Delegation from Sierra Leone

Study tour of Icelandic fisheries for Sierra Leonean high-level delegation

The objective of the study tour was to offer the guests a comprehensive overview of what Iceland can offer, both over the short term and the long term, as a support for the sustainable development of fisheries in their country.

The delegation included H.E. Minister of Fisheries Ms. Emma Josephine Kowa.

Also in it were Ms. Elizabeth Hawa Ellie, Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kadijatu Jalloh, Director of Fisheries, Mr. Salieu Kabba Sankoh, Project Coordinator, Mr. Sheku Sei, Head of Competent Authority and Mr. lvorymae Coker Fisheries Specialist.

Interestingly, two of the guests are former fellows of GRÓ-FTP, Ms. Kadijatu Jalloh who graduated from the Fisheries Policy and Management line of specialisation in 2009, and Mr. lvorymae Coker who graduated from the Stock Assessment line in 2018.

Organisers: GRÓ-FTP organised and conducted the Training Programme (Stefán Úlfarsson) in cooperation with Matis, the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute and the Directorate of fisheries..

The study tour was sponsored by the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Description

The guests participated in a five-day study tour of Icelandic fisheries, managed by GRÓ-FTP, in cooperation with the Marine and Freshwater Institute, the Directorate of Fisheries, Matís and the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affair (MFA).

Fisheries are very important to Sierra Leone, contributing substantially to the countries’ food security, employment and export. However, its stocks have come under increasing fishing pressure and post-harvest loss of catch posits a formidable challenge.

While GRÓ-FTP has for more than a decade worked with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Sierra Leone to strengthen its institutional capacity, MFA has in recent years complemented those efforts with a range of different types of support.

In fact, the objective of the study tour was to offer the guests a comprehensive overview of what Iceland can offer, both over the short term and the long term, as a support for the sustainable development of fisheries in their country.

To this end, workshops with participation from fisheries experts were held and visits to companies and institutions in the sector organised.

The Sierra Leonean delegation expressed a keen interest in cooperation in the fields of stock assessment, fisheries management, value addition, capacity building, innovation and vocational training amongst others.