Sustainable fisheries development and resilient coastal livelihoods in southern Yemen: Project research synthesis

Key findings include:

- Fisheries development policy and assistance in Southern Yemen have faced large gaps in data and knowledge—particularly regarding fish consumption and food security implications, use of ice for chilling fish, and measurement and monitoring of artisanal fishing activities.

- Fish is a highly nutritious food, an important part of Yemeni diets, and much more affordable than meat. Improving household access to fish, especially in inland areas, is essential for improving food security and reducing malnutrition. Restoring and expanding domestic (and export) markets should be a priority of fisheries development policy.

- Ice is widely used within some links of artisanal fisheries value chains, but fishers and market retailers employ ice strategically. Consumers’ willingness to pay for ice use is low compared to the high cost of ice and the demand for high-quality fish is currently very limited, making ice use unprofitable for many small fishers. Investments in energy supply and ice production to lower costs and in consumer awareness campaigns on food safety and fish quality to increase willingness to pay are crucial to maintain an uninterrupted cold chain and achieve quality-led value addition in artisanal fisheries value chains.

- A complete fishing information and monitoring system for the Gulf of Aden that captures both artisanal and commercial fishing vessels is urgently needed for sustainable fisheries development. Deep-learning-based remote sensing provides a low-cost solution for high-frequency data collection to analyze and track difficult-to-detect artisanal fishing activities and changes in local fishing fleets.