The follow report presents you with a rare opportunity. First Catch Seafood’s is looking for a financial partner. The current shareholders in First Catch are looking for capital to further develop their fishing company in Sierra Leone. It is proposed that introduced Capital be exchanged for equity in the overall venture.

I myself David Pooley have had over 15 years extensive hands on experience, catching, processing and marketing lobsters. Because of the high value and ever increasing demand around the world, It is envisaged that stage one, we first develop the Lobster business and then look at other species and opportunity. In writing this proposal I present to you a rare opportunity to unite with First Catch Seafood – Sierra Leone.

Due to the buoyant Asian and European emergent countries, over the past 3 years the price of live Lobsters has tripled. At certain times of the year the demand far out strips the supply. Along with this, there is a steady demand for lobster tails and lobster meat. As a direct result of declining seafood resources in European waters the EU are reducing tariffs and opening their borders. The high demand in Europe for wild seafood products coupled with a strong euro versus the US dollar makes for an excellent target market.

Sierra Leone since 2002, is on the road to recovery, formerly having a very lucrative fishing industry, here now lays the opportunity to take the lead, get in on the ground floor and redevelop this industry. Like all new business ventures one should approach with prudence and one needs to be well prepared. In particular with fishing, although the rewards are great, preparation has to be advanced. In the case of Sierra Leone this project needs to be approached with caution, forward-thinking and due diligence must prevail. Sierra Leone is blessed with an abundance of seafood’s.

The reasons why I propose we start with lobsters. We know there is good demand and ready markets. Live lobster demands a higher value than most species. My history speaks for it’s self, I have had 30 odd years in the fishing industry and more than 15 years hands on experience in catching processing, marketing and exporting Seafood. Having processed whole cooked lobsters, whole raw lobster and lobster tails, In 1987 I researched, designed and assisted in the construction of our live lobster export plant. The second only live lobster export plant in the south island of New Zealand. In a matter of 12 months we were exporting 98% of our catch, over 100 MT of live lobsters with a minimal mortality rate. From all reports and information supplied from First Catch Seafood, Sierra Leone, where there is abundance Royal Spiny Lobsters.

First Catch Seafoods LLC

First Catch Seafood, LLC, has built solid alliance in West Africa, to fish the waters responsibly and open new markets of sustainable prosperity for partner companies, and ambitious locals.
First Catch Seafood – Sierra Leone operates U.S. HACCP and Sanitation standards. All buyers receive a copy of our HACCP Program, Supplier Guarantee and Product Specifications.
First Catch Seafood, LLC, are looking for one or two investors to invest in one of the last frontiers of untapped resources and unlimited opportunities.

The following is purposed

Feasibility Study

Stage: One I take a trip to Sierra Leone, where I can scope the current operation and make recommendations on level of investment and actions. There are a number of areas to cover but the main focus will be a written report on the initial grounding structures, such as. Government: relationship, current structures and stability Local Culture: The local people and the acceptance of the operation. Current and Future Investment: Review current assets and possible future investment. Key Personal / Staff: All personal currently employed or leveraged by your operation Catching: Review current ideas and recommend future supplies of raw materials. Transportation: Current and future needs Accommodation: Current and future needs Processing, Packing, Storage: Review current facilities and procedures Exporting, Shipping and Marketing: Review Other Operations: Look briefly at your other investments and operations i.e. Shrimps/ Prawns, and other species. The Key purpose here is look at ways to enhance the current operation, to initiate the resurrection of the lobster business and prepare a full report with recommendations on action and improvements that will realise the returns on current investment and future investment. The main goal is to focus on future planning and potential profitability. From this trip I will prepare a full written report and Budgets with recommendations on, capital and investment required. We can then discuss future developments with the principles of First Catch Seafood’s and devise a partnership that is beneficial to all parties.

Feasibility Study Costs: When it comes to expenditure I like to class myself as very moderate. Flying, back seat is fine. Accommodation as long as it is clean, dry and has fresh running water and electricity estimate USD$75.00 per day . Transportation has to be reliable. Food as long as it is fresh. My Standard fee for such a venture would be USD$330 per day plus, expenses and a daily allowance. USD$2500.00, per 7 Day week. Plus all travel, insurance accommodation food and out of pocket expenses, i.e. fuel company dining and entertainment. Payable also daily cash allowance of USD$50.00 or $300.00 per week. Written recommendations and Budgeting, a flat rate of USD$330.00 per day The timing for such a venture I would leave up to you, suggesting that I would require a minimum of 21 days in Sierra Leone. Thank you for taking the time to view our proposal for your interest I have also attached a copy of my own Resume / Statement I look forward to your response and the opportunity to present you with this proposal.

