In 2021, the government signed a $55 million partnership agreement with the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the construction of an industrial fish harbor complex with transshipment facilities.
The complex which is expected to be constructed along the western area rural district will reportedly provide cold storage facilities, bonded stores, ice sales, purchase of fish and fishery products for export, and the maintenance of fishing and patrol vessels.
Although the agreement was finalized in 2022, residents around the community are saying that there has been little movement in development, and it is unclear when and if the project will be completed.
According to some update from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Sierra Leone has one of the world’s richest fishing grounds, with 506 kilometers of coastline and a continental shelf of 27,500 square kilometers nourished by several major rivers. The country can boasts of 200 fish species, with a viable commercial fish stock of over 80 species. These include shrimp, cephalopods, lobster, demersal, and pelagic species.
Fishery contributes over 10 percent to GDP, with an annual production estimated at 228,000 tons, and provides an estimated 80 percent of animal protein for the population. It offers direct employment to some 200,000 persons and indirect employment to some 600,000 persons along the coastlines. The sector is challenged by poor governance and management regimes, weak infrastructure and fishery support services, overfishing, and is severely impacted by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing – much of it by vessels from the People’s Republic of China.
