Conduct situation analysis for artisanal fisheries enhancement, through functional development of CMAs and TURFs in Sierra Leone.

To improve fisheries governance and implementation of four marine protected areas (MPAs), Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine resources (MFMR) supported the organization of Community Management Associations (CMAs) comprised of local stakeholders. These CMAs were meant to provide participatory management as they were charged with the responsibilities of managing the MPAs through a co-management process. This was with a view that the MPAs would evolve into Territorial User Rights Fisheries (TURFs) for the adjacent fishing grounds managed by the CMAs through the formulation and legislation of byelaws. A Strategy and Action Plan was developed to enhance the artisanal fisheries through functional development of CMAs and their role in implementing TURFs. Development of the Strategy and Action Plan involved several steps including desk-based review, stakeholder consultation, identification of priority actions and validation through focus group discussions and workshop. Eight Strategic Outcomes were detailed that could be used to achieve the vision. The action plan for each Strategic Outcome included proposed activities, the responsible institution, benchmarks/objectively verifiable indicators (OVIs) and timeframe/milestones for the successful implementation of the Strategy and Action plan. Institutional arrangements for implementation were also provided including the key implementation partners and communication mechanisms. To ensure effective implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan, a monitoring and evaluation framework was also developed. For each Strategic outcome, the monitoring and evaluation framework included target date for implementation, indicators, means of verification and frequency of monitoring and evaluation. The key priority areas to progress the Strategy and Action Plan were also provided.