TERMS OF REFERENCE to Review and Amendment of the 2019 Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and Development Law National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) Ref. NaFAA/RFP/ICS/001/EJF-O5P/2026

Terms of Reference: Review and Amendment of the 2019 Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and Development Law

Background and Context

1.1 Liberia’s Fisheries Sector

Liberia has a coastline of approximately 570 kilometres along the Atlantic Ocean, encompassing Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters estimated at around 245,000 km². The fisheries sector plays a critical role in national food security, employment, and livelihoods, with the artisanal sub-sector providing the primary source of animal protein for a significant proportion of the population and supporting the incomes of an estimated 33,000 fishers and fish traders, the majority of whom are women engaged in fish processing and trade. Liberia’s waters host both commercially important coastal and pelagic species, attracting distant-water fishing nation (DWFN) fleets from Europe, Asia, and other regions under bilateral Fisheries Access Agreements (FiAAs). Industrial fishing, including both licensed domestic vessels and foreign-flagged vessels, operates alongside a large artisanal fleet. The sector faces significant challenges, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, inadequate monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) capacity, overfishing of key stocks, post-harvest losses, and limited institutional and financial resources for enforcement. IUU fishing is estimated to cost West African economies billions of dollars annually, with Liberia among the affected states.

1.2 Regulatory and International Context

The 2019 Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and Development Law (the “Law”) is the principal domestic legislative instrument governing the management, development, regulation, and control of fisheries and aquaculture in Liberia. The Law was enacted to replace earlier, outdated legislation and to modernise the governance framework administered by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA). Since the Law’s enactment, the international regulatory environment has evolved considerably. Liberia is a signatory to, or is bound by, a range of international and regional fisheries instruments including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA), the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (C188), and is subject to the requirements and recommendations of relevant Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) including ICCAT and others applicable to species caught in Liberian waters or by Liberian-flagged vessels. In addition, Liberia’s seafood export trade with the European Union is subject to EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations, traceability requirements, and the EU’s IUU Fishing Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008), all of which impose specific compliance obligations on flag and coastal states. Compliance with these obligations requires not only institutional capacity but a sound, enabling legal framework. Preliminary assessments by NaFAA and development partners have identified that the 2019 Law, while a significant step forward, contains gaps, ambiguities, and provisions that are inconsistent with or insufficient to discharge Liberia’s international obligations. These include, inter alia, insufficient port state inspection authority, incomplete provisions on transshipment and bunkering at sea, inadequate catch documentation and traceability requirements, gaps in flag state responsibilities, insufficient VMS and observer programme mandates, ambiguous Inshore Exclusion Zone delineation and limited enabling provisions for digital fisheries management systems.

1.3 Prior Assessments and Foundation for this Assignment

These Terms of Reference build on a body of prior analytical work, including but not limited to: NaFAA internal legal and policy reviews conducted since the Law’s enactment in 2019; Technical assessments undertaken by development partners and environmental non-governmental organisations, including the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), concerning IUU fishing risks and legal framework gaps; FAO support and technical advisory work on Liberia’s fisheries governance, including assessments under the FAO’s GloFish and related programmes; Any prior peer review or legal opinion obtained by the Ministry of Justice or Law Reform Commission regarding the 2019 Law or draft subsidiary regulations; Regional assessments and benchmarking exercises conducted through the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries (MFC) or the ATLAFCO/COREP regional framework. The consultant will be required, at the outset of the assignment, to compile and review all such prior assessments and to clearly articulate how this assignment builds upon, departs from, or updates those prior findings. Copies of available prior assessments will be made available to the selected consultant as part of the data access arrangements set out in Section 9 of this TOR.

Purpose

The Government of Liberia, through NaFAA, secured funding from Oceans5 to review its fisheries law. The purpose of this assignment is to undertake a comprehensive legal and policy review of the 2019 Fisheries and Aquaculture Management and Development Law with the explicit objective of preparing legally sound amendments that ensure Liberia’s domestic fisheries legal framework incorporates principles of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency and is fully aligned with Liberia’s obligations under UNCLOS, ILO C188, applicable RFMOs, relevant regional agreements, and other international instruments to which Liberia is party or to which it seeks compliance. The review shall also strengthen domestic fisheries governance and MCS, and facilitate sustainable, legal market access for Liberian fisheries products, including to the European Union.

Overall Objectives

Assess the completeness and consistency of the Law against obligations under UNCLOS, applicable RFMOs and international instruments (including but not limited to ICCAT, CCSBT, NAFO, NEAFC as regionally applicable, PSMA, FAO CCRF, ILO C188, UNFSA, IUU-related instruments, CITES where applicable, WTO SPS/TBT implications, and EU seafood import requirements). Identify gaps, ambiguities, inconsistencies, or conflicts within the Law and between the Law and international legal instruments, as well as inconsistencies with other domestic legislation. Propose concrete, legally sound draft text for the 2019 Law, and draft complementary regulations, ministerial orders, administrative forms, or standard operating procedures required to operationalise that drafted text. Assess the Law’s adequacy with respect to foreign fishing access agreements (FiPAs) and flag state obligations under such agreements. Assess whether the Law contains adequate enabling provisions for digital and electronic fisheries management systems, including e-licensing, e-reporting, and digital VMS/AIS data management. Produce an implementation roadmap, delineating institutional responsibilities and capacity implications across MCS, laboratory competence, observer programmes, VMS, port state procedures, licensing, penalties, and data reporting. Facilitate and document multi-stakeholder validation of the proposed draft text, ensuring legitimacy, feasibility, and ownership.

