SOLSTICE Kicks Off

November, 2017

On October 28th and 29th 2017, SOLSTICE-WIO project partners from the UK, South Africa, Keyna and Tanzania gathered in Dar es Salaam for a two-day All Regions Kick-Off meeting, to discuss and agree on collaboration to deliver projectFerry fish market, Tanzania

The first day of the kick-off was dedicated to a field trip organised by the Institute of Marine Science (IMS), one of the Tanzanian project partners.  The  field trip introduced the international project partners, and the UK researchers in particular, to the socio-economic landscape of the Tanzanian Case Study, which is dedicated to the small pelagic fisheries in the Pemba Channel between the island of Pemba and the Tanzanian mainland.  The field trip included a visit to Msasani pelagic fish community landing & processing site, the Ferry Fish Market (right), and Kunduchi fishing village.

The second day was an intense all-day meeting of presentations and discussions of the case study activities planned for Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.  Topics included the marine technologies and scientific methodologies that will be used during the environmental field work, plans for the socio-economic studies and plans for engaging with local and regional stakeholder communities, and outline plans for training and education activities.

Dr Popova, who leads the UK contribution to SOLSTICE, said:
“The SOLSTICE  kick-off meeting has thrown us straight into the depth of the challenges facing the region.  Our Western Indian Ocean partners have done a great job introducing us to the issues around sustainable management of living marine resources and the importance of improving our understanding of the marine environment in the WIO.  We are all looking forward to an exciting and challenging project!”

 

SOLSTICE-WIO project partners from the UK, South Africa, Keyna and Tanzania