With a 1,284 km long coastline that shelters more than 4,580 boats for more than 43,600 maritime registrants and a production of 108,000 tons of fresh fish, the Algerian fisheries and aquaculture sector has significant potential for diversifying the economy, but needed support to do so. With support, this sector can also reduce Algerian dependance on hydrocarbons and create jobs, especially in coastal and isolated rural areas.

The DIVECO 2 project’s mandate was to provide support, advice, and technical assistance to the Programme Director in the implementation of the support program for the fisheries and aquaculture sector. To achieve this, the project team worked directly with the department of fisheries and aquaculture within the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture. Additionally, technical assistance beneficiaries included public sector institutions at central and local levels, and private sector groups such as the Chamber of Fisheries and Aquaculture and professionals in the sector. The technical assistance that the project provided included capacity building training, institutional strengthening, socioeconomic studies, and value chains assessment and development.

The general goal of the DIVECO2 project was to contribute to a more diversified Algerian economy, making it less dependent on hydrocarbons. The specific objective was to increase the contribution of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors through sustainable development and improvement of economic performance. DIVECO 2 supported the Algerian Ministry of Fisheries to do the following:

• Strengthened the Ministry of Fisheries’ capacity in the development of sectoral policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks
• Promoted and developed industries and supported the sustainable development of fishery resources and the good quality of products
• Strengthened the capacities of intermediary organisations such as the Chambers of Fisheries and Aquaculture to support sector’s small and medium-sized enterprises in complying with EU sanitary and phytosanitary requirements (SPS) for increased exports of fish products into the European markets

Some of the project key outputs were:

• Provided technical assistance and capacity building support to the Ministry of Fishing and Fishery Resources for the analysis, review, and development of sectoral policies, strategies, and regulatory frameworks in order to support institutional strengthening of the sector
• Conducted an analysis and review of the national legal framework on fishery and aquaculture and promote legal reforms to incentivize an attractive business climate for the investment in new economic activities that would help diversify the country’s economy
• Conducted a comprehensive market study of the aquaculture sector (marine and inland), that provided recommendations on investment in the sector, views on future demand, and the identification of communication actions for the consumption of fish products
• Supported fisheries value chain development, including trainings to SMEs, to introduce innovative and sustainable techniques in fishing and aquaculture, and supported the private sector stakeholders in relation to the improvement of commercialization paths