Project Name: Feed the Future Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity
Title: Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) Consultant
Location: Accra

1.0 Background

On May 26, 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded Tetra Tech the Feed the Future Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA), a 5-year $17.88 million contract to mitigate the near collapse of Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries sector and establish a durable basis for its ecological recovery.

To fulfill this purpose, a balanced and strategic approach will be implemented that reduces fishing overcapacity and increases controlled access over Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries sector to encourage ecological sustainability while also enhancing socio-economic well-being and local resilience of artisanal fisherfolk and their communities. GFRA’s five interdependent strategic approaches are:

• Strategic Approach 1: Align fisheries capacity with ecological carrying capacity of the small pelagic fisheries while enhancing the socio-economic well-being and resilience of artisanal fisherfolk.
• Strategic Approach 2: Increase the quality and value of artisanal fish products to maintain household income and enhance availability of nutritious foods for local and regional markets.
• Strategic Approach 3: Strengthen transparency, accountability, and co management in governance practices for fisheries policymaking, regulation, and enforcement.
• Strategic Approach 4: Strengthen constituencies to promote and implement sustainable fisheries management.
• Strategic Approach 5: Improve use of science and research for policy and management decisions.

A key strategy that GFRA will undertake under Strategic Approach 3, is to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing at the national and local levels within Ghana’s artisanal and industrial marine fishing sector. This includes encouraging voluntary compliance with fishing laws and regulations as well as facilitating capacity building to enhance government effectiveness in monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) operations, especially conducting consistent, fair and transparent enforcement operations at sea and at port.

2.0 Objective/Purpose of the SOW

• The objective of this assignment is support GFRA in developing strategies to curb IUU fishing at national and local levels within the artisanal and industrial small pelagic fishing sector.

3.0 Scope of Work/Activities/Tasks
The Consultant will:

1. Design GFRA’s national capacity building plan to enhance GoG effectiveness in monitoring, control and surveillance operations, with an emphasis on the industrial fishing sector active in the small pelagic fishing sector. The strategy must result in approaches that will increase key Government of Ghana actors’ ability to conduct consistent, fair and transparent enforcement operations at sea and in port. In order to effectively develop this capacity building strategy, the consultant must:

• Consult with other development partners, CSOs, maritime security institutions and non-state actors who are focused on MCS in the small pelagic fishery in Ghana.
• Consult with GoG stakeholders to identify their perspective on issues, challenges and gaps with regards to MCS in the small pelagic fishery.
• Desk analysis of IUU literature written about Ghana Fisheries (let’s not reinvent the wheel)
• Present recommendations for GFRA activities to build national capacity on MCS that directly advance GFRA’s objectives related to addressing IUU fishing in the industrial sector and budget limitations.
2. Develop a plan for GFRA to support implementation of key findings from the Gear Audit Reports. This will include consulting with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Fisheries Commission, development partners, and industry stakeholders, and developing recommendations on a list of activities that GFRA can support to support implementation of the gear audit report recommendations in a way that will reduce bycatch of small pelagics.
3. Implement activity from GFRA Gear Audit Plan (see number 2 above). Upon consultantion and mutual agreement with GFRA on the most important activity, support the implementation of that activity (workshop, training, meeting etc).
4. Develop GFRA strategy for community-led enforcement operations. This will include convening a meeting between MOFAD/FC, CSOs and GFRA to review esisting beach enforcement models, and facilitate the adoption of one of the models to be scaled up in other coastal regionsEnsure integration of DASE app to ensure application across the community-supported enforcement operations.

4.0 Deliverables

1. GFRA Government MCS capacity building plan including:

• List GoG agencies and actors (i.e Navy, Marine Policy, FEU etc) for engagement, including a prioritization of key actors and stakeholdersactors. The list should include names of individuals who should be included in training and capacity building activities
• Summary of existing MCS capabilities and gaps to ensure consistent, fair, and transparent enforcement operations in the industrial fishing sector.
• Recommendations on trainings and other capacity building activities that GFRA can consider in order to address the gaps, taking into consideration GFRA’s funding and other limitations
• Recommend mechanisms for GFRA to deliver the capacity building – potential organizations, individuals or other service providers with unique capabilities to provide trainings and other capacity building activities.
• Timeline for training and capacity building activities for GFRA to undertake between May 2022 – September 2022.

