This department’s mandate is to support existing and facilitate new fisheries sector investments, value addition, market development, and diversification. A key component of the department’s work relates to the Quality Assurance mandate. The latter incorporates promoting, developing, and adopting set standards and best practices within the industry, intending to promote efficiency gains and market confidence in final landed quality.
Objectives
- Support, nurture, and incubate the private sector in developing new value-added products, especially with low-value species and by-catch.
- Promote the development of fish processing zones and facilities.
- Work with other Departments of SFA to keep track of industry statistics for research, planning and development purposes.
- Maintenance of existing and diversifying new market portfolios through induced market demands.
- Promoting innovation and technology to optimise the economic utilisation of fisheries resources and improve operational efficiency, hence cutting down costs.
- Engage with stakeholders to increase knowledge and raise awareness of the benefits of economic gains in value addition -encouraging exports.
- Promote the development of seafood certification schemes for high-end niche markets.
- Develop a framework for collecting quantitative and qualitative data on landed fish (SI LL, By-catch, Purse Seiners).
- Promoting development/adoption of best handling practices, pre- and post-harvest.
- Conduct audits on SFA facilities that form part of the fisheries value chain, including fish markets, including fish markets.
- Develop/adopt standards for facilities involved in the fishing sector, including landing sites.
- Assist the project team in designing and building new facilities, ensuring all quality parameters are considered and met.
- Raise awareness of the local population’s nutritional benefits of fish consumption.
- Conducting awareness programs that serve to raise the profile and attractiveness of the fishing industry (from school to community to business stakeholders)
- Raising awareness of best practices and standards within the industry.
- Pursue innovative means of communication between key players in the industry.
- Research and disseminate information on key requirements of markets of interest to the private sector.
- Promote skills development required for continuous growth and diversification of the sector.
