The management of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) has announced that it will soon begin installing a monitoring device called Automatic Identification System (IAS Class B) on every canoe fishing in Liberian waters in the goal of effective follow-up over time. emergency.

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated, self-contained tracking system that is widely used in the maritime world for the exchange of navigational information between AIS-equipped terminals. It is capable of sending information such as identification, position, heading, speed, etc., to other vessels and ashore.

Making the disclosure on March 21, while a guest on ELBC’s Super Morning Show, chief executive Emma Metieh Glassco said the fisheries authority was concerned about loss of life at sea and hoped the equipment would reduce losses at sea.

“We are going to start our safety program for our local fishermen and we will start it in July. We will have a transponder on all canoes. It’s a monitoring device. This will help reduce casualties at sea. Once a canoe is in distress, we will receive a signal and the Coast Guard will respond immediately. »

This is the second safety management plan announced by NaFAA. Recently, the fisheries management body announced President George Manneh Weah’s donation of life jackets for use by the country’s fishermen. The donation was in response to a promise made to fishermen by the Liberian leader in October 2021 during the official launch of the YAMAHA engines donated by Japan to the government through NaFAA.

Meanwhile, the NaFAA boss reassured Liberians of a fishing port for Liberia, which she added is “support from the World Bank, the fishing port would cost US$21 million”.

Managing Director Glassco informed the public through the media that the new port will be built on Mesurado Jetty on Bushrod Island. She said Liberia was losing millions in the fishing sector due to the lack of fishing ports to accommodate industrial vessels, and such ports would help the government generate more revenue.

“We are going to build a fishing port for 21 million dollars. It’s a 360 degree turnaround in the fishing industry. All the gigantic vessels fishing in our waters would be forced to dock in our harbour. The fishing boats don’t land here because we don’t have the facility”.

Mesurado Pier was the site of one of the largest fish export operations in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, but has deteriorated since the conflict. This construction would provide the country with a key entry point for fish processing and products.

The modern state-of-the-art fishing port is expected to contain a shore-based processing facility for added value. Through World Bank projects, there would also be the establishment of targeted landing jetties in coastal counties such as Margibi, Bassa, Rivercess, Sinoe, Grand Kru and Maryland, all with densely populated fishing communities, in the aim of reducing the huge post-harvest losses and supplying the domestic market with high quality fish products which have a fish demand deficit of 33,000 metric tons.