Mauritania’s artisanal fishing industry will receive a major boost after its government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
The fund will finance AED 24 million (USD 6.5 million, EUR 5.5 million) toward refurbishment and modernization of the Tanit fishing port.
The financing will support the renovation and development of an ice factory to better enable local fishermen to benefit from the country's fisheries economy, increase export capacity, and contribute to the nation's food security strategy, according to ADFD.
“The project also aims to increase operational efficiency and improve services for fishermen and providing cooled storage spaces and fish processing service, enabling them to better benefit from the fish-rich coasts of Mauritania,” an ADFD statement said.
ADFD Director-General Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi and Mauritania Minister of Economic Affairs and Promotion of Productive Sectors Ousmane Mamoudou Kane signed the MoU for upgrades to the fishing port, which is currently able to dock approximately 400 small- and medium-sized boats. The port also has a 1,740-square-meter fish market.
“The modernization of the Tanit fishing port represents an opportunity to directly impact the livelihoods of local fishing families while contributing to national economic growth and a number of national strategic priorities, including environmental preservation of the Tanit fishery as well as the Mauritania food security strategy," Suwaidi said.
According to Kane, the partnership with AFDF has been “pivotal” for the country’s goals to improve infrastructure.
“This funding will help improve the facilities and service at Tanit fishing port, which in turn will contribute to socio-economic development, increase export capacity, and achieve sustainable development,” Kane said.
With the upgrading of the fishing port, Mauritania fishers will have “access to refrigeration storage and rapid freezing units required to operate the Tanit fish processing plant, which improves access to the fish export market.”
“The project will also enhance safety of maritime navigation into and out of the port, add a 150-square-meter boat repair and maintenance workshop as well as a range of equipment and facilities designed to improve port services and efficiencies,” ADFD said.
Mauritania’s fishing industry accounts for up to 58 percent of the country’s exports and 10 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
An estimated 900,000 metric tons of fish are exported from Mauritania annually, making the country the largest Arab exporter of fish.
The ADFD financing comes a few months after Mauritania and the European Union signed a new five-year partnership agreement, replacing one signed in 2008, which allows E.U. fishing vessels access to the country’s designated fisheries “taking into account the best scientific advice in the context of increased monitoring of the state of fisheries resources concerned.”
In addition to payments from European fishermen, the E.U. will devote EUR 57.5 million (USD 68 million) annually to the partnership. The E.U. will also pay another EUR 16.5 million (USD 19.4 million), “as sectoral support to accompany the implementation of the Mauritanian national strategy by measures approved jointly.”
Photo courtesy of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development
