This chapter of the e-book provides background information on the three target communities of WARFP-GN (Matakang, Bongolon, and Koukoudé). As a step towards implementing WARFP-GN community work to support community-led fisheries management, RAFIP supported a report to describe how the target fishing communities are organized and function. The study team reviewed existing reports and documents (including WARFP-GN-related documents, information from past development projects implemented in the three selected communities, and general information about artisanal fishing and fishery co-management in Guinea) and conducted field interviews in each of the selected communities. All the visits consisted of one or several meetings with the local authorities followed by a public consultation with the members of the fishing community convened by the local leader. The full report is available here.

The report sought to answer the following questions, based on the components of the WARFP activity.

Results of the desk review and interviews revealed distinctive characteristics of community fisheries operation and management in each of the three sites. Local historical context (notably related to past development interventions) explain some of the site-specific characteristics. Other important site-shaping characteristics include the nature of local leadership and fishing-related conflicts, as well as the dynamism of the local associations and community-led initiatives. The map below provides key information for each of the three study sites (Matakang, Bongolon, and Koukoudé) included in this activity; clicking on each study site will show the information gathered for that site.

Figure 4.1. Targeted fishing communities in Guinea

Based on the information gathered for fisheries in Guinea and in the three communities, the study makes the following recommendations to guide implementation of the WARFP-GN and any future fisheries-related development projects: (1) better coordination and cohesion of Guinea institutional actors; (2) better coordination between development projects; (3) enabling access to information for the communities; (4) building on existing legislation and structures; and (5) engaging the youth. The study also identified key knowledge gaps in the fisheries in Guinea: (a) feedback from past fisheries-related projects in Guinea; (b) information on the importance of migrant fishers; (c) information on current financing arrangements between fishers and traders/processors; (d) information on alternative livelihood activities; (e) information on improving the physical infrastructure for economic integration of the communities; and (f) information on the local economies. (Point (c) is addressed in Chapter 5 and points (d) and (f) in Chapter 6.)

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Guinea; Sachiko Kondo