The first Norwegian involvement in cooperation in the area of fisheries took place more than thirty years ago, when the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, then at the service of FAO, made the first overall assessment of the fisheries resources in the marine waters of Mozambique. Norway’s support to the sector has evolved gradually to institutional support in the area of small scale fisheries; support for fisheries research, support for the capacity of the fisheries administration (use of the information provided by fisheries research and administration into the sector’s policies, strategies and development plans). From 2005, this cooperation has expanded to new areas such as fisheries supervision to halt illegal and damaging fishing practices - effective MCS-Monitoring Control & Surveillance system.
Moreover, from December 2002, the Embassy supported the PPABAS-Sofala Bank Artisanal Fisheries Project, which is a vehicle for Government to promote initiatives along the coast in support of improved economic and social development in fishing communities and to help IDPPE-National Institute for Development of Small Scale Fisheries extend its coverage and strengthen its services to support these communities. The project is one of three that are part of the Government’s investment programme for artisanal fisheries along the Indian Ocean, the others being funded by the African Development Bank (ADB) for the area north of Sofala Bank (Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces) and the other funded by the Italian Government through FAO-Food and Agriculture Organisation/UN for the coastal zone south of Sofala Province (Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo provinces). Due to currency exchange gains, this project has been extended to March 2011.
In October 2009 a new Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Mozambique and Norway, for Assistance to the Fisheries Sector for the period 2009-2013. For this purpose, a Common Fund has been established and all funding are on-budget and on-CUT – Single Treasury Account.
The Programme is structured according to the functional arrangement of the public Fisheries administration, that is, according to the policy, fisheries management and development promotion components. Its budget is of US$ 27.7 million. It aims at strengthening contribution of the sector in improving food and nutritional security in fisheries produce for the population; improving living conditions for the communities of artisanal fishermen and small scale fish farmers; increasing contribution of the industrial fisheries and commercial aquaculture undertakings to achieving the national poverty reduction objective; increased net contribution of the sector to the country’s balance of payments in a framework of sustainability of fisheries resources and of environmental equilibrium.