consumption. The sector provides significant employment and income for poor rural communities. For many of those involved in small scale fisheries, the sector represents a way of life. The contribution of SSF to GDP in the whole Africa is estimated at 0,76%. Ten million Africans rely on small scale fisheries as their primary livelihood, and a further 90 million (farmers and resource poor) depend on fishing as part of a diversified livelihood strategy. More than 200 million Africans rely on fish as an affordable source of protein and important micro-nutrients and in most countries in Africa, small scale fishers account for the bulk of the local fish supply. For many millions of people in Africa, fishing and aquaculture is the only available source of jobs, income and animal protein, and the constraints associated with this – particularly in the context of free access and depleted fish stocks, and lack of effective management in the marine and inland small scale fisheries - represent a significant policy and good governance challenge for many African governments.