Regards

Dave Pooley

Interested in getting in on the ground floor Contact me today


684 2584314 davewpooley@gmail.com

Trade And Fisheries In Sierra Leone
Posted by on Oct 24, 2007, 04:10

Sierra Leonehas considerable resources of shrimp, cephalopods (cuttlefish and octopus), lobster, demersal species (snappers, catfish, groupers), small pelagic species (herring-like species) and large pelagic species (tunas, barracudas). These species have well-established global markets and – with the exception of small pelagic and some tuna - command high prices reflecting strong international demand. Reluctance of foreign and locally chartered vessels to fish in the Sierra Leone Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during and following the war substantially reduced levels of industrial fishing on local fish stocks, which appear to have substantially come back from the impact of years of excessive fishing during the 1980s. Little is known about foreign illegal fishing in the EEZ, but DFID has estimated the losses to Sierra Leone at US$28.7 million in 2005. While the fishery may at present be in fairly good shape, this could quickly change due to the serious shortage of resources for its proper management and more general governance problems. The two major fisheries in Sierra Leone – industrial and small-scale (artisanal) – differ from a trade perspective in one fundamental way. Industrially caught fish is mostly frozen on board. Depending on the year, the catch, which is landed and marketed locally, varies widely, from 0-60%; the rest is trans-shipped (directly transferred from fishing vessels to refrigerated reefer vessels, without the use of port facilities) and exported.

The catch of artisanal maritime fishermen is hot-smoked and salted, and then almost entirely distributed through a well-established system of mostly female processors and traders within Sierra Leone. About 15,000 additional tons is caught in inland waters, lakes, rivers floodplains and swamps, and is processed and consumed locally. Women are mostly involved in fishing in inland waters. Past efforts to culture tilapia, catfish, and oysters were technically successful before the war, but the economic profitability and market access are questionable. Production of cultured fish currently is very limited.

Current reported catches of the industrial fleet (for which 66 licenses were issued in 2004) are on the order of 14,000–22,000 tons. On average, some 30,000 local artisanal fishermen annually produce about 48,000 tons. The gross value of average annual production of the industrial fishery in 2005 is about Le 75 billion (US$25 million); the artisanal fish catch is worth (at the landing site) about Le 54 billion (US $ 18 million).

Most of the foreign exchange earned by the foreign fleet does not enter the country, and most of its exports are not captured in official statistics. Official recorded estimates for 2005 were only US$120,000, while total exports were estimated at US$13.6 million by the FAO in 1999 and at US$18 million by the DTIS mission for 2004 (excluding illegal fishing). The only foreign exchange that is captured by Sierra Leone is from license payments, fines and royalties, as well as payments for local staff and supplies for the vessels. Interestingly, the first category generated revenues averaging US$1.55 million in 2004 and 2005 – well above the total value of declared exports.37 (Payments for local staff and supplies are surely less.) As long ago as 1993, the AfDB estimated that licenses and royalties should generate US$10 million per annum. The discrepancy between official statistics and actual exports is due in part to the transshipment process, but it also reflects the weak capacity of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) to manage the sector.

After transshipment, the bulk of the high value species is shipped mainly to Las Palmas –Sierra Leone has not yet satisfied the EU requirements to become part of the harmonized trading system of the EU, and officially cannot export fish directly to the EU. However, it is common knowledge that a substantial part of the fish transshipped off Sierra Leone and shipped to Las Palmas is ultimately consumed in Europe. Other transshipped or locally landed industrial fish is reportedly sold in middle-eastern markets (Lebanon, Egypt), East Asia (some cuttlefish) and regional markets (Ghana, Nigeria). An unknown quantity of smoked fish may be sold to neighboring countries; small amounts of fish are exported frozen to the USA.

Sierra Leone, which in Freetown has the third largest natural harbor in the world, has virtually no fishing port infrastructure enabling industrial vessels to land their fish. Most industrially caught fish is transshipped at sea or in the harbor mouth off Freetown. Offloading of industrially-caught frozen fish for local processing and marketing takes place with small canoes, and is highly time consuming and costly. Modest amounts of fresh fish are exported by air from Lungi airport. At present, however, the airport has no facilities to properly handle temperature sensitive fresh fish shipments.

