The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized a five-day online workshop from 26-30 October 2020 on “training on fishery statistical data, and fisheries status data for the FCWC region and its member countries.” 

The virtual workshop brought together 35 participants including the national focal points in charge of the data management, fisheries researchers, CECAF and FAO FIRMS Secretariat, as well as FCWC Fisheries Management System (FMS) to identify ways to collate, harmonize, align and bring up-to-date the FCWC Regional Database with the FIRMS inventory, ensuring coherence with the requisite reporting standards. 

FCWC Secretary-General, Seraphin Dedi, in opening remarks noted the absence of reliable fisheries data was creating a situation whereby “the role and place of the artisanal maritime fishing sector in [..] national economies is not well perceived[..]. In addition, developing policies and strategies is a difficult and risky exercise for decision-makers.“ He urged participants, therefore, to seize this capacity building opportunity for improving fisheries data in the region.

Key outcomes of the workshop included a roadmap to streamline the workflow for harmonization of fishery statistics, and address missing data fields to ensure harmonization and coherence with FAO and international reporting standards.
 
Kofi Taylor-Hayford,
FCWC/CPCO Communication Officer.