With a vast marine area including particularly productive ecosystems; Somalia’s marine fisheries could make important contributions to the national economy; local livelihoods; food supply and export earnings. Thanks to a strong seasonal upwelling just off its Indian Ocean coast; Somali waters are seasonally highly productive and home to various fish and shellfish species; including valuable pelagic tuna resources. Conversely; the narrow continental shelf limits shallow-water habitat and therefore the abundance of demersal speciesSomalia’s domestic fishing industry is largely artisanal in nature and is characterized by small vessels primarily using gillnets; handlines and traps. 122 fish landing centers have been identified along the Somali coast. National statistics remain woefully outdated; but in 1996 fisheries indirectly employed 30;000 persons full-time and 60;000 part-time. Today; basic fisheries data and statistics is not being collected in Somalia; hampering determination of the status of the stocks; exploitation; and their management; which in turn does not provide the right environment for private sector investment and the sustainable development of the sector. In recent year; pilot data collection activities have been conducted in a small number of landing sites; starting to raise awareness on the need for these statistics and a comprehensive Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS) to support the sustainable development of the sector.The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and its Federal Member States (FMSs) and the Banadir Administration through their Ministries of fisheries and with support from the World Bank (WB); is currently preparing an investment in the fisheries sector; i.e.; the Somali Sustainable Fisheries Development Project (SSFDP). The project aims at improving effective management of selected fisheries and enhancement of sustainable economic benefits from the fisheries sector for the governments and coastal communities.One specific subcomponent and set of activities of the project will support the implementation of a modern national data collection system for the fisheries sector; including the development of a FIMS and associated online dashboard. At various levels (e.g.; collection; entry; analysis; reporting; publication/dissemination); the national data collection system will require participation and coordination at both Federal and State levels; as well as community level; in order to be cost effective; comprehensive and robust. Knowledge of the status and trends of domestic fisheries; including socio-economic aspects; is key to the development of sound policies; informed decision-making and effective fisheries management and sustainable development; as well as their monitoring and evaluation; and to track the status and performance of exploitation of fisheries resources. At the national (federal and state) level; it is necessary to help determine the social and economic benefits of fisheries; including for food and nutrition security. The collection and analysis of fisheries data can be a costly and time-consuming exercise; but it is essential and is a national responsibility. Improvement of data collection systems is mainly related to capacity building; national staffing and/or partnerships; and the selection of appropriate strategies/methods for fisheries data collection.The WB intends to procure technical expertise with fisheries; statistics and IT experience; who will work collaboratively with experts in the WB; FGS and FMS on a plan for the development of a fisheries data collection system and the integration of collected data in a fully functional FIMS at national level.The overall objective of the consultancy is to design a plan for the development of a national fisheries data collection and of a fully functional FIMS that integrates comprehensive fisheries data including catch; effort; prices; fishers/vessels registration; fishers/vessels licensing; market and value and other permit/authorization; socio-economic information; research data; fisheries enforcement (e.g. inspection and compliance); etc.The system should make use of information and communication technology available and usable in Somalia; such as mobile application integration to support near-real time collection; validation and automated transfer to a central database.The firm/consortium should also provide options on the overall process; including collection at community; Federal and State level; compilation; protocols for data exchange and analysis; publication and dissemination; including to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC); the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Privileges to enter; edit; report and visualization of the data (detailed or aggregated) should be defined for various group of users both at FMSs and FGS levels.This assignment does not include the actual implementation of the proposed national data collection system and the associated FIMS and is limited to its detailed design and implementation planning.Prior experience in marine fisheries data collection systems and a good local knowledge of Somali fisheries is required for this assignment.