A. First of all we would like to introduce an effective MCS system, because we have a lot of poachers that are coming regularly to our waters to take away our marine resources. After that we will address the issue of improvement of the production of fish for the sector. You have to know that 70% of the fish we consume comes from artisanal fishermen, but we are trying to increase the overall fish production in the whole sector. We are also focusing on the development of inland fishing and aquaculture. A lot of areas are too far from the coast and we can not transport the fish there on a daily basis but still we want to make sure that they have their own fish farms and have access to fish. My aim is to put 149 such farms in the different chiefdoms of the country. At the same time we also want to increase the quality of our fish and fish products.

Q. What is the revenue generated by this sector?

A. It is constantly increasing, last year we made 3 billion Le (1.250.000 USD), and we intend to improve it this year. In fact it has been stabilized for the last 3 years between 2.8 and 3.2, with an average of 3 billion. The fact is that we are coming out of a war situation, and we have much less fishing vessels than we used to. Even with that we made 3 billion Le last year and we hope that this year we make up to 4 or 5 billions. We are optimistic because we have got indications of interest from a lot of investors, like the Russians that they want to come and invest, the Italians are coming, the Egyptians are on their way already, some Spanish companies are also interested to come and invest here. Fish is probably the best protein and the cheapest. We also have a lot vessels from Asian countries they are primarily interested in shrimps and other shellfish and we hope that this year we will boost the export. We have a very rich shrimps and lobsters sector.
We are also trying to encourage women to be part of the process, and we are also educating them and showing them the know how. As I speak to you, we are preparing new cages for shrimps and lobsters, for example, this way they can capture them alive and send them to European countries and to the States.

Q. Since we are talking about new developments and products, apart from the inland water ponds projects, I also know that your Ministry is paying a lot of attention to create added value to the products. Can you tell us about some of the projects in more detail?

A. We have constructed a group of smoking houses, mainly because we have a problem with electricity so in order to add value to the fish and to preserve it, the government created these smoking houses with a quality to make sure that the fish is preserved and can go to the market without any problem. We must have built 40 or 50 by now but we still continue to build them until we cover the whole country.

Q. You also mentioned that one of these projects was the one in the village of Goodrich.

A. Yes, we have got a loan to develop certain areas and there are four sites that have been targeted: Goodrich, Tombo, the Western Area and the South. We are working hard on that, we started this year and half a million dollars is to be spent on Goodrich alone and about 400.000 on Tombo.

Q. There are also foreign investors needed in the sector because the government can not finance everything. How can you make the sector look attractive to them?

A. Well, first of all we will have soon the new investment code. We are very competitive; you will see we are a country of just 6 million people. We realize that we had a 10 year war and that normally investors are scared to come to such a place so even there is an option; we still have to put a lot of sweeteners and a lot of concessions to attract investors. In our investment code with regards to the fishing sector we have added much more than others have in their sectors. Take for example export taxes, we don't have export taxes and fish is very easy to export nowadays, not to mention shrimps and lobsters and we are not subjected to any percentage, you can export everything you fish because we want investors to come. We don't charge them export fees. We are trying really to give a lot, in the case of the licenses and at the registration of vessels and we also have a big advantage which is the cost of labour. We are trying to construct a fishing harbour, and also a processing plant. All these things are actually for the investor's benefits. We have established a one-stop-shop, so if an investor wants to come an invest, we want to make sure that in that one day, all the requirements are met, we provide the licences and you can start fishing that day. The more time you take to prepare the paperwork, the more money you loose. To keep the vessels in the port is not good for investors, it has to go out and fish.

Q. You mentioned that there are plans to establish a Fishing Harbour. To what extent are you developing these plans? Are you expecting foreign investors to participate in it?

A. Yes we would like them to participate. We had an agreement with the representatives of Iran but it had not taken shape and now we are offering it to other interested parties. It is a 44 million USD project. For the time being we have a small harbour, we can't really call it a harbour, most of the infrastructure was vandalized during the war and we just need to rebuild it. An investor could rebuild it and start using it. There is also a need to construct a bigger harbour that could service many vessels; it just needs to be fixed.

Q. What are the countries that you are cooperating with up to now?

A. We have a fisheries cooperation agreement with the Arab Republic of Egypt. The principal task of it is to boost food production, generate employment for Sierra Leonean, for that purpose there was also a joint venture, Sieregypto established. We are trying to attract vessels from Europe, where there are many areas over fished. We would like the EU to come over like they do in Senegal, we actually have more fish than Senegal does and also better quality. They will come soon, like the Italians. WE are welcoming investors, like the Italians that also support our artisanal fishermen; they don't only come for business, but they look at the human side of it too. We are taking fish as an industry, we are exporting that fish but what really create value is our artisanal fishermen. What creates value is the way we fish here, and that pleases us very much. The Egyptians are doing the same. The British for example are interested on the lobsters and that's why we are looking forward cooperating with the EU, the Asians already contribute more than half of the fleet in Sierra Leone.

