6. The Expert Consultation stressed the importance of the fisheries sector in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly with regard to protein intake, food security, employment and more recently export of fish. It was further acknowledged that the small-scale sector was providing up to 80 percent of fisheries products for domestic consumption, from marine and inland fisheries. Hence, it was noted that inland fisheries based on a wide range of aquatic systems (such as floodplains, rivers, dams and small-lakes, large lakes, lagoons and estuaries) were mainly small-scale.
7. Characteristics of small-scale fisheries were identified as being, inter alia, high labour intensity, strong community ties, the use of numerous landing sites, as well as fragile livelihood conditions and exposure to vulnerability. It was however recognized that small-scale fisheries in sub-Saharan Africa were rapidly evolving and undergoing profound changes. Hence they are not easy to define precisely, ranging from shore-based subsistence fisheries or one-person dugout canoes to those using 18 m West African canoes with crew numbers exceeding 25 people.
8. The Consultation also noted that over the last two decades, there was a considerable growth in the number of artisanal fishers and consequently an increase in the population whose livelihood depended on small-scale fisheries. This could involve as much as ten percent of the population in countries like Ghana or Senegal. The number of fishers is further seasonally inflated with many farmers practising part-time fishing in riverine and lake fisheries. Simultaneously there has been rapid growth in fishing capacity, particularly in marine fisheries with the widespread use of outboard engines and more efficient gear enabling fishers to reach deeper and more distant waters. Products from small-scale fisheries are also increasingly entering the export market.
9. The Consultation observed that available statistics underestimate the reality of the situation and identified an urgent need to put in place effective monitoring mechanisms for assessing basic fishing capacity and socio-economic indicators, as well as net economic outputs of the sector. The view was shared that, in many countries, the social and economic importance of small-scale fisheries was not adequately recognized in macro-economic policies, particularly where industrial fishing is a major economic activity.
10. However, it was also stressed that trends indicate that the small-scale sector is increasingly contributing to excessive fishing pressure on sub-Saharan fisheries. From a fisheries management perspective, the prevailing management regime in some countries does not include mechanisms for limiting entry and harvesting of fisheries resources. Hence, licensing schemes are only in place in a few countries and economic rent from small-scale fisheries is generally dissipated.
