The Gambia's Fisheries development policies evolved during the two national Five-Year Development Plans (1985 to 1995). In these documents, government defined fisheries development policies as the documents to direct public interventions.

The broad objectives of the policies were reviewed for the Economic Recovery Programmes (ERP) (1985-1989) and the subsequent Programme for Sustained Development (PSD) of the 1990s. A Fisheries Management and Implementation Plan for the Fisheries Sector were elaborated in 1989 and were replaced by the Strategic Plan for the Fisheries Sector 1994/1995-2004. The policy objectives of the fisheries sector are in perfect harmony with the national development objectives for the Agriculture and Natural Resources sector (ANR), as outlined in The Gambia Incorporated Vision 2020, which is a blueprint for national development objectives covering a 25-year period (1996-2020). For a medium term economic policy framework, the Government has articulated a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) setting out the approach for the eradication of poverty.

There are specific objectives put

in place for the effective rationalisation of the policies. These included the long-term utilization of marine and inland fisheries resources; improvement of the nutritional standards of the population; increase employment opportunities in the sector as well as to increase net foreign exchange earnings in the sector and to improve the economic environment of fisheries with a view to enhancing the sector's contribution to the national economy.

Immediate management measurers / controls are stated in the policies for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development of the fisheries sector was to put in place a systematic reduction and regulation of fishing effort especially for foreign fishing vessels targeting demersal fish species. The policy also intends to improved Monitoring, Control, Surveillance as well as land and sea, increase in fishing licence fees; critical review of bilateral fishing agreements and the critical review of performances of fishing companies with the view to eliminating non-performing/non-viable companies.

Shrimp fisheries

However, there are great economic and social benefits associated with the estuarine shrimp fisheries, including employment and income for large numbers of rural families and processing workers, as well as significant foreign exchange earnings. Little information exists on the shrimp fisheries stock. However, observations of shrimp catches by artisanal fishermen reveals a high proportion of juvenile shrimps, which seems to suggest high fishing pressure and the possible use by fishermen of stow nets of small mesh size.

The immediate task is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the oceanic and estuarine shrimp stocks in order to know their potentials and to determine optimum exploitation levels.Government management measures include strict enforcement on the use of recommended mesh size (50 mm for shrimp trawlers and 25 mm for stow nets), and establishment of industrial shrimp farming with an emphasis on the breeding of the local shrimp. A new company West African Aquaculture Limited has purchased the assets of Scan-Gambia Shrimp Limited. The infrastructure has been rehabilitated and new equipment and machinery installed both at the hatchery and at the farm and is operational. The company is breeding indigenous shrimp species (the pink shrimp).

An important element of shrimp fisheries is community-based management, including rule-making, arbitration and conflict resolution. An individual fisherman applies rules in these communities regarding exclusive rights to fish a certain area. These users' rights are obtained by placement of an anchor by the fishermen themselves at preferred fishing spots. The value of the rights is indicated by the fact that they can be sold, inherited or leased. Thus they are transferable and exclusive to the owner. Conflicts are rare among shrimp fishermen and when they arise they are usually resolved among the fishermen themselves, or arbitrated with the help of village authorities, elders or a combination.