Secure Fisheries’ recent report, Somali Coastal Development Opportunities, seeks to expand knowledge of fisheries beyond the major coastal cities already receiving outside investments and to explore new areas of interest to donors. Paige Roberts and Mahad Awale were in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the findings of the report with international development community stakeholders seeking to invest in the Somali fisheries sector. The week of meetings included the US Agency for International Development, the EU, Oxfam, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Norway, and GIZ and yielded opportunities for partnership on information sharing and future projects on the Somali coast. There was agreement that more research on the state of the Somali fisheries sector is necessary to inform future work and that multistakeholder coalitions that include Somali state and federal ministers will be vital to making tangible progress. With this in mind, Secure Fisheries is working to develop plans to capitalize on the opportunities described in the report that will support Somali fisheries through sustainable local management. These efforts will be implemented through collaboration with government officials and international agencies.
