Some eight West African countries agreed to establish a unified commission to negotiate fisheries agreements at the end of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) held Wednesday in Nouakchott. Representatives of the eight countries (Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ghana and Liberia) specified in the so-called Declaration of Nouakchott that the Commission will also ensure closer cooperation in the fields of scientific research, maritime surveillance and fight against illegal and unauthorized fishing.
The main objective of the conference is to validate the strategic orientations of the 2nd phase of the West African Regional Fisheries Program (PRAO).
Participants called for the continuation of the sub regional fisheries development program in West Africa, financed by the World Bank.
They also called on their States to accede to the Fisheries Transparency Initiative, launched by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in January 2015.