Local fishing companies buy the fish that the foreign fleet is obliged to sell locally, mostly at relatively low prices. Some companies distribute the frozen fish locally; others process the fish and target local and regional markets. However, the lack of fishing port infrastructure, modest processing and cold-storage capacity, and inability to export directly to the EU are substantial constraints on operations of local processors. Of the 14 local companies, less than half have the size and equipment to effectively operate abroad, and few appear sufficiently strong to self-finance a substantial expansion of their operations.

Institutional Structures
The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), formerly the Directorate of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, was elevated to Ministry status in 2002. Perennially under-funded, it has particularly concentrated in the past on development of artisanal fisheries, strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework, managing industrial fisheries licenses, monitoring artisanal fisheries and creating a more effective Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS ) system. During the war most of its facilities, files and equipment were destroyed. It is considered by independent observers to be one of the more effective ministries, even compared to similar institutions in neighboring countries.
The fisheries law, introduced in 1995, is a rare example of a practical and modern law; after 10 years, it still satisfies the country’s need for an effective legal framework. In addition, it is one of the most pragmatic and effective laws dealing with MCS operations, including detailed rules and procedures on how to deal with offenders, levels of fines and penalties, and use of those fines in a special fund: The Monitoring, Control, Surveillance and Enforcement Unit Fund, which the Director of Fisheries can use at his or her discretion to finance surveillance operations and other activities of the Ministry, including training and research.
The country’s MCS capabilities - at one time well developed and effective - are currently modest, but steps have recently been taken to improve the situation. The Government has made detailed plans to create a Joint Maritime Administration (JMA), which will pool the surveillance and interception requirements and financial resources of five Government agencies. It will jointly operate the available coastal and deep-sea craft for surveillance, and also cooperate with international projects (see section on donor aid) that may provide air surveillance.

Previous attempts to negotiate a fishery agreement between the EU and Sierra Leone have failed. Recently the Government informed the EU it would be interested in resuming negotiations. The EU told the Government it would consider such negotiations but that its procedures required that Sierra Leone satisfy certain requirements that would re-assess the current status of fish stocks, define and establish fish export procedures, ensure quality control of the entire fish production chain, and establish an effective MCS system.

Donor Aid to the Sector
The country has been the beneficiary of considerable aid over the years. Most aid has been targeted at artisanal fisheries. Since 2003 DFID, FAO, UNHCR and the AfDB support the artisanal sector. The EU for example, did commit themselves to funding three initiatives that would directly affect industrial fisheries and fish trade:

• Certification. The EU is currently implementing a regional project to improve the access of fisheries products of The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia to the world markets (and the EU) by improving the sanitary conditions and by generating a sustainable system of sanitary controls and surveillance of fishery production and trade.

• MCS. The EU did approve a project to support the regional cooperation of six countries in West Africa (Cape Verde to Sierra Leone) to improve the MCS of fisheries in the region.

• Research. To provide a more reliable assessment of the status of fisheries resources as a basis for future fisheries agreement negotiations, the EU is funding an assessment of the status of local fish resources in Sierra Leone.

POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT AND ITS CONSTRAINTS

Given Sierra Leone’s healthy marine fish stocks, it could export more fish in volume terms. It could also capture a considerably larger share of the value added than the 15- 20% currently obtained through licenses, royalties, wages, and supplies.

Significant revenues are foregone due to a range of interrelated factors including:

• Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (theft by unlicensed vessels, licensed vessels fishing in restricted areas, destructive fishing practices etc.)

• Poor access to lucrative markets and associated cost penalties.

• Offshore-based economy of a largely unfettered industrial fleet

• Lack of value-added onshore processing

• License-based revenues based on vessel tonnage rather than catch volumes and value

• Rent-seeking behaviour and corruption

• Declining productivity (catch per unit effort)

Hence, improvement of trade in fish products should not be pursued only in terms of expanding volumes, but should particularly ensure that a larger share of the natural resource rents from the fishery is returned to Sierra Leone. In the long-term, the sector’s contribution will be maximized through its transformation into a locally owned artisanal-cum-semi-industrial fishery.

"Fish For a Future"

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