Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Corporate Plan 2015 – 2018.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Corporate Plan is a national policy with a sectoral approach. The timeframe of the Plan is 4 years between 2015 and 2018. The overall purpose of this Plan is to provide an enabling environment for the development of fisheries sector in order to ensure (i) effective fisheries resource and ecosystem management, (ii) private sector development and investment, (iii) effective fisheries compliance, and (iv) strengthened governance and institutional development.
Food and nutrition security will be ensured through sustainable fisheries resources management.
In order to reduce poverty, livelihood opportunities will be increased. The contribution of small scale fisheries will be improved. Mini tuna canneries will be established in rural areas. Moreover fish aggregation devices will be deployed to support rural fishers. Community livelihood initiatives will be supported to strengthen socio-economic benefits of fishing communities. Capacity building will be enhanced by developing a rural community fisheries development training program. The coordination between regional economic organizations and regional fisheries bodies will be strengthened to ensure coherence of fisheries policies and aquaculture development.
Fisheries and aquaculture development will be ensured through innovation and technology, accelerated trade and marketing. A market-led sustainable aquaculture development will be established throughout the country with the development of national marketing strategy. Access to regional and international markets will be improved for farmers. Market database will be developed for inshore fisheries. Aquaculture industry will be developed for farming of milkfish, tilapia, giant clams, pearls oysters and sea cucumber. Hatchery mass production of sea cucumber juveniles for restocking. The effective management of national and shared fish stocks will be strengthened through improved fisheries compliance and enforcement. Measures will be taken against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. Furthermore national compliance strategy will be developed including both inshore and offshore fisheries. Biosecurity programmes will be implemented to manage the risk related to the introduction of alien species. Commercial and large scale tuna fisheries will be developed to increase their economic contribution to national revenue. Fisheries governance will be improved through institutional capacity building and development of new regulations in compliance with the Fisheries Act. Fisheries Information Management System Portal will be established. A national licensing policy will be developed for all fisheries activities. In addition to that, EU compliant catch certification system will be developed.
Cross-party dialogue will be established to address the impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources shall be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Corporate Plan through effective data management. Furthermore the Ministry shall submit annual reports to the Parliament.