Malawi’s natural fisheries sector has received a US$12 million injection.
The multimillion-dollar grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAid) is funding the Restoring Fisheries and Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (REFRESH) project, which is being led by the Malawian arm of the global non-profit PACT.
REFRESH aims to restore Malawi’s fisheries sector by focusing on preventing overfishing; illegal and unregulated fishing; and habitat destruction in Karonga, Rumphi, Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza and Mangochi.
The Malawian News Agency reports that the project will run from 2019 to 2024, and provide communities with the skills and opportunities to source natural reserves responsibly.
‘We want to ensure that the endemic fish populations of targeted parts of Lake Malawi are healthy and self-sustaining,’ says PACT Malawi country director Alan Brooks. He adds that the project will provide fishermen with technical expertise as well as introduce closed seasons and ‘other control measures’.
The initiative builds on another PACT Malawi and USAid collaboration, the Fisheries Integration of Society and Habitats (FISH) project. The five-year project, introduced in September 2014, was aimed at bolstering the sector’s resilience to climate change and improving biodiversity conservation through sustainable fisheries co-management.
