FAO has been recently approved two projects to strengthen community-fisheries in Tonga and Samoa. The aim of the projects is to strengthen the technical capacity for both countries to improve and streamline their community-based fisheries management programmes.

These programmes play an integral role in ensuring the effective management of coastal fisheries resources, which is a primary source of living for the majority of coastal fishing communities in both countries.

The development of these new projects were broadly based on the results of reviews of community-based fisheries management programmes conducted by FAO last year. The main outcome of the reviews identified key recommendations on how to improve their respective programmes.