Fisheries consultants - Cameroon and Senegal

Deadline for applications (English preferred but will accept applications in French): 15 April 2024
Expected start of assignment: 30 April 2024

Background

The Toolkit for Participatory Fisheries Governance project is a new multi-year global programme of work supported by the European Union aiming to support fishing communities in 15 countries of the Global South to tackle illegal fishing and manage their resources. 

Coastal, small-scale fisheries are responsible for 40% of the global fish catch totalling 37 million tonnes, and 492 million people are at least partially dependent on them for their income. As vital sources of nutrition, they provide sustenance to around one billion people, many of whom are in the Global South.

However, the FAO assesses that 35% of fisheries are considered overexploited, putting coastal fisheries at risk. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing contributes significantly to this, particularly impacting some of the poorest countries globally. This drives overfishing and the collapse of fish populations, meaning swift change to protect marine life and coastal communities is urgently needed.

Over the past decade, EJF has worked in Ghana, Liberia and Senegal to support fishing communities in managing and regulating their fisheries at local and national levels. This has been achieved through training and technology to gather evidence of IUU and by increasing the participation of coastal communities in decision-making through local and national associations.

With funding from the European Union, EJF is developing a global toolkit for participatory fisheries governance, allowing these tried and tested approaches to effective and equitable management to be implemented across the Global South. This will expand the reach of our work, supporting frontline communities to defend their environments and livelihoods.

The toolkit takes the key elements of our existing work in West Africa and creates targeted training materials for fishing communities. The toolkit will provide templates of key technical documents, along with access to the DASE app, practical advice, case studies and films. EJF experts will deliver training and ongoing support both online and through in-country visits. The toolkit’s exact implementation will be informed by the communities that use it, giving it global reach but effective local application.

The three central pillars of the toolkit are:

1. Enhancing community surveillance of industrial fishing vessels through a smartphone application;
2. Promoting community governance through the development of co-management associations;
3. Strengthening national organisations representing artisanal fishers.

Enhancing Community Surveillance
In Ghana, Liberia and, most recently, Senegal, EJF’s "DASE" mobile application allows artisanal fishers to gather geotagged footage of illegal fishing at sea. When a vessel is spotted illegally fishing, or damaging canoes or gear, the user simply opens the app and takes a photo of the boat with its name or identification number showing and records the location. The app then uploads the report to a central database where the evidence can be used by the government to catch and sanction the perpetrators.

In Senegal alone, DASE has had over 700 reports submitted by local fishers. This cheap, readily available and practical technology enables fishers to manage their resources and protect the environment.

The DASE app has recently been adapted to monitor sea turtle conservation and shark fisheries and has further potential to gather information on other pressures faced by coastal communities, including mangrove loss and extractive industries.

Promoting Community Governance
The role of communities in protecting and governing fisheries can also be strengthened through co-management associations (CMAs). CMAs are community groups that manage fisheries in partnership with the government through a democratic and participatory process, giving coastal communities greater control over decision-making.

The development of Grand Cape Mount County CMA in Liberia, for example, has helped to reconcile conflicts between different communities fishing in similar areas, with members now committing to work together to manage their shared fishing grounds. Community surveillance has also increased, with multiple cases of IUU fishing identified and reported to the authorities, allowing trawlers to be tracked and fishing regulations to be enforced.

Critically, gender equality is also promoted in the CMAs. In Liberia, half of all leadership positions in the CMAs are now occupied by women, encouraging widespread participation and bringing vital insight from processors, traders and fishers.

Strengthening National Associations
To enhance the momentum and influence of individual CMAs, EJF also supports national associations representing the artisanal sector. This includes the Liberia Artisanal Fishermen Association and the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council.

These groups are advised on how to engage with national authorities, whilst also being given training on management processes, gender equality, sustainable income streams and democratic governance.

Much like CMAs, these associations increase recognition of local issues to inform policy. This gives small-scale fishers and coastal communities more of a say in how fisheries are governed at a national level, facilitating large-scale change.

Overall expected impact of the project
To contribute to sustainable fisheries management to improve food security, nutrition and livelihoods of coastal communities in the Global South.