Q. In 1974 you had an oyster research culture program that had very good results. Do you consider launching it over?

A. Yes, the FAO has planned to give us 100.000 USD and we really need it because this program is carried out mainly by women, and we really expect this to come this year. This is something very specific. On the way to the town of Tombo you will cross a long bridge and on the left of that bridge you will see a sea of women getting these oysters.

Q. For the future of the development of the sector, to make sure that the stocks are not being over fished, what are the measures that your Ministry is preparing?

A. We are working hand with the Institute of Marine Biology and they have been out at sea making research on our stocks in cooperation with the Egyptian company. We are very pleased with our stocks and we have been very careful. Experience tells us that to we could make ten or twenty billion a year, for a couple of years and then its over you don't have fish. That's why we prefer to be moderate and make 4 or 5 billion which is enough, we would like to be very careful in the future. That's why we have such big fines for fishing vessels fishing close to the coast, we are very careful to allow the fish to breed. For example, a fine for fishing in the coastal areas may go as high as 20.000 USD. We leave that area to the artisanal fishermen because they are not posing a threat to the stocks.

Q. Another important thing is to make sure that Law and Order is maintained in the sector. What are the monitoring and security measures that you are planning to take?

A. We are working with the African Development Bank, and they are giving us funds to improve the matter. We have until now the Sierra Leone Monitoring System but this is not enough. Very soon we are going to advertise for foreign companies that are interested in doing monitoring to come and do surveillance in our territory. Our territory stretches out in the sea to over 200 miles, it is quite a distance. We want to be very strict on that. We have already been assisted by a Dutch company and they do occasional flights to make the surveillance of our seas. We know of seven countries that have been assisted by the Dutch, but even though we can identify a vessel from the air, to arrest it is very hard, you need a good boat for that. We will give contracts to people and companies to come and assist us. That should have an effect in the next 90 days.

Q. So far as we have seen, there are quite a few possibilities for foreign investors in the sector. What are the challenges that you are expecting in the future with respect of foreign investors coming here?

A. We have to put a lot of things in place still. First of all we want to bring law and order into the sector and cut on poaching, since it is in the interest of all of us. We have very modest fishing licences and they are easy to obtain, so I encourage everybody to follow the right way and do things according to the law. This is one of our priorities, otherwise some investors will invest their money and others fish for free, this is very discouraging. We want to attract experienced and serious investors and our main challenge is to make sure that we solve this question of monitoring and surveillance of the sea. I have asked my cabinet and my colleagues to give me support to identify the best of these surveillance companies. I have sleepless nights because of that problem. It becomes particularly bad when the tuna season comes. The tuna is a migratory fish, it comes here to breed and these vessels come and fish for free. I have many indications about those companies but I would not like to give names. There were some American companies that were fishing in our waters and they liked it here, so they applied for a license and they got it.
We have soon a Spanish delegation coming and I would like to talk to them because Spain is traditionally a fishing country and they are among the best. I will meet them and encourage them to come and invest here, I will try to attract them and I'm going to be flexible with them.

Q. Could you tell us also about your professional background and how you became Minister of Marine Resources?

A. Interestingly, I started in tourism and hotel management. I studied in England, in Switzerland and I was in a hotel in Lausanne and then in Bavaria but I did my preliminaries in England, mainly because of the language. I have also studied in Germany and Switzerland. I have been the general manager of a lot of hotels.

Q. How where you able to use that experience as a minister?

A. That's the interesting thing. As a minister all you need to be is a manager, you just need to be professional and not necessarily an expert on you sector. You have to be able to manage the ministry. I have a background in management, and that helps me to get things done always. As a manager, theoretically you are able to run a ministry and if you have that background you must be able to succeed.

Q. To finish, what would you like our readers to know about Sierra Leone and especially about the marine resources of that beautiful country?

A. I want them to know that in all the West Coast, we have the richest fishing grounds. We have an almost virgin sea that was untouched for a long time. We have huge live stocks that need to be fished. We have no tax on exports, you can fish as much as you want and we have the capacity to accommodate up to 150 vessels. At the moment we have 1/3 of that amount so we are still under fished. The good thing about not fishing is that the fish dies of a natural death and other fishes will eat them. But we want people to come and fish shrimps, for example instead of letting them die or other fishes to eat them, we prefer to export them and make money out of that. Especially shrimps, have a short life, so if we don't have shrimp trolleys to come and fish them the potential will just get lost. It is time to come and take advantage of our stocks. We have enough stocks and we are a peaceful land, I don't see any arguments against to come and fish here.