Togo’s fishery sector is facing a number of challenges including illegal fishing and lack of statistical data to enable sustainable management of fishery resources in the country, the country’s top fishery official has said.
Fisheries Director, Mr. Christian Domtani Ali said the sector also faces the challenge of “safety of fishermen who are frequently confronted with bad weather and marine accidents”.
The official said that fishery sector contributes up to 30 percent of national gross domestic product in many West African countries and employs over 3 million people in the ECOWAS region.
In Togo, the fishery sector provides 30 percent of fisheries protein intake to the population and employs a total of 22,000 people, according to him.
“Inland fisheries play important role in the empowerment of women who make the local economy”, Mr. Christian Domtani Ali said in his opening speech for the MEPA meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting, scheduled to end on Thursday, is purposed to examine the implementation of regional project and the difficulties so as to propose strategic orientations.
Source said the meeting also aimed to sensitize fishermen and provide them with early warning information against risks.