Scope and objectives of this study
The global toolkit will be implemented in 15 countries. A baseline study will be drafted for each one of them. The studies will provide overviews and key performance indicators (KPIs) at the onset of the project, providing a dashboard to track the status of the project and steer its overall objective. Implementation will be closely monitored and evaluated against these.

The study will include, but will not be limited to:

• An overview of the fisheries sector in the focus country and its contribution to food security, livelihoods, nutrition. This should include an overview of the challenges faced by the sector, including IUU fishing.
• A stakeholder analysis of the sector, including organisations that could potentially support the delivery of training and the development of CMAs
• An overview of national fisheries laws/regulations/policies that include provision for co-management of artisanal fisheries.
• The following indicators:

• Prevalence of severe food insecurity in coastal areas in focus countries, disaggregated by sex.
• Prevalence of undernourishment in coastal areas in focus countries, disaggregated by sex.
• Increase in household income in coastal areas in focus countries.
• Prevalence of industrial IUU fishing in coastal areas (within Inshore Exclusion Zones or equivalent)
• Prevalence of artisanal IUU fishing in coastal areas (within Inshore Exclusion Zones or equivalent)
  

Methodology

Literature review, focus group discussions (FGD), Key informant interviews (KIIs), surveys.

Activities, deliverables and timeline  

15 April 2024	Deadline for receipt of proposals
30 April 2024	Start of Desk Phase
20 May 2024	Delivery of Inception Report
03 June 2024	Start of Field Phase
30 June 2024	Draft Report to be delivered
July 2024	Stakeholder validation meeting
15 August 2024	Final Report to be delivered

The outputs to be delivered by the Consultants are:

• Design of the baseline study including the identification and definition of appropriate methods in the form of an Inception Report.
• Analysis, interpretation, documentation and presentation of the baseline results, with reference to the objectives, in a Final Report.
• Presentation of key findings to be delivered to stakeholders at a validation meeting.
• Final Report incorporating feedback received from the stakeholders in a validation meeting.

The Inception Report should contain no more than 5 pages, and the Final Report no more than 15 pages excluding annexes. The Final Report will be scrutinised in light of the following questions:

• Are the Terms of Reference fulfilled and reflected within the report?
• Does the report contain a clear and comprehensive summary?
• Are the findings of the baseline study methodologically substantiated and transparently argued according to scientific standards?
• Are the recommendations of the report clearly described and in a manner that they can contribute to the further implementation of the project? Do they follow a logical argumentation?
• Are the methods of the baseline study clearly explained within the report?
• Have all relevant stakeholders, i.e. not only the target groups, been included in the baseline study process?
• Have all relevant documents been included in the evaluation process?
• Are cross-cutting issues such as gender equality addressed in the report?
• Does the report analyse and comment on the Logical Framework?
• Is the final report structured in a comprehensive and appealing way?

• Is the report free of errors and spelling mistakes and can hence be disseminated as required?

The Consultants will have overall responsibility for the supervision of the baseline study. This will include facilitating inputs from all relevant stakeholders; holding an inception meeting to clarify the requirements; and providing feedback on the Inception Report and Final Report. The Consultants will make available all relevant documents to inform the baseline study.

Qualifications and experience

The consultants must have the following experience and skills to be able to perform the tasks of the TORs:

• Have degrees in Fisheries, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics or a related field.
• Minimum three years of research experience in the fisheries sector
• Minimum 3 years of experience collecting primary data, both quantitative and qualitative, and in FGD and KIIs.
• Demonstrated ability to write high quality, methodologically sound, analytical papers in English. Knowledge of the local language is also necessary.
• Ability to liaise properly with technical and administrative staff of international organizations.
• Ability to liaise properly with senior officials of the government and social partners.
• Exposure to value and principles of FAO as well as sensitivity to gender, disadvantaged groups and diversity.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and in the local language.

How to apply
Send the following by 15 April to recruitment@ejfoundation.org

• A CV including a list of previous projects as reference (maximum of five);
• A proposal including a description of the methods to be employed and a detailed cost plan differentiating between labour costs, travel costs and other costs including an indication of the days foreseen for drafting the baseline study.