Liberia Launches Fisheries Information Management System to Boost Transparency and Efficiency
August 20, 2025
By Laymah Kollie
Monrovia: The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) has officially launched its long-awaited Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS), ushering in a new era of digital governance in Liberia’s fisheries sector.
Launched under the theme “Digitalizing Fisheries Governance: Enhancing Transparency, Efficiency, and Sustainability”, the system is designed to modernize management, improve monitoring, and ensure sustainable practices across the industry.
Developed with support from the World Bank through the Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project, FIMS introduces a fully digital platform for licensing, permits, and certificates along with secure online payments and real-time data tracking.
The initiative is expected to streamline administrative processes, cut revenue leakages, and tackle Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Speaking at the launch ceremony in Monrovia, Commissioner General of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), James Dorbor Jallah, stressed that compliance must be seen as a partnership between government and stakeholders.
“FIMS is not just about collecting data,” Jallah said, “it is about empowering fishing communities, exporters, and industrial operators to understand their roles and how their contributions impact Liberia’s future.”
NaFAA’s Acting Director General, J. Cyrus Saygbe, described the launch as “the beginning of a new era of transparency, efficiency, and accountability” in the sector. He noted that permit processing, which previously took up to a week, has now been reduced to just 24 hours under the new system.
Saygbe also pledged to extend community-based access systems across the nine coastal counties to ensure fishers in remote areas are not left behind. The World Bank’s Senior Procurement Specialist, Wole Afuye, hailed the system as a milestone in fisheries modernization.
He highlighted that FIMS enables quick, paperless licensing, secure payments, and fraud prevention through QR codes measures that will benefit both fishers and government authorities.
Afuye further announced plans for a new call center and communication system by October 2025, which will provide industry players with direct access to support and feedback channels. With FIMS now operational, stakeholders agree the system represents a transformative step towards a more digital, accountable, and prosperous fisheries sector in Liberia.
