What help do fisher folk need to start fishing again ?
The assessment missions currently underway will provide a better picture of the needs of hard-hit fishing communities, where the loss of homes, boats, fishing gear, aquaculture cages and ponds have deprived communities of income and livelihoods, especially poor fishing households who may not have adequate savings to replace their assets and who are unlikely to meet the immediate food needs of their families without assistance. The immediate priority now is to repair what has been damaged and help is needed in the form of funds to purchase material and equipment and the assistance of technical expertise. Local companies are also working hard to produce fishing boats, nets and other equipment. In the cases where this is not enough, boats and equipment need to be imported. Here it is important to precisely specify the design of boats, gear etc. as the local designs have been developed over time to be economically and technically sustainable. However good the intentions may be to send boat
