Fishermen Identification Database System (FIDS)

Puntland has 58 separate fish landing sites most of which have very limited road access. The fishermen are presently partly dependent on sales of fish to foreign boats as their main market in order to cover their basic supply needs.

Unavailability of comprehensive dat a on fi sheries activities for the last 30 years means that the government and other stakeholders are unable to map out fisheries management strategies for the industry and more so in efforts to combat piracy in the Somali waters.

The proposed proj ect aims at providing a specific biometrics-based fisherman's database system for the Puntland Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in order to increase knowledge of fisheries activities and fishing effort to further support monitoring control and surveillance of fisheries resources whil e at the same time providing important information to the antipiracy forces.

The system will be used to register and collect basic information about the fishermen from all landing sites within Puntland. The information will be used by FAO and the Ministry to improve the understanding of the fishing livelihoods in Puntland while at the same time enhancing the security of the fishermen while at sea.

These will be done through training of staff at the ministry and database system support and maintenance. The trained staff will thereafter implement the registration of fishermen and artisanal fleet throughout Puntland.