Donors have pledged $240 million to help Africa manage its fisheries which green groups say are being depleted by pirates and rapacious foreign trawlers in another blow to the world's poorest continent.
"The funding will be used to assist countries' efforts to better manage their marine fisheries and improve the living conditions of fishing communities," conservation group WWF said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Among the activities eligible for support through the Fund are community-driven management programs that monitor, control and keep surveillance on fisheries and marine protected areas as well as programs that develop alternative livelihoods to fishing," WWF said.
The partnership involves the World Bank, the African Union, WWF and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
"This partnership includes a commitment of $60 million from the World Bank's Global Environment Facility, which is to be matched 3-1 in funds from other donors for a total of approximately $240 million over the next 10 years," WWF said.
WWF said fisheries were a key source of protein and provided millions of coastal Africans with an income.
"Fish already make a vital contribution to the food and nutritional security of 200 million Africans and provide income for over 10 million, mostly small-scale fishers, farmers and entrepreneurs engaged in fish production, processing and trade," it said.
"In addition, fish have become a leading export commodity for Africa, with an annual export value of $2.7 billion."
But like their global counterparts, Africa's fish stocks are suffering.
The United Nations estimates around 75 percent of the world's fisheries have been pushed to their limits, and Africa's coastlines are seen as a target for pirates as the region has few resources to enforce regulations at sea.
Earlier this year environmental group Greenpeace helped impoverished Guinea hunt for foreign trawlers fishing illegally in West African waters.
Source: Reuters
