The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) participated in the dissemination workshop on Transparency and Accountability in Ghana’s Fisheries Sector organized by the Centre for Maritime Law and Security Africa (CEMLAWS Africa) under the Enhancing Transparency in the Fisheries Sector of Ghana funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative.

The project was implemented in four West African countries including FCWC Member States (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ghana), to evaluate the transparency and accountability gaps within the fisheries sector, focusing on governance and policy frameworks.

The workshop was organized to share the summarized findings of the two-year project undertaken through research and stakeholder engagements. The findings included the fact that stakeholders wanted greater transparency and accountability regarding the allocation, supply and distribution of premix fuel; foreign beneficial ownership; the announcement of the fishing closed season; and the compounding of fisheries offenses.

The FCWC demonstrated its commitment to accountability and transparency in 2019 by implementing a three-year Oceans 5-funded project named Building Transparency in West Africa together with TMT through the West Africa Task Force. The project supported the complete redesign and redevelopment of the FCWC website, and strengthened the website’s capacity to function as a central hub of information relating to fisheries in the sub-region.