GFRA is attending the Second General Assembly of the Pan-African Network of nationally registered Civil Society Organizations (NCSOs) in the fisheries and aquaculture sector (AFRIFISH-NET), organised by the African Union, from 11-13 August 2026 in Mombasa, Kenya, on the theme “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems in fishing and coastal communities to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063”.
The meeting is being held to review strategic action plans (regional and continental), agree on Common Positions drafted for the 37th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI37) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), assess the status of small-scale fisheries in Africa through the previous ten-year action plan, and identify the priority actions to include in the next ten-year action plan.
Through the European Union-funded project titled “Enhancing Sustainable Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Development in Africa: A Programme for Accelerated Reform of the Sector – Fisheries Governance Project Phase two (FishGov2)”, the African Union – Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), collaborated with the FAO to establish AFRIFISH-NET.
AFRIFISH-NET’s mandate is to strengthen small scale fisheries and artisanal continental coordination and coherence; support implementation of continental aquaculture, fisheries and blue economy agenda, policy, strategies and instruments at all levels (national, regional and continental); provide a continental-level forum for information and experience sharing; support regional and national capacity building, finance and resource mobilization; and to support the implementation of the Policy Framework and Reform Strategy (PFRS) and the African Union Blue Economy Strategy (ABES).
AFRIFISH-NET comprises and coordinates five regional Non-State Actors (NSAs) platforms for NSAs active in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Africa: the West African Non-State Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture (WANSAFA); Central Africa Non-state platform of Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture (CANSAFA); Eastern Africa Non-State Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture (EARFISH); Southern Africa Non-State Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture (SANSAFA); and North African Non-State Actors in Fisheries and Aquaculture.
