Report of the Meeting on ""Considerations to Improve the Relevance and Effectiveness of the Committee for Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture of Africa (CIFAA) as a Continent-wide Regional Fishery Body (RFB)”, Cape Town, South Africa, 26-27 March 2012

CIFAA is important to the development of aquaculture and inland fisheries in Member States but that the body needs to be reformed and its institutional set-up and procedures strengthened. This should include, among other things, strengthening the ownership of CIFAA amongst Members, identifying sustainable financing, developing a Vision Statement, strengthening the Committee’s secretariat, reinforcing the links between the secretariat and its members, and capitalising on linkages with key policy process such as the Conference of African Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CAMFA) and other instruments such NEPAD. The importance of political commitment from Member Governments was stressed and further guidance from the Ministers in charge of fisheries and aquaculture was requested.