The Limbe Nautical Arts and Fisheries Institute, LINAFI, will effectively begin training students in different disciplines in September this year.

The date for the effective take off of classes was made public by the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry, Dr Taiga, while on a working visit to Debundscha, February 18. Cameroonians have been waiting for the school to open its doors, after the Spanish Government had in 2012 completed the construction and equipment of the institution.

It would be recalled that it was on August 12, 2015, that President Paul Biya signed a decree creating the school. Minister Taiga was accompanied during his visit the Youth Affairs and Civic Education Minister, Mounouna Foutsou. Taiga was at Debundscha, the second wettest place in the world, to officially launch the opening of the Debundscha Fisheries Training Centre.

The Debundscha Centre, created in 2005, was aimed at encouraging young Cameroonians to gain practical skills and knowledge in fishing. The Limbe Fisheries Institute shall train fisheries technicians, researchers and other tertiary workers on industrial fishing and related mechanics.

While opening the Debundscha Centre with a pioneer batch of 31 trainees, the Minister called on them to be focused on their training because, “you are not trained as mere fishermen but to become master fishermen with entrepreneurial skills and knowledge.”

To the Minister, trainees “made a good choice.” According to Dr. Taiga, the fishing industry in Cameroon is very lucrative, but owing to insufficient Cameroonians engaged in the sector, the fish catch in Cameroon is unable to meet national demand. Thus, Cameroon imports a large quantity of fish from other countries like Morocco to satisfy domestic demand.

On his part, the Mayor of the Idenau, Gabriel Tonde, regretted that Government’s efforts to arrest the decline in fish production by empowering young Cameroonians through training might not yield fruits, if some measures are not put in place.

In the past few years, artisanal fishermen along the Limbe coastline have complained about the destructive activities of industrial fishing trawlers. Some action had been taken over the years to check the trawlers that were defying fishing and conservation rules.

The trawlers have been coming so close to the coast, using very fine nets that rake even fingerlings. The Mayor called on the Minister to ensure that Government institutes greater surveillance at sea to check against the trawlers.
The Director of the Centre, Cyprian Menjo, called on the Government to do something to improve on the structures of the Centre.

According to him, it is very difficult for the five trainers to share two desks and that the students needed more classrooms, while the trainers need lodging facilities at the Centre to reduce transport cost on the 30 km road from Limbe to Debundscha.

On behalf of the students, Macdonald Atem, thanked the Government for creating the centre. He implored the Minister to cause the Government to provide solutions to their worries.