Background and goals

Guinea-Bissau (GB) is creating a sustainable fishing sector to meet international fisheries agreements and to tackle global changes in marine ecosystems, which is vital to improve the GB economy and the quality of life (QoL) of its people. 

However, biodiversity knowledge of this region is still deficient. Rigorous species identifications can be challenging, especially in smaller organisms. Molecular tools provide accurate species identifications from unknown specimens at any life stage (eggs, larvae, juveniles) or even from body fragments or damaged specimens and have been successfully used to investigate the incidence of mislabeling in commercial fish species. Availability of high-quality monitoring species data for fish stock assessment is critical for the management of fisheries resources. 

The recently developed high-throughput sequencing technology enables a suite of prospective DNA-based applications of high potential for improving biomonitoring, circumventing the uncertainty of the identifications of organisms with inconspicuous morphological diagnosis. 

Therefore, we aim to :

1 - Build scientific and technical capacity on the application of DNA-based approaches to fisheries resources' monitoring and management in local institutions, through training programs, knowledge transfer, laboratory internships and implementation workshops. 

2  - Implement a DNA barcode reference library for GB's fisheries resources together with tissue and DNA vouchers.

3 - Devise a tailored protocol of DNA metabarcoding in zooplankton surveys, providing accurate identifications of fish eggs and larvae, thereby providing key information on spawning grounds and seasons and estimated recruitment. 

It is expected that these capacity-building on cutting-edge DNA-based approaches will improve GB autonomy and leadership in top edge, modern and innovate fishing strategies within Africa and therefore, bring economic benefits to the country and therefore improving the QoL of its people.