Travel report: Sofala Bank Artisanal Fisheries Project, Nampula Province, Mozambique

This paper reports on a field-trip by Norwegian delegates in March 2004 to Nampula, Mozambique, to assess the Sofala Bank Artisanal Fisheries Project. The develpment project specifically focuses on aspects of community development, fishery development and financial services. the project also aims to establish savings and credit societies for fishermen, fish traders as well as other groups in the community.

The report points out that the project has achieved impressive results in mobilising understanding and support for it’s development ideas and objectives; and in established a number of associated working groups and associations.

The report notes that fishery development activities are primarily achieved by extensionists, and focus on gear diversification, changes in post-harvest utilisation, and monitoring of the resources.

The paper concludes that the The Sofala Bank Fishery Project should be seen in the context of total Norwegian support to the fishery sector. While the sector support focuses on policy, management and research at the central and macro-level, the current project is in many ways a traditional integrated development project at the regional and micro-level.