Traditional fishing is an essential economic sector in the coastal areas of Haiti and employs nearly 50,000 people. The fishing field has yet been severely affected by cyclones and tropical storms in 2008: 60,000 bamboo fishing baskets, a thousand nets and 200 boats have been destroyed or damaged. Thanks to the support of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department, ACTED initiated recovery activities for the fishing sector (for the first time in Haiti) for communities of fishermen severely affected in the Low Artibonite.

Since March 2009, ACTED has been working on developing and strengthening the livelihoods of five fishermen organisations of the town of Grande Saline, at the mouth of the Artibonite River and of the Caribbean Sea. Each organisation has been provided with river fishing equipment (a boat and a toolkit composed of a box of hooks, a roll of seine, 16 lines and a coolbox). This equipment will be used collectively within the five organisations, thus benefiting more than 400 fishermen. Josué Bercherel, President of the fishermen’s movement of Grande Saline has thus declared: “The equipment distributed by ACTED will be useful to the fishermen community but also to the population since the product of the fishing activities will benefit both the committee members and the inhabitants of Grande Saline.”

Twenty fishermen among the five organisations have also been trained to sustainable fishing, respectful of the coastal environment and of natural resources, and to fish conservation practices. Each of these technicians has then transmitted his know-how to the other members of his organisation. In addition to the strengthening of the fishermen’s organisations capacities, the creation of two young fish multiplication nurseries will enable the diversification and the increase in catching thanks to the repopulation of the Artibonite River.

Traditional fishing in Haiti has a great potential for development, despite its lack of financial means and structure. Based on its knowledge in the Low Artibonite, ACTED is also working (in cooperation with AECID – the Spanish Cooperation) on the elaboration of a strategy of integrated development for the fishing field in the South-East of Haiti, an uppermost sea fishing area.