E€OFISH Programme set to contribute to sustainable fisheries for the blue economy of the Eastern and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean regions
Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization, Kisumu, Kenya, 27 January 2020. The Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) is one of the Institutions of the East African Community (EAC) as provided for under Article 9(3) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.
LVFO is a regional inter-governmental organization established by a Convention that was signed in Kisumu, Kenya on 30th June 1994. The Convention has open membership to all of the EAC Partner States and has competence on fisheries and aquaculture resources of the East African Community water bodies.
Currently, LVFO is constituted by four member states, namely the Republics of Kenya, Uganda and Burundi, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
The organization is implementing the E€OFISH programme in the EAC region in Lake Victoria, whose overall objective is to enhance equitable economic growth by promoting sustainable fisheries in the East African-South African-Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region.
The specific objective of the project is “to support sustainable management and development of fisheries in order to contribute to poverty alleviation, food and nutrition security while addressing climate change resilience and enhancing marine biodiversity ”.
The E€OFISH programme is also implemented in four other Regional Economic Communities (RECs), namely SADC, COMESA, IOC and IGAD, with the support of the European Union.
The First E€OFISH Regional Programme Steering Committee (PSC) meeting for the LVFO, which is a high-level policy guidance for efficient implementation of the project, was held on the 24th January 2020 at Imperial Express Hotel in Kisumu, Kenya.
The PSC endorsed the Programme Estimate No.1 with both operational and closure periods from 25th February 2020 to 13th September, 2024 and from 14th September, 2024 to 12 May, 2025 respectively. The cost of the programme is Euro 2,000,000 funded by the European Union under European Development Fund No. 11. 9. The following activities will be implemented by the project :
a) Enhancing the institutional, structural and legal frameworks of LVFO against the backdrop of expanded scope and mandate;
b) Reviewing the performance of Lake Victoria Fisheries Management Plan-III (2016-2020) and drafting the Lake Victoria Fisheries Management Plan-IV (2021-2025);
c) Regional harmonization of the annual licensing of fisheries, fishing boats, and fishers;
d) Expansion and updating of the existing fisheries database;
e) Marking and protection of biodiversity hotspots and breeding/nursery areas in selected areas;
f) Conducting lake-wide Frame Survey on Lake Victoria;
g) Establishing and implementing a regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) system that encompasses among others;
h) The development of regional guidelines or framework on fisheries licensing, the establishment of user rights-based management systems (control of open access);
i) Regional harmonization, Planning the implementation and conducting of MCS operations on Lake Victoria;
j) Training in enforcement, compliance and prosecution procedures in enforcement, compliance and prosecution procedures;
k) Facilitation of national high-level policy dialogue on IUU fishing and sensitize fisher communities and lower-level leadership on the importance of their roles in combating IUU, and
l) Provision of Communication and Visibility actions in line with the E€OFISH Communication and Visibility Strategy
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For more information, contact:
Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization Secretariat
Plot 7B/7E
Bell Avenue
P.O. Box 1625,
Jinja - Uganda
Telephone:+256 434 125 000,
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.lvfo.org