An international initiative by Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries, the decision to embark on the Great African Expedition was taken at a Russia-Africa Forum Summit in 2023. Last week saw the expedition depart from Kaliningrad for African waters.
A bevy of serious officials were there to give the expedition their blessing as research vessels Atlantis and Atlantiro departed, between them carrying a hundred scientific staff, to carry out an extensive programme of research in the waters of 19 African nations.
‘Today we are launching one of the largest projects in fisheries – the Great African Expedition. This is a unique event, since such studies have not been conducted since the 1980s. The expedition will allow us to assess the reserves of resources off the coasts of Africa and discover new fishing areas,” said deputy prime minister Dmitry Patrushev.
‘The expedition is unique both in its scientific significance and in the scale of international cooperation. At the same time, interaction with African states is strategic and long-term in nature, and is one of the priorities of our country’s foreign economic activity,’ commented Ilya Shestakov, head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.
