For many African states, reports of diminishing fisheries are increasingly common particularly for fish species that are highly targeted in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing sectors. The challenge is further exacerbated by the presence of limited data and information on the stock status for majority of these fisheries. In addition, there is limited capacity to conduct comprehensive fisheries stock assessments in coastal and island states which directly impacts the sustainable management of fisheries resources.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop and improve expertise in data collection and quantitative fisheries assessment. This was the major motivation...