Somaliland: Fair Fishing

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Somalilandsun -Building a professional and commercially viable fishery in Somaliland, creating local employment and income opportunities that are an alternative to piracy.

Support a necessary success!

Fair Fishing is a Danish-Somali NGO that works for the development of a professional and commercially viable fishery in Somalia. We aim to strengthen the local fishing, thereby reducing poverty and helping create local employment and income opportunities. An indirect effect of this will be providing an alternative to piracy through the option of an alternative livelihood.

In less than one year, we have demonstrated the sustainability of the basic idea of improving the local economy and employment in the fishery sector in Somaliland at the Horn of Africa. See photos and reports on www.facebook.com/fairfishing.org

With private funds, we have established a fishery station in literally no time, helped local fishermen to improve their equipment and not least raised the quality of the local and poorly developed fishery.

More private funding is necessary to ensure further development.

We are a non-profit NGO (Non Governmental Organization), driven by voluntary collaborations between Danes and Danish – Somalis from the business and development environment. Fair Fishing has been made possible by private donations and in-kind donations and equipment from a number of large Danish companies. Because we, until now, have operated without public funding, this is an appeal for financial support for the next phase.

We have proven our concept and need your support to continue and sustain the development. We need many supporting members and/or direct financial aid for the upcoming challenging period.

Our Fair Fishing station has been built in the harbour city of Berbera in Somaliland, and five second-hand 40-foot MAERSK reefer-containers (refrigerated) and a brand-new flake-ice machine are core components. The station opened in October 2013, and in the last months of 2013 it clearly documented that it easily can receive and process more than 1 ton of fresh fish per day. Local staff (11 people) handle the fish, and in December we began further processing it, so that the station now can deliver refrigerated, fresh, filleted fish of the utmost high quality. We have invented an easy and fairly inexpensive concept that easily can be transferred to other parts of Somalia, whilst meeting the necessary hygiene and quality standards.

We have chosen a faster approach to development than traditional development projects. The project was initiated with a “proof of concept” period (2013) to demonstrate the potential of local fishery. This has been done to the fullest. The station now provides daily flake-ice for the local fishermen. Now, possibilities for increasing the extent and quality of fishery for the benefit of the fragile state economy and employment are substantial – and this is where you come in.

One typical Danish fisherman has more equipment than all the fishermen in Somaliland combined

The next phase is about direct aid to fishermen, training and capacity development, and – not least – the further refinement of local ownership of what is being built. We have established a representative Advisory Board in Somaliland that advises us and strengthens our planning and activities. Together with local fishermen and other stakeholders involved, we must prepare for the continuation of the project results. The whole chain “from sea to table” needs to be developed and improved. The basis is now there to do so: There are more than 450 commercial fish species in Somalia. In comparison, Denmark has roughly 50.

We are an entrepreneurial, non-profit development venture in an area of the world characterised by significant difficulties – but also great opportunities. It is an initiative that unites Danish, Somali and international forces, proving that a different and better future is possible.

Visit www.fairfishing.org  and see more about who and what we are.

Thank you!