2. GFRA Gear Audit Support Plan, including

• Summary of most important recommendations from audit report that GFRA should consider implementing
• Summary of findings from consultations on these recommendations and the best approach to implementing them with development partners,government and industry stakeholders
• Prioritized recommendations for GFRA to consider in implementing gear audit report

3. Activity planning and reporting documentation from Gear Audit support activity

• Submit to GFRA the activity plan and budget for one activity to support the top recommendation presented to GFRA in order to implement the gear audit report.
• Submit to GFRA the activity report upon completion of the activity

4. GFRA’s Community Enforcement Model

• Organize meeting with CSOs and FC on community enforcement models. The purpose of the meeting is to review the status of community enforcement models, examine what is working and what is not work, and come to consensus on a model that is best. Deliverables includes:
• Meeting agenda, invitation list, facilitation guide, and budget for the meeting
• Meeting minutes, including documentation of the consensus on the aspects of the model that all paticipants are willing to adopt and implement going forward
• Develop methodology on standardized community enforcement model in close collaboration with FC, building upon the LaBEC model, and adjusted upon consultation with CSOs on the best practices and lessons learned. The methodology must describe the form the community enforcement model will take, membership, data collection tools and methodologies, linkages to enforcement authorities, and standard operating procedures for members to undertake community enforcement operations.
• Deliver training to GFRA partners on the standardized community enforcement model.

Key Deliverables Deliverable Due Date

• Meeting agenda, invitation list, and facilitation guide for Community Enforcement Model Meeting with CSOs and FC May 9, 2022
• Gear Audit support plan May 20, 2022
• Community Enforcement Model Meeting report, including documentation on consensus model May 30, 2022
• Activity Plan and Budget for Gear Audit support activity June 1, 2022
• Community enforcement model methodology June 17, 2022
• Community enforcement model training agenda, invitation list, facilitation guide, and budget. July 1, 2022
• Government MCS capacity building plan July 25, 2022

5.0 Schedule

Assignment will be completed between April 30 and July 25, 2022. A detailed schedule of deliverables and timelines will be developed

6.0 TECHNICAL COORDINATION

Heather D’Agnes will coordinate this SOW and approve consultant deliverables prior to full payment.

7.0 REQUIRED EXPERTISE

Qualification Required & Experience

An individual, that applies for this assignment must meet the following requirements

• Undergraduate or Masters degree in relevant field
• Minimum 8 years of experience working in fisheries, with specific experience working on law enforcement, illegal,unreported and unregulated (IUU fishing) and MCS
• Experience designing strategies, especially related to enforcement
• Experience carrying out a project activity, including undertaking logisitical arrangements, issuing invitations, facilitating workshops, conducting trainings and/or
• Knowledge of the fishing sector, key stakeholders and enforcement agencies

8.0 IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE (TENTATIVE)

Key Deliverables Deliverable Due Date

• Consultant Recruited April 30, 2022
• Meeting agenda, invitation list, and facilitation guide for Community Enforcement Model Meeting with CSOs and FC May 9, 2022
• Gear Audit support plan May 20, 2022
• Community Enforcement Model Meeting report, including documentation on consensus model May 30, 2022
• Activity Plan and Budget for Gear Audit support activity June 1, 2022
• Community enforcement model methodology June 17, 2022
• Activity Report for Gear Audit support activity June 30, 2022
• Government MCS capacity building plan July 1, 2022
• Community enforcement model training agenda, invitation list, facilitation guide, and budget. July 1, 2022
• Total LOE 55

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

To apply through:

GFRA.Applications@tetratech.com with a cover letter and current curriculum vitae (CV) in reverse chronological order format. Please list the title of the position in the email subject line

Closing Date: 04 May, 2022