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 FCWC Member States’ national focal points in charge of the data management, fisheries researchers, CECAF and FAO FIRMS Secretariat, to identify ways to collate, harmonize, align and bring up-to-date the Regional Database as well as FCWC Fisheries Management System (FMS) to ensure coherence with the requisite International reporting standards including the FAO FIRMS Inventory. 

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.