Shem Oirere is a Kenyan journalist who previously worked for daily newspapers as a general news correspondent, business reporter and sub-editor before turning to full-time freelancing. For the more than 20 years, he has covered various sectors of Africa’s economy including agriculture, food processing, and maritime industries. A graduate of the University of South Africa, he has traveled within and outside Africa covering various industry events that have a bearing on the continent’s economy on behalf of different international consumer and trade publications. He currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
Author Archive
Oceana Group, one of the top South Africa-based seafood firms, said COVID-19 driven food service trends in the European and Chinese seafood markets have continued to have impacts with the company posting a mixed financial performance largely dictated by the uncertainties created by the global pandemic …
Photo courtesy of Oceana
… Read More
Namibia has announced a successful government fish quota auction that raised NAD 189.9 million (USD 14 million, EUR 11.5 million) for the government from the sale of 15,948 metric tons (MT) of hake.
The auction on 16 April, attracted 38 bids and raised NAD 156.1 million (USD 11.4 million, EUR 9.4 million) at the primary sale after the bids were whittled down to 23, according to a joint statement by Namibian Finance Minister Ipumbu Shiimi and
… Read More
The European Union has issued a second yellow card to Ghana, warning the West African country it stands to lose its access to the European seafood market unless it works more urgently to tackle the illegal fishing within its exclusive economic zone.
Ghana now has to demonstrate changes to its management practices or risk receiving a red card from the European Commission, which would result in seafood-related trade sanctions.
The E.U. is
… Read More
A new study has investigated the details of how the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 impacted the availability and supply of seafood, with fish-producing countries in Asia and Africa reporting huge disruptions of their aquatic food value chain in 2020.
With nearly every fish-producing country in the world reeling from the effects of COVID-19 on production, processing, and supply of aquatic food products, the study identifies short- and long-term
… Read More
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has teamed up with Partners for Development to launch a two-year aquaculture investment project in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, a region that produces nearly 80 percent of the country’s total domestic fish output …
Photo courtesy of Partners for
… Read More
Cape Town, South Africa-based seafood company Premier Fishing and Brands Ltd. has reported a positive financial performance for the six months ending 28 February, 2021, supported by profits generated by its squid division ...
Photo courtesy of Premier Fishing
… Read More
West African countries in the Gulf of Guinea have stepped up the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related crimes with the creation of a regional center to coordinate their fisheries management.
The countries of Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, through Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) – an intergovernmental organization that promotes
… Read More
The development of a fishing industry project in Sierra Leone finance by China is being opposed group of non-governmental organizations who claim it will harm the environment.
The Sierra Leone government said it has received USD 55 million (EUR 45 million) from China for the construction of a fishing harbor and fishmeal plant on 250 acres in the Black Johnson area, nearly 51 years after the project was first considered and then tabled
… Read More
Mauritania has submitted a report as part of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), aiming to achieve greater transparency and accountability in the nation’s fisheries sector.
In a press release, FiTI said Mauritania’s issuance of the report “marks an important step to enhancing the public availability of credible fisheries management information.”
FiTI is a global standard for establishing sustainable fisheries
… Read More
Tanzania has signed a new agreement with International Fund Agricultural Development (IFAD) enabling the country to produce up to 25 million tilapia and 10 million catfish fingerlings annually.
The undertaking to produce the fingerlings at Tanzania’s 15 aquaculture development centers is a component of the USD 77.4 million (EUR 63.9 million) Agricultural and Fisheries Development Programme (AFDP), an initiative to support rural households
… Read More