Introduction

The Post-Harvest Fisheries Research Programme (PHFRP) is one of ten natural resources research programmes funded by the UK Government's Department for International Development and is managed by NR International.

Why is the fisheries sector important to the poor?

Fisheries play an important part in the social and economic lives of vast numbers of people around the world, many of whom are amongst the poorest and most marginalised people in rural communities.

In many cases fish harvesting, processing and trade is seen as the employment of last resort when other economic opportunities have run out. There are no accurate figures for the number of people involved in fisheries but it is estimated that, globally, there are tens of millions of people dependent on fisheries for their main source of income for at least some of each year – and this number is rapidly increasing.

For more information download a copy of the 2003-2004 annual report.

Part 1 Narrative

Part 2 Project summaries