North Atlantic Seafood Forum

Encouraging a paradigm shift in West Africa
Tuesday 5 March 2024
Bergen, NorwayÁrni M. Mathiesen
Independent Chair - Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients
Senior Advisor - Iceland Ocean Cluster

The Situation in West Africa:• The 2022 FAO Report• The 2023 Global Roundtable Report,
commissioned to Partner Africa• The FAO, Global Roundtable, Iceland
Ocean Cluster Workshop in in Accra,
Ghana

The traditional value chain is losing out ina resource and consumer competition

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The situation in West Africa
Market competition and changingpopulation preferences:
Global fish price increases over a longtime. LIFD communities cannot compete
for the fish.
Lowered prices of replacement protein
food products, like imported chicken inAfrica from Brazil. Fishermen andprocessors cannot pass on increased
prices.
Changing consumer preferences due tosocio-economic changes. Other protein
available including other fish productpossibly from aquaculture, Tilapia, Clarius
catfish. etc.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa
Developing industries, rules andregulations not applied, costs notinternalised:
Low running costs of factories not fulfilling
environmental and quality requirements,
not internalising costs improvescompetitiveness of factories.
Low running costs of factories due tosubstandard working conditions, evenhuman rights breeches, not internalisingcosts improves competitiveness offactories.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa
Stock management:

Low stock status including effects ofmanagement reactions and possible
climate change effects. Minorchanges affect smaller boats morethan larger vessels.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa
Preferences of authorities:Authorities generally favouring
factory operations, easier to collectfees and taxes of various kind, andgenerate foreign currency revenues.
Leads to rules and regulations notenforced, traditional tenure rights
and fishing rights (socio-economic
human rights to food) not protected.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa

What can be done?

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa
Actions going forward
1. Improve stock management by improved regional
cooperation and national implementation. Securingthat enough mature stock spawns and that juveniles
get a chance to grow to maturity before beingcaught. Increased research and stock evaluation.
Enforce fisheries policies and regulations.
2. Enforce rules and regulations, regarding
environment, quality and infrastructure, improve if
needed, to bring factories up to international
standards. Internalising costs and levelling playing
fields.

3. Enforce rules and regulations, regarding working
conditions and human rights, improve if needed, tobring factories and vessel operators up tointernational standards. Internalising costs andlevelling playing fields.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The Situation in West Africa

Actions going forward 2
1. Alterations of catch strategies. Implementing ahierarchy of use and splitting quotas accordingly
based on catch and processing histories. (Problem,possible data deficiency).
2. Transparent licence fee and resource tax collection
and use. Use for managing trade-offs and to alleviate
unavoidable socio-economic changes.
3. Put an effort in to increased utilisation of catch andincreased value. Through less waste, better quality,
new markets and new products.
4. Improved data gathering and processing to facilitate
data driven fishery management.

Painting by Pavica Pirc

The situation in West Africa

The traditional value chain is losing out in aresource and consumer competition !
Summary of Actions Going Forward:
Improved governance, improved enforcementof rules and regulations, improved
management.
Respecting rules, regulations andcommitments!