Hygiene and quality for the artisanal fisheries sector in Mauritania

Challenges

Mauritania’s highly favorable hydro-climatic conditions mean that its coasts are reputed to be among the world’s richest in fish, with an exploitable potential of 1,830,140 tons of all species, including 1,383,000 tons of small pelagic resources (GT IMROP 2019). This significant fisheries resource has made the fishing sector a strategic pole for the country’s economic growth, development, and poverty reduction, with sustained growth in added value in recent years. However, the sector’s contribution to national consumption remains limited, given its potential and the needs of Mauritania’s food-insecure population. Faced with these challenges, there are major obstacles to ensuring the sustainable management and use of these fishery resources to combat poverty and contribute to the food security of the Mauritanian population:

• The low conservation and storage capacity of artisanal and coastal small pelagic fishing boats, resulting in huge post-catch losses.
• Difficulties in making fish products, particularly small pelagic, available to the country’s food-insecure inland populations, due to the vastness of the territory and quality losses, particularly on fresh produce.
• The virtual absence of communication/awareness-raising strategies on the benefits and consumption patterns of fishery products, to change the eating habits of the population, particularly those living in non-coastal areas.
• Illegal fishing by national, sub-regional and distant water fleets.

Approach: Hygiene and quality trainings increase incomes and protect consumers

To help Mauritania address these challenges, GIZ is implementing the project Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries in Mauritania (Pêche Artisanale Durable en Mauritanie, PADeM) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and as part of the European Union’s Emergency Trust Fund. The project focuses on providing training in hygiene and quality for small pelagic fish, which constitute the main catch in the Mauritanian artisanal fisheries sector. Additionally, PADeM has developed guidelines detailing best practices at various stages of the fish value chain, all accessible through the app dely seyd. Local fishing associations and the Center for Qualification and Training in Fishing Professions will act as continuous knowledge brokers, offering training on hygiene and quality, particularly within the small pelagic fish value chain. Proper handling of fish reduces post-harvest losses and enhances fish quality, leading to higher income for value chain actors and improved food safety for consumers.

Guides to good hygiene practices

In 2019, at the start of the project PADeM carried out an analysis of the state of hygiene, quality of the value chain of the artisanal fishery to small pelagic in Mauritania. This study led to several recommendations, including the drafting of guides to good hygiene practices covering the entire fishery products value chain. As part of its activities, the program has drawn up and validated a number of guides to good hygiene practice, that you can download here. The guides include the topics:

• For operators in the artisanal sector: Mareyage, Transport and Fish storage.
• For operators in the artisanal dried fish and fish oil sector.
• For small-scale fishermen in Mauritania.
• For operators in the artisanal sector for artisanal ports, landing sites landing sites and sales markets.

Control plan for better protection of consumers of small pelagic fish in Mauritania

Additionally, the government partner, the National Office for the Sanitary Control of Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (Office National d’Inspection Sanitaire des Produits de la Pêche et de l’Aquaculture, ONISPA), in October 2019 launched the hygiene and quality control plan for small pelagic fishery products for local and sub-regional consumption. The objective of the control plan is to monitor and analyse artisanal fisheries products and their environment to verify their compliance with quality and sanitary requirements throughout the value chain. The controls extend from coastal areas to inland areas, targeting artisanal vessels, means of transport, processing workshops as well as distribution and sale points. It is the first time they are conducted systematically afar from coastal areas. The plan is in line with the government strategy to ensure the supply of good quality and nutritious fish to the population and it enables ONISPA to extend its consumer protection and food safety and security measures. Accompanying the implementation of this control plan, GIZ PADeM supports a training plan of ONISPA professionals to strengthen their skills in the areas of analysis and sanitary inspection techniques specific to the local small pelagic value chains. Four inspections in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Rosso and Tanit have been set up and a registration process for first sales has been introduced to strengthen controls and improve product traceability. To find out more about the hygiene and quality control plan and how to adapt it, read our knowledge product.

Aim and benefits:

The interventions described aim to achieve two primary objectives:

1. Increase Income for Value Chain Actors: Better fish quality can be sold at higher prices, thereby boosting the income of those involved in the value chain.
2. Enhance Availability of Quality Fish Products: Improved quality and reduced post-harvest losses will increase the availability of fish products suitable for human consumption in local markets.

Training in good hygiene and quality practices, along with compliance action plans and first sale certification, not only benefits consumer protection but also helps reduce food waste. Maintaining fish quality throughout the value chain ensures that more high-quality fish can be sold, leading to increased income for value chain actors. Consumers, in turn, benefit from healthier fishery and aquaculture products and a wider selection due to more catch reaching the fish markets. Additionally, beyond income generation and food security, reducing post-harvest losses is an efficient way to introduce more fish into the value chain without increasing fishing pressure on already overexploited fish populations. Therefore, a robust quality and hygiene structure within the value chain is essential for sustainable fisheries management.

Personal success story

Malmouna Niang, a fish seller in Kaédi, is one of the many value chain actors who participated in trainings on hygiene and quality. She describes the benefits of the trainings as follows: “The training helped me, because we were shown how to preserve our fish by putting it on ice, avoid mixing rotten and fresh fish, and prevent contamination with bacteria by wearing gloves, to ensure the health of the people who buy from us”.   To learn more about the project, take a look at our YouTube-Video or visit our project website to learn more about sustainable aquaculture and fisheries in Africa and Asia.   Picture: Malmouna Niang © Alena Göbel /GIZ