Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 140

PART 2 FAO FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN ACTION
BOX 14
THE EAF-NANSEN PROGRAMME
On 24 March 2017, the new EAF-Nansen Programme,
”Supporting the application of the ecosystem approach
to fisheries management, considering climate and
pollution impacts”, was signed by the Norwegian
Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the
Institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Bergen, Norway
and FAO as the executing agency. The new EAF-
Nansen Programme is FAO’s largest initiative focusing
on improving the knowledge base for and supporting
the implementation of EAF. The programme has its
roots in the Nansen Programme, which supported
improved knowledge of fisheries resources in
developing countries using the research vessel Dr
Fridtjof Nansen, beginning in the early 1970s; and the
EAF-Nansen project, which began in the late 2000s,
with a focus on Africa.
In the first phase of the EAF-Nansen project, the
partners worked with national and regional fisheries
research institutions and management agencies in 32
African countries to improve scientific knowledge and
to refocus fisheries management through the adoption
and implementation of an ecosystem approach to
fisheries. A key goal was to enable nations and RFBs to
design and implement their own fisheries management
plans according to the principles of EAF, and to
empower RFBs to serve their members as they began
implementing EAF. With the project’s support, more
than ten EAF fisheries management plans were
developed and approved (Koranteng, Vasconcellos and
Satia, 2014). Importantly, national or regional task
groups, led by the responsible national or regional
fisheries management agencies, took full ownership
and responsibility for the development and approval of
the plans, with the technical support of the project
under a clear roadmap. The project’s support was
organized in clusters, to facilitate regional cooperation
and sharing of experiences: artisanal fisheries (Sierra
Leone and Liberia), beach seine fisheries (Western Gulf
of Guinea), small and medium pelagic fish (Kenya and
United Republic of Tanzania), industrial shrimp fisheries
(Central Gulf of Guinea), demersal fisheries (Comoros
and Madagascar), line fish fisheries (Mozambique)
and small pelagic fisheries (Northwest Africa). For most
countries, these were the first management plans
The new research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen
drafted according to EAF principles. The national or
regional ownership and leadership of the process
through the task groups, the regional exchange and a
capacity development strategy strongly anchored in the
development of the management plans were key factors
for the success of these activities. The project also
supported and made recommendations to many
countries for improvements in legislation, offering
practical guidance on how to develop or amend
national legislation in support of EAF (Cacaud et al.,
2016).
The new EAF-Nansen Programme aims at
consolidating the results of the previous phase and at
addressing the multiple impacts of human activities on
fish stocks in particular, and the marine environment in
general, in order to preserve the productivity of the
oceans for the benefit of future generations. In this new
phase the programme includes the significant added
responsibility to assess the impacts of climate change
and marine pollution, operating in some of the least
observed waters in the world. The programme is served
by a new research vessel, also called Dr Fridtjof
Nansen, which continues to operate as a unique
platform for knowledge generation, capacity
development and research exchange. The vessel is
74.5 m long, features specialized laboratories
(including a climate change lab) and state-of-the-art
scientific equipment, and can support up to 30
scientists.
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