The research project was launched in response to the severe depletion of fish stocks and livelihoods among artisanal fishers in the district of Tyre, Lebanon. In order to create the circumstances to transition fishing practices and regulation from their current state to one where a sustainable and integrated strategy could be implemented, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Association of for the Development of Rural Capacities commissioned a market opportunity and value chain analysis to understand what type of microfinance-related interventions–including skills training programmes, loan terms, and livelihood assistance–would produce sustained additional income streams and open avenues for implementation and enforcement of sustainable fishing. As such, the research aimed to answer four principal questions:
- Analyse domestic market opportunities open to fishing communities through assessment of local capacities, potential competitive and comparative advantages as well as seasonality of supply-demand of fishery goods and services, market access, and productive potentials of different domestic market locations.
- Identify potential sectors where mircoenterprises would focus on activities complementary to the fisheries sector;
- Identify profitable markets with growth potential for these mircoenterprises’ products and services which are not directly related to the fisheries sector;
- Identify opportunities for fishing community household members including entrepreneurial women and young labour market entrants.
- Identify what form and level of engagement skills capacity development should take in suggested economic sectors.
To learn more about the project contact the author.
Sami Halabi 