The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) paid a working visit to the ECOWAS Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) on 2 September 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss cooperation between the entities present, in the context of the ECOWAS-FCWC-SRFC Tripartite MOU that made the regional fisheries bodies technical arms of ECOWAS.
The FCWC delegation, led by the FCWC Chairman and Director-General (a.i.) of Liberia’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Cyrus Saygbe, comprised: the FCWC Secretary General, Dr Gaston Antoine Djihinto; TMT West and Central Africa Coordinator, Viviane Koutob; and FCWC Regional MCS Officer, Adedotun Adekunmisi.
The delegation met with an ECOWAS team comprising Dr. Djiga Thiao, ECOWAS Programme Officer for Marine and Inland Fisheries Development; Segun Olupinla, Programme Officer for the ECOWAS Regional Information System; and Paul Akande, Programme Officer for Aquaculture Development, to discuss the latest developments in the operationalisation of ECOWAS’s partnership with the FCWC. Under the Tripartite MOU, ECOWAS has funded a biennial work plan (2023-2024) consistent with (i) the ECOWAS Detailed Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and (ii) the FCWC Strategic Action Plan (SAP, 2021-2030) for three actions that constitute priority areas in the FCWC Strategic Action Plan 2021-2030. The disbursement of funds for this work plan and other details were discussed.
The teams also discussed the upcoming FAO-ECOWAS 3rd Steering Committee Meeting/Workshop for the finalisation of the project document for the implementation of the Regional Aquaculture Development Program in West Africa (RADP-WA), scheduled for 25-26 September in Abuja, preceded by an IUU-donors meeting on 23-24 September 2025. The related activities stemming from the recommendations of the 2nd Regional Seminar on Aquaculture Development, the draft FCWC Aquaculture Action Plan, and the needs for their support, especially in revitalising the FCWC Working Group on Aquaculture (WGAq), were also examined.
Other key discussion points included: potential partnership with the ECOWAS Regional Information System (ECOWAS RIM) to strengthen the region’s data; a regional stock assessment; establishment of an advisory committee of Fisheries experts to chart a strategic course for fisheries; uniformity in data collection; and the drafting of the region’s blue economy strategy.