Scope of Work— Tasks

Task 1: National Legislation and Policy Mapping

Compile and map all relevant national legislation, regulations, policies, and administrative instruments that interact with the 2019 Law. Identify responsible institutions, mandates, and inter-agency linkages relevant to fisheries management and RFMO obligations. This should include, at minimum: the National Port Authority Act, the Environmental Protection and Management Law, the Merchant Shipping Act, relevant labour laws, customs and revenue legislation, the Public Procurement and Concessions Act, and any subsidiary regulations promulgated under the 2019 Law. The consultant shall also identify any pending or draft legislation relevant to the fisheries sector.

Task 2: RFMO and International Instrument Applicability Assessment

Identify all RFMOs and relevant international and regional instruments applicable to Liberia. This shall include explicitly identifying Liberia’s current RFMO memberships, cooperating non-contracting party (CNCP) status, Memoranda of Understanding, or intended affiliations. Where Liberia is not a formal member but trades with or is otherwise affected by RFMO regimes, the consultant shall identify the relevant compliance measures required domestically (e.g., catch documentation schemes, port state measures, trade-related sanitary and phytosanitary requirements). The consultant shall produce a summary matrix of key legal and operational obligations from each applicable instrument, covering: catch documentation schemes, required data reporting, observer requirements, vessel authorisation, transshipment and bunkering rules, VMS and data-sharing obligations, sanctions, and trade controls. The output of Task 2 shall form a central reference checklist for the article-by-article review in Task 4.

Task 3: Inception Report

Within six (6) weeks of contract signature, the consultant shall prepare and submit an Inception Report for review and written approval by NaFAA and EJF prior to the commencement of the substantive legal review tasks (Tasks 4–12). The Inception Report shall include: A refined methodology and analytical framework for the article-by-article gap analysis and cross-cutting thematic review; A preliminary matrix of RFMO obligations applicable to Liberia (drawing on initial work under Task 2), identifying those most likely to require legislative amendment; A workplan and revised schedule, including milestones, deliverable submission dates, and stakeholder engagement dates; An inventory of documents, legislation, regulations, and prior assessments reviewed or still required, and any access constraints encountered; Identification of any issues of scope, resource, or timeline that require early discussion with the client; Preliminary identification of the jurisdictions to be examined under the comparative legal analysis (Task 7). The Inception Report shall not exceed 30 pages (excluding annexes). NaFAA and EJF shall provide written comments within two (2) weeks of receipt, and the consultant shall incorporate responses and resubmit for final approval before proceeding.

Task 4: Article-by-Article Gap Analysis

Conduct an article-by-article review of the 2019 Law against: (i) the RFMO and international instrument obligations checklist produced under Task 2; and (ii) relevant national legislation identified under Task 1. For each provision of the Law, the consultant shall: Assess whether the provision is consistent with, adequate to discharge, or in conflict with applicable international obligations; Identify gaps where the Law does not address an obligation that should be reflected in domestic legislation; Flag ambiguous or unclear provisions susceptible to inconsistent interpretation or enforcement; Identify conflicting clauses, whether internal to the Law or arising from interactions with other domestic laws; Assess enforcement weaknesses, including insufficient sanctioning powers, evidentiary or administrative process gaps, inadequate seizure and forfeiture provisions, and barriers to implementation arising from the absence of enabling provisions for delegated regulations. The output shall be a structured gap analysis matrix cross-referencing each article of the 2019 Law against applicable obligations and identifying the specific nature of any gap, conflict, or ambiguity.

Task 5: Cross-Cutting Thematic and Enforcement Gap Review

Separately from the article-by-article analysis, the consultant shall conduct a structured thematic review assessing the Law’s adequacy across the following cross-cutting themes. For each theme, the consultant shall assess current provisions, identify gaps or weaknesses, and recommend the nature of amendments or complementary instruments required: IUU fishing prevention and deterrence; Port state measures, including port entry, inspection, and denial of access procedures; Vessel authorisation, licensing, and the fishing vessel register; Observer programmes, sampling, and observer data management; Chain-of-custody, traceability, and catch documentation schemes; VMS and AIS requirements, data sharing, and flag state monitoring obligations; Transshipment controls and at-sea bunkering restrictions; Compliance with EU SPS and food hygiene rules for exports; Prosecutorial and judicial procedures for fisheries offences; Administrative fines versus criminal penalties, and the adequacy of current penalty levels as deterrents; Seizure, forfeiture, and disposal of vessels and catch; Appeals processes and due process safeguards; Protection of small-scale and artisanal fishers; Gender and social safeguards; Environmental protections and ecosystem-based management requirements; Laboratory, testing, and inspection accreditation requirements for export certification; Foreign fishing access agreements (FiAAs).

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