The industrial fishery in
Liberia involves bottom trawlers targeting demersal fish and shrimp,
purse seiners and long liners targeting off shore tuna resources,
crab vessels and on-shore cold storage facilities. All industrial
fishing vessels fishing in Liberian waters must carry observers and
Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) as a requirement of obtaining a
license.
Fishing vessels, as well as vessels importing fish, are required to
land their catches under inspection at the fishing pier in the Free
Port of Monrovia; transhipment must also take place in port under
inspection. Fishing vessels that fish in Liberian waters and
companies that import fish are required to pay taxes to the Liberian
Government.
Industrial Fisheries are regulated by the Regulations Relating to
Fisheries, Fishing and Related Activities for the Marine Fisheries
Sector in the Republic of Liberia.
For more information on
Fishing Vessel license information, fisheries and aquaculture
policies, EU-Liberia Sustainable fisheries partnership agreement,
Mou for tuna fishing activities in the waters of Liberia, See
Liberia
Bureau of National Fisheries.
The marine fishery resources of Liberia
are exploited by two fisheries:
- the artisanal canoe fishery operating in estuaries and shallow
inshore waters and extending from the shoreline to a depth of 20–40
m;
- the industrial trawl fishery supposedly operating in open deeper
waters, and targetting at finfish or shrimp.
Liberia has a fairly good potential for various types of fisheries
which are practised in different ecological sectors.
The industrial trawl fishery is directed to several demersal
finfish (croakers, grunts, threadfins, seabreams, sea perches, etc.)
and coastal penaeid shrimps. Industrial fisheries for deep - sea
sparids and deep -sea shrimp are still to be developed. The biomass
and yield potential of fish stocks off the slope are not yet
estimated. But judging from information for adjacent waters, the
abundance of the exploited stocks in Liberian waters is modest.
The shrimp resources exploited in Liberia are similar
to those fished in adjacent waters. Of the three penaeid species
that occur in the shrimp catches of this West African region,
Penaeus notialis is by far the dominant species in the catch,
followed by Parapenaeopsis atlantica, a small coastal species
found in waters to 20 m depth, and Parapenaeus longirostris,
which occurs in low abundance in waters of 100 to 400 m depth.
Inland Fisheries in Liberia
Freshwater bodies cover 15,050 km˛ (14%) of the
total area of Liberia. These include rivers, lakes, lagoons, creeks
and streams that drain to the Atlantic coast. Inland fisheries
contribute approximately 25% of fish consumed by rural dwellers.
Inland fisheries activities take place in all Liberian fresh water
bodies, particularly Liberia’s six major rivers and Lake Piso, an
inland lagoon connected to the sea in the north of the country.
Inland fisheries in Liberia are conducted from shore and dugout
canoes at the artisanal level only, using a variety of fishing gear,
including:
- Hook and hand line
- Fishing net
- Traditional trap
Major species targeted in the inland fisheries of Liberia include
Tilapia and African catfish.
Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile for Liberia
- aquatic species caught by country or area, by species items, by
FAO major fishing areas, and year, for all commercial, industrial,
recreational and subsistence purposes. The harvest from mariculture,
aquaculture and other kinds of fish farming is also included.
Fishery
Committee for The West Central Gulf of Guinea - Member
Countries are Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
Rebuild and maintain robust fisheries resources through policy
reforms, cooperative regulatory planning, good governance and
improvements in institutions. Develop and implement appropriate
management frameworks that ensure fisheries resources are harvested
sustainably, improved intra-regional and international trade of fish
and fishery products and maximum economic and social benefits are
obtained from the fisheries. Develop the capacity of Members’
Small-scale fishers and other operators to create sustainable
livelihoods for their people from the sustainable harvest,
processing and marketing of their fisheries resources. Enhance
national capabilities for efficient, cost effective and sustainable
fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance, and establishing
mechanisms for effective regional cooperation in MCS and enforcement
to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the
West Central Gulf of Guinea. Strengthen cooperative research and
ensure that resource-related decisions are based on sound knowledge,
scientific methodology and best information available. Our Strategic
organizational/functional goal is "To ensure the effective
implementation of the Committee’s work through results-based
management, improved communication, and better financial, human and
knowledge management systems and tools".
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AQUASTAT is FAO's global information
system on water and agriculture developed by the Land and Water
Division. It collects, analyses and disseminates data and
information by country and by region. Its aim is to provide users
interested in global, regional and national analyses with
comprehensive information related to water resources and
agricultural water management across the world, with emphasis on
countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Information for Liberia
Ocean Health Index Liberia - The Ocean Health Index is a valuable tool for the
ongoing assessment of ocean health. By providing a means to advance
comprehensive ocean policy and compare future progress, the Index
can inform decisions about how to use or protect marine ecosystems.
The Index is a collaborative effort, made possible through
contributions from more than 65 scientists/ocean experts and
partnerships between organizations including the National Center for
Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Sea Around Us, Conservation
International, National Geographic, and the New England Aquarium.
Information for Liberia
AQUACULTURE IN LIBERIA
Aquaculture in Liberia is currently very limited,
occurring for the most part as small, freshwater ponds. There are
approximately 1050 small scale fish farmers. There are three fish
hatcheries currently under the supervision of the Division of
Aquaculture and Inland Fisheries:
In addition the use of floating cages emerged in 2009 on the lower
St. Paul River through the initiative of a private entity. This
operation is growing Tilapia spp for the local market. There are
currently approximately 15 cages of this type, each approximately 5
x 10 metres, and holding up to 500 fish.
The Bureau of National Fisheries is currently seeking to expand
aquaculture in Liberia, and seeks expressions of interest in this
regard. Please contact us for more information.
The Liberia
Food Security through Commercialization of Agriculture (FSCA)
Project is among seven national projects in West Africa (Senegal,
Mali, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia)
funded by the Italian Government. The main objective of the
four-year agricultural development project is to support the
development of African agriculture into modern, competitive and
commercially more dynamic sector, while building on the achievements
and lessons learned from the National Programmes for Food Security.
Objective is Increased agricultural productivity, marketed output
and incomes of beneficiaries, resulting in improved livelihood of
Farmer/Fishery Based Organizations (FBO) members. The project
concept emphasizes increased production and commercialization of
crops and fishery products by building capacities of FBOs in:
Agriculture & fishery production as a potential business enterprise
THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY FISH AND
CRUSTACEANS 2014-2018
Liberian fishery resources comprise of different species of fish and
crustaceans, many of which are traditionally consumed in the country
and the sub-region, but also important high value species such as
tuna, long neck cassava fish, napleh, red grouper and sharks
that are not preferred in Liberia but have substantial export
potential in high value markets. Early estimates of stocks in
Liberia, as well as anecdotal evidence from fishing expeditions and
increases in landing volumes, indicate that there is scope for
significant expansion of both the scale and scope of Liberia’s fish
and crustaceans sector.
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