Marine Resources: What Can Sierra Leone Offer You?

1. Availability of high-value exportable fish: The country has 570 kilometers of coastline and a continental shelf of about 30,000 square kilometers that contains commercially viable stocks of pelagic and demersal fish, shrimp, octopus, squid, lobsters, and crabs. Among the high-value exportable fish are snapper, grouper, catfish, barracuda, tuna, cuttlefish, herring, and sea bream. Recent assessments suggest that legal, direct exports of fish and shrimps, valued at $443,800 in 2007, are well below their potential. (Source: Fisheries of Sierra Leone, third edition 2008).

2. Favorable conditions for developing fish nurseries: The country’s rivers, estuaries, and tributaries, with their extensive mangrove vegetation, provide favorable conditions for sheltering and nursing penaeid shrimp and fish—such as bonga (Ethmalosa fimbriata), croakers (Pseudotolithus sp.), and oysters -if the required investments are made.

3. Investing in the marine resources sector: Although little reliable data exist on Sierra Leone’s inland fishing stocks, the aquatic diversity -16 families of freshwater fish have been identified, comprising an estimated 100 species -suggests that investment in inland fishing may have an annual sustainable yield of 44 metric tons. Sierra Leone also supports an unknown quantity of oysters. With cold storage and supply chain investments, this subsector offers export potential.

4. Un-met regional and domestic demand: Small-scale fishing that focused on local consumption demands amounted to $14-18 million in 2003, and comprised some 600 motorized boats and 7,200 nonmotorized vessels employing 30,500 fishermen. The United Kingdom Department for International Development estimates that the small-scale and commercial catch is about half of its annual potential of 16,000-40,000 metric tons of freshwater fish, 55,000 metric tons of pelagic fish, and 85,000-100,000 metric tons of demersal. The potential exists to begin exporting fish regionally.

For more information, contact us at investmentpromotion@sliepa.org.

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