Title: The Economic Potential and Feasibility of a Landing Site Investment in the Artisanal Small Pelagic Fishery of Sierra Leone

The marine artisanal fishery in Sierra Leone is based primary on small pelagic species, with the clupeids (Sardinella species and Ethmalosa fimbriata) constituting about 60% of total landings. The fishery is conducted by numerous small scale fishermen using simple technology. The goal of this study was to investigate possibilities for economic improvements in this fishery with a special focus on two fishing communities, the Portee and Old Wharf communities in the Freetown area. A simple bio-economic model was developed to describe the fishery. An economic and socially reasonable path from the current fishing effort was then calculated. The bio-economic model was used to calculate the net benefits of reduced fishing effort in the fishery and the possible net benefits of the construction of fishery landing site for the Portee and Old Wharf fishing communities. The results from this study indicate that the fishing effort (no. of boats) required to achieve maximum sustainable economic benefits from the pelagic fishery is about one-third of the current fishing effort. At this level of fishing effort, the model predicts that the sustainable harvest will increase and substantial net economic benefits in terms of profits and rents will be generated. A cost benefit study of the proposed landing site construction indicates that this project will have a positive present value provided a good fishery management is put in